Air strikes on Gaza continue as deaths rise

[SW]

Israeli jets continued to pound Hamas targets in Gaza and Hamas militants launched more rockets from Gaza into Israel as the number of people killed in the past day of violence rose to 275.

Israeli ground troops were deployed around Gaza Sunday, but so far there is no indication of a ground operation by the Israeli military.

For a second day, huge black plumes of smoke rose above Gaza City and make-shift ambulances screamed down rubble-strewn streets to get wounded Palestinians to hospitals already overcrowded with 600 people wounded in the past day.

The U.N. Security Council ended a four-hour emergency meeting early Sunday with a call for an immediate halt of hostilities and a re-opening of border crossings to allow humanitarian supplies to reach Palestinians in Gaza.

The Palestinian envoy said if Israel does not cease attacks within 48 hours, Arab delegations will demand stronger action from the Security Council.

Israel did give in to requests from the Red Cross and others to allow 16 trucks loaded with fuel, food and medical supplies to pass into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing Sunday morning.

The same senior Israeli military official who confirmed the humanitarian shipments also said the air raids would continue and that Israeli ground troops have deployed around Gaza and will "be activated if needed."

"We are determined to fulfill our objectives" of stopping the rocket launches into Israel from Gaza.

"We can't stop every rocket launch," he said. But he added they aim to greatly reduce them.

More than 110 Hamas rockets have been launched into Israel by Hamas militants since Saturday morning, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said. An Israeli man died when a rocket slammed into a home Saturday, the IDF said.

An Israeli police spokesman said that one rocket landed north of the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon for the first time. That city, which sits about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the Gaza border, has been a frequent target of missiles from Gaza.

Gaza City's main police station and jail were hit by Israeli missiles Sunday morning, according to a Gaza-based journalist.

At least two people were killed when a missile struck the Seraya compound, which houses various Hamas military organizations in central Gaza City.

Missiles also hit near the Beit Hanoun city hall, according to a reporter there.

The attacks meant bodies piled up on the streets of Gaza City, where hospitals and medical personnel were overwhelmed by the influx of wounded.

"People are suffering and dying because of shortages of medical equipment," said Dr. Mahmoud el-Khazndar, who works at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital. "The hospital is not accustomed to accept mass casualties like this."

The Egyptian government sent 20 ambulances and medical personnel to its border with Gaza to help care for the wounded, an Egyptian official said.
The IDF spokesman confirmed the raids were continuing Sunday, bringing to 210 the number of Hamas targets hit since the operation began Saturday morning.

Palestinan envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Riyad Mansour, said the heavy casualty toll in Gaza in the past day has forced the U.N. Security Council members to confront Israel to end the attacks.