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Israel mounts air strikes in Gaza Israel mounts air strikes in Gaza
(about 14 hours later)
Israeli forces have mounted a series of air strikes as part of an on-going Gaza offensive, killing at least eight. Israeli forces have killed at least seven people including a 12-year-old girl in air raids and incidents during an ongoing offensive in Gaza.
The strikes bring the number of those killed since Wednesday to at least 39. A top Hamas militant is among the dead. The deaths bring the number of those killed since Wednesday to at least 42. A top Hamas militant is among the dead.
The violence comes after at least 17 people were killed in a single day on Friday, including two women shot during the siege of a mosque in Beit Hanoun. At least 17 people were killed on Friday, including two women shot during the siege of a mosque in Beit Hanoun.
Israel says its operation, one of the largest since the Gaza pull-out targets militants behind rocket attacks. Israel says it is targeting militants but Palestinian officials accuse Israel of a "massacre".
But Palestinian officials have accused Israel of carrying out a "massacre". Israeli forces have made regular incursions into Gaza and the West Bank following the capture of an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid by Palestinian militants on 25 June.
Virtual curfew 'Death and despair'
A government spokesman said the offensive would not help Israel achieve stability in the region and called on the international community to intervene. The young girl was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper in Beit Hanoun, during a day of violence.
The army said one of its soldiers had been aiming for a gunman but missed and hit the girl.
An Israeli military spokesman said five air strikes had taken place after nightfall on Friday, targeting the towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, Jabaliya and Rafah.An Israeli military spokesman said five air strikes had taken place after nightfall on Friday, targeting the towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, Jabaliya and Rafah.
Residents say the town of Beit Hanoun has been under a virtual curfew since Israeli forces moved in on Wednesday. A number of Hamas militants were among those killed in the latest strikes, along with one civilian buried in the rubble of his home.
A spokesman told Associated Press that soldiers were carrying out house-to-house searches in the town and there are reports of Israeli snipers positioning themselves on rooftops. One of the Hamas militants killed was senior member, Louay al-Borno, who died when an air strike set ablaze a minivan in Gaza City. Two other Hamas members were wounded in the incident.
One of Saturday's air strike set ablaze a minivan carrying Hamas militants in Gaza City, killing Louay al-Borno and wounding two others. href="/1/hi/talking_point/6117670.stm" class="">Eyewitness: In Beit Hanoun href="/1/hi/talking_point/6117670.stm" class="">Gaza's rocket threat
The Israeli army also said it had blown up three buildings near the mosque that witnessed Friday's siege in Beit Hanoun. Israel said weapons were being stored in the buildings.
A Palestinian Authority employee told the BBC it was the worst Israeli incursion they had ever had into the town.
Ibrahim al-Za'anin, 55, said they had been without electricity or water since Tuesday night.
"We no longer feel safe in our own homes," he said.
Israeli officials say the offensive is aimed at destroying militant infrastructure and stopping Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas called the operation a "massacre" and urged the UN Security Council to convene to discuss the issue.
A senior UN official given Israeli permission to enter Beit Hanoun described the atmosphere as one of death, destruction and despair.
'Militants escaped''Militants escaped'
Friday's dramatic action around a mosque followed a tense stand-off between Israeli forces and up to 15 militants who had taken refuge inside. Friday's action around the Beit Hanoun mosque followed a tense stand-off between Israeli forces and up to 15 militants who had taken refuge inside.
Women flocked to the Beit Hanoun mosque on Friday
Hamas radio then appealed to local women in the town to intervene.Hamas radio then appealed to local women in the town to intervene.
Up to 200 women marched towards the mosque Enlarge Image
One of the women, Nahed Abou Harbiya, told the BBC Arabic Service the gunmen inside the mosque were given women's clothes to help them escape.One of the women, Nahed Abou Harbiya, told the BBC Arabic Service the gunmen inside the mosque were given women's clothes to help them escape.
"All the women headed to the mosque to get the Palestinian resistance men... But the Israeli occupation forces were firing heavily at us with their machine guns and also threw stun grenades at us. "All the women headed to the mosque to get the Palestinian resistance men... But the Israeli occupation forces were firing heavily at us with their machine guns and also threw stun grenades at us."
"We entered the mosque and indeed we got all the resistance men out and put female attire on them so that the Israeli occupation forces wouldn't arrest them," she said. In addition to the two women killed, at least 10 women and a Palestinian cameraman were injured in firing.
Shots were fired as the women approached Israeli forces. As some of the women tried to pass the troops, further shots came and two women fell to the ground.
At least 10 women and a Palestinian cameraman were injured.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya praised the women but Israel said they had served as "human shields" for the militants.Hamas leader Ismail Haniya praised the women but Israel said they had served as "human shields" for the militants.
The Israeli military says it only fired on armed Palestinians.The Israeli military says it only fired on armed Palestinians.
On Saturday, the army also said that it had blown up three buildings near the mosque where weapons were being stored.
Decisive blow
Many of those killed in the offensive have been gunmen, but a four-year-old boy died from his wounds overnight.
Press despair over Gaza raid Gaza's rocket threat
BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says that Israel's most immediate aim is to prevent rocket attacks against its territory, but beyond that it wants to strike a decisive blow at Hamas.
Israeli forces have made regular incursions into Gaza and the West Bank following the capture of an Israeli soldier, Cpl Gilad Shalit, in a cross-border raid by Palestinian militants on 25 June.
More than 300 Palestinians have been killed in army operations since then, according to Israeli human rights group B'Tselem.