Israel kills 33 Palestinians in Gaza
GAZA (Reuters) - Israel killed 33 Palestinians on Saturdayin its deadliest and deepest incursion into the Gaza Stripsince pulling out in 2005, stoking fears of a broader conflictthat could derail renewed U.S.-backed peace talks.
At least 68 Palestinians have been killed in four days ofintense Israeli air strikes and raids in the tinyHamas-controlled territory, home to 1.5 million people,straddling Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean.
Israel said it was responding to cross-border rockets whichkilled an Israeli man in the border town of Sderot on Wednesdayand wounded others in the major southern city of Ashkelon.
Palestinian officials said the one-day death toll in Gazaon Saturday was the highest since 2002.
Of the 33 Palestinians killed, 16 were civilians and therest were militants, according to hospital staff and theIslamist Hamas movement, which seized Gaza last June afterrouting the more secular Fatah forces of Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas.
Palestinian officials said Israeli forces advanced towardsthe towns of Beit Hanoun and Jabalya, the largest and furthestincursion into Gaza since 2005, when Israel pulled out itssettlers and troops from the territory after 38 years.
The United States on Friday urged Israel to "consider theconsequences" of any action ahead of next week's scheduledvisit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
More bloodshed could derail Washington's hopes of a deal onPalestinian statehood before President George W. Bush leavesoffice next January.
Abbas, who remains hostile to Hamas, called the Israeliactions "unbelievable" and said what is happening "is more thana holocaust", a reference to comments made on Friday by DeputyIsraeli Defence Minister Matan Vilnai.
Vilnai had warned Gazans they risked a "shoah" if rocketfire did not end. An aide said Vilnai meant "disaster" ratherthan "holocaust", the word's more common meaning.
Israeli government spokesman David Baker accused Hamas of"blatantly and shamefully using residents as human shields inorder to target Israeli civilians".
CASUALTIES
One of the dead civilians was a mother who was preparingbreakfast for her children when she was hit by gunfire,relatives and medical workers said. A girl and her brother werealso among the dead.
One missile slammed into a crowd of Palestinians, killingfour civilians, medical staff and Hamas said. The army said itfired on militants.
Witnesses said fighting erupted after Israel soldiers,backed by helicopter gunships, entered northern Gaza overnightand were confronted by Palestinian gunmen.
The Israeli army said five soldiers had been lightly ormoderately wounded in the fighting. A Palestinian eyewitnesssaid he saw at least one Israeli soldier, whose body had beensliced in half, being pulled from a tank.
An army spokeswoman said about 33 rockets were fired intoIsrael on Saturday, including three Soviet-designed Gradmissiles, which are more powerful and accurate than improvisedQassams produced locally.
Three Israelis were lightly injured by rockets that reacheddeep into Ashkelon, a city of some 120,000 people.
Israeli leaders said they may have no choice but to launcha broader offensive in the Gaza Strip if Palestinian militantsdo not stop rocket attacks on the Jewish state.
"As long as events escalate, the chances that we will usegreater force increases," Vilnai told Israel Radio.
In a defiant message to Israel, Hamas's armed wing said:"You will never stop the rockets."
The high death toll could increase pressure on Abbas tosuspend peace talks with Israel. Palestinian negotiator SaebErekat said a major offensive would "bury" peace efforts.
Though rocket fire has long disrupted life in southernIsraeli towns, the killing of the Israeli on Wednesday -- thefirst death of its kind since May -- has put pressure onIsraeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to increase military action.
Hamas has said the rocket attacks were a response toIsraeli raids into Gaza and the West Bank.
(Writing by Ari Rabinovitch and Adam Entous; Editing byCaroline Drees)