Israeli troops pounded an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City with air
and artillery strikes Sunday, trading fire with Hamas militants armed
with antitank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades and sending a tide
of panicked humanity streaming from the area.
Most of those
fleeing left empty-handed, carrying only their children in their arms as
gunfire and explosions reverberated around them.
The fighting,
described as the heaviest of Israel's 13-day campaign in the Gaza Strip,
killed at least 66 Palestinians, injured hundreds more and displaced
tens of thousands, according to Palestinian health officials. Thirteen
Israeli soldiers died, the Israeli military said.
More than 430 Palestinians have been reported killed overall, most of them civilians, according to the United Nations.
U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Israel's actions in the Shajaiya
neighborhood "atrocious" and said it must do far more to protect
civilians.
