Israel forces tighten their grip in Gaza

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of aiming to "wipe out" the Palestinian people in Gaza, Israeli special forces lunged ever deeper into the largest city in the besieged enclave, destroying dozens of homes and sending terrified residents running for cover.

Medics said at least 12 Palestinian gunmen were killed in morning fighting and PMEhud Olmert has vowed to press forward with an "iron fist," despite growing calls for an end to the fighting, reported the Associated Press.

Israel aircraft attacked 60 targets, including tunnels used by Gaza militants to smuggle arms across the border from Egypt, weapons-making facilities and Hamas command posts, the military said. Two rockets hit the Israeli city of Beersheba, causing no casualties. Political sources told Reuters that PM Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni decided late on Monday against ordering troops in the next two or three days to engage in all-out urban warfare.

As Egypt pressed on with an initiative designed to bring about an immediate end to the war, Palestinian President Abbas said Israel appeared intent on waging a war of extermination. "This is the 18th day of the Israeli aggression against our people, which is become more ferocious each day as the number of victims rises," Agence France-Presse quoted him as saying.