Heavy clashes erupt in Gaza

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-06-2009 14:59

Tuesday is the eleventh day since Israeli forces launched strikes on the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip. Israel says the main aim is to stop rocket fire on southern Israel.

Smoke billows from fires raging on the edge of Gaza City. The heaviest fighting of Israel's war on Hamas raged in Gaza City early on Tuesday as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rebuffed appeals to stop the death toll from  mounting further. (AFP/Mahmud Hams)

On Monday, the second full day of an Israeli ground offensive troops exchanged heavy fire with Palestinian fighters. The clash took place for the first time in a densely-populated area in Gaza City.

The expansion of Israel's military operation into ground battles is taking an increasingly heavy toll on civilians in the Gaza Strip.

UN and Gaza health officials report that more than 550 Palestinians have been killed and at least 200 of the victims were civilians.

Meanwhile, more than 25-hundred Palestinians have been wounded. Five Israelis have been killed since the offensive began, including a soldier killed in ground operations.