More troops poured into the Gaza Strip on Saturday as Israel expanded its offensive to counter Palestinian rocket fire, one of the largest incursions in four years of fighting. Seven Palestinians were killed in new clashes, including four who cut through Gaza's border fence. About 2,000 soldiers in hundreds of armored vehicles were patrolling a five-mile stretch of northern Gaza where militants have been firing homemade rockets at Israeli communities. Both sides appeared to be bracing for a long fight, with masked Palestinian gunmen fortifying their positions.
 At least 44 Palestinians and five Israelis have been killed in four days of violence. The Israeli offensive, "Days of Penitence," began after a Hamas rocket killed two Israeli preschoolers in a town near Gaza on Wednesday. In their first-ever news conference, four members of the secretive Hamas military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, threatened Saturday to fire rockets at the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, which is 10 miles north of Gaza and has been out of reach of the rockets. Bravely Wearing black masks, the gunmen told reporters at the Al Noor Mosque in the Jebaliya refugee camp that the group has been working to expand the rocket range. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian Cabinet convened to discuss the Gaza situation. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat referred to Israel campaign as a "monstrous, criminal, inhumane attack on our people." |