(AKI) - Israel stepped up its military offensive in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip on Tuesday with troops reportedly moving closer to Gaza City. Medical officials said 12 Palestinian gunmen, believed to include members of the ruling Hamas movement were killed in morning fighting. Israel claimed to have attacked more than 60 targets in Gaza overnight as Operation Cast Lead offensive entered its 18th day in what has been described as the 'third-stage' of its military operation. Thirty Palestinians were killed in clashes in the neighbourhoods at Zaytoun and Tel al-Hawwah in Gaza.
As Israeli soldiers began inching closer to Gaza City on Tuesday, fresh Palestinian rocket attacks were reported in southern Israel. Seven rockets reportedly struck the Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev regions but nobody was wounded in the attacks.
"We are working to deepen the blow to the military wing, (of Hamas) to minimise the attacks and strengthen deterrence, in order to truly create a better security reality for the residents of the south that are under threat of fire," said the Israeli army chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi at a meeting of the parliamentary foreign affairs and defence committee.
"Soldiers are doing an extraordinary job, we have made many achievements in damaging Hamas and its infrastructure, its regime and its military wing, but there is still much to be done."
According to Palestinian medical sources, more than 920 Palestinians have been killed, and over 4,200 have been injured, among them 292 children, since Israel began its military action on 27 December.
Israel has banned journalists from entering Gaza, making it difficult to confirm casualty figures.
Thirteen Israelis - including 10 soldiers - have been killed in Operation Cast Lead. Four of the dead soldiers were killed due to 'friendly fire' from other troops.
In a separate incident, the Israeli army said that a patrol near the Jordanian border came under fire from the Jordanian side. The Jordanian government has denied that any officers fired at Israeli police. "A military source in the general command of the Jordanian armed forces denied ... that shots had been fired from the Jordanian side on the Western border, affirming that there is no truth to this information," said Jordan's official Petra news agency.
The incident follows a previous one on Sunday, when allegedly, Israeli forces came under fire near the Syrian border in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon was expected in the Middle East on Tuesday, a day after calling for an end to the fighting. "My message is simple, direct and to the point: the fighting must stop," said Ban on Monday before his departure. "In Gaza, the very foundation of society is being destroyed: people's homes, civic infrastructure, public health facilities and schools."