Gaza City Residents Flee Homes Under Fire
Israeli tanks shelled buildings in downtown Gaza City on Thursday and ground troops thrust deep into a crowded neighborhood for the first time, sending terrified residents fleeing for cover and ratcheting up the pressure on Gaza's Hamas rulers to accept a proposed cease-fire to end a devastating Israeli offensive.
The Israeli military would not discuss its operations, and it was not clear whether the intensified assault on Gaza City signaled a new phase in the three-week-old Israeli campaign, which has already killed more than 1,000 Palestinians. Israel has been hesitant to launch all-out urban warfare in the narrow alleyways of Gaza's big cities, where Hamas militants are more familiar with the lay of the land and Israeli casualties would be liable to spiral.
An official with the United Nations' humanitarian agency inside Gaza told the British Broadcasting Corp. Thursday that their office in Gaza City was burning, hit by five projectiles from Israeli forces. The official claimed at least three of the projectiles were shells containing the controversial chemical white phosphorus, which can burn anything it comes into contact with. The BBC's report could not be confirmed, and the UNRWA official who gave the information was not identified.
The advance into Gaza City's Tel Hawwa neighborhood and the shelling of downtown Gaza City came as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon was due to arrive for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. He was coming from Egypt, which has been working with Israel and Hamas to secure at least a temporary halt in fighting.
Egyptian and Palestinian officials said Wednesday they hoped to seal Hamas' agreement on a 10-day halt in fighting, which would be presented to Israel for approval. Key uncertainties remained for a longer-term deal under which Gaza's borders would be open and Israeli troops would withdraw.
The officials provided details of the deal on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the Egypt-Hamas talks. But Egyptian officials also expressed public optimism that momentum toward a deal was growing. "We're working with Hamas and we're working with the Israeli side. We hope to reach an outcome soon," Hossam Zaki, a spokesman for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, told the British Broadcasting Corp.
However, the Hamas leadership said it still had "certain reservations" over the Egyptian plan, reported CBS News' George Baghdadi in Damascus.
Israel launched its offensive on Dec. 27 in an effort to stop militant rocket fire from Gaza that has terrorized hundreds of thousands of Israelis. It says it will press ahead until it receives guarantees of a complete halt to rocket fire and an end to weapons smuggling into Gaza from neighboring Egypt.
Rocket fire has fallen off dramatically since, but not ceased, and on Thursday the military reported 14 firings. Thirteen Israelis have been killed since the offensive began.
Thousands of Tel Hawwa residents fled their homes Thursday, many clad only in their pajamas, and some wheeling elderly parents in wheelchairs, one of them with an oxygen tank. Others stopped journalists' armored cars and ambulances pleading for someone to take them to a U.N. compound or to relatives' homes.
The crackle and boom of explosions from machine gun fire, tank shells and missiles split the air, already clouded with plumes of white and black smoke from Israeli gunfire. Tanks and bulldozers rolled into a neighborhood park, apparently seizing it as a kind of command center, witnesses said.
Masked gunmen ran toward the areas under fire carrying bags containing unidentified objects.
Rasha Hassam, a 25-year-old engineer, ran out of her apartment building carrying her screaming 6-year-old daughter, Dunia.
"God help us, God help us, where can we flee?" she cried. "All I want is to get my poor child away from here. We want to survive."
Thousands of others were trapped in Tel Hawwa's high-rise buildings by the fire, too afraid to even attempt to flee.
Israeli aircraft struck some 70 targets overnight, including weapons positions, rocket squads and a mosque in southern Gaza that it said served as an arsenal, the military said. One target was the Islamic University in Gaza City, a Hamas stronghold,
Clouds of white smoke covered the eastern section of the city while a pillar of black smoke towered over the western portion following air, tank and naval fire that set houses and farmlands ablaze.
Human rights groups have accused Israel of unlawfully using white phosphorous shells against populated areas. The weapon can burn anything it touches and is used to illuminate targets at night or create a smoke screen for day attacks.
The Israeli military has said only that it uses munitions in accordance with international law. The International Committee for the Red Cross has said it has no evidence that Israel has improperly used the shells.
Ban will also meet with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, where Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas governs. He will not visit Gaza, which has been ruled by Hamas since it expelled forces loyal to Abbas in June 2007. The international community does not recognize Hamas' government.
In a sign of progress, Israel's chief negotiator, Amos Gilad, planned to fly to Egypt on Thursday to present Israel's stance, a senior defense official said. Gilad had put off the trip in recent days, saying the time was not yet ripe.
Israel also sent a senior diplomat to Washington to discuss international guarantees that Hamas will not rearm - a key Israeli demand.
World pressure on Israel to halt its offensive has increased because hundreds of civilians have been killed in the relentless pounding that has reduced landmarks, apartment buildings and some mosques to rubble.
Under the Egyptian proposal, Hamas would back off its demand that Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza and borders be opened immediately as part of any halt in fighting.
Instead, Israeli forces would remain in place during a 10-day truce until details on border security are worked out, Egyptian and Palestinian officials close to the talks told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of the closed-door negotiations.
A senior Israeli official said it was far from certain Israel would accept the deal. He said Israel welcomed many parts of the plan, but was afraid Hamas would not respect a cease-fire as long as troops are in Gaza.
The Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press about diplomatic issues.
Israel rejects charges that its blockade has caused a humanitarian crisis, saying it has let more than 1,000 truckloads of supplies into Gaza during the fighting. Some 170 trucks were due to enter Gaza on Thursday, including food, medical supplies, fuel and animal feed.