Said Siyam, the Hamas interior minister, was killed in an air raid on his brother's home near Gaza City on Thursday. Siyam, a top Hamas leader who controlled thousands of Hamas security troops in Gaza, was killed in the strike along with his brother and son, say Hamas and Israeli officials.
Earlier, Israeli troops and tanks moved closer into the heart of Gaza City, prompting fierce gun battles with fighters from Hamas.
Two other Hamas officials - the interior ministry's security director Saleh Abu Sharkh and the local Hamas leader, Mahmoud Abu Watfah – were also killed in the Israeli strike that targeted Siyam’s brother’s residence, reported the BBC website.
The UN's relief agency, Unrwa, said part of its HQ in Gaza was up in flames after being hit by Israeli shells.
Unrwa spokesman Christopher Gunness said three of the agency's employees were hurt in the attack.
About 700 people were sheltering in the compound at the time, he said, and the fire burnt through stocks of food and medicine, approaching five full fuel tanks.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and apologised for the attack, but said Palestinian fighters had been firing from the UN site.
"It is absolutely true that we were attacked from that place, but the consequences are very sad and we apologise for it," he said.
"I don't think it should have happened and I'm very sorry," said Olmert.
The coastal enclave came under heavy fire from the east in the early morning as Israeli soldiers and tanks continued to thrust into Gaza City.
Several residential complexes, including one that houses the residence of Rushdi Abualouf a local BBC employee, were hit in the suburbs of the Gaza city..
Columns of thick black smoke continued to rise about the city, as if in protest of the grave irregularities and war crimes being committed by Jerusalem’s irreverent army.
A total of 1,083 people in Gaza have been killed since Israeli operations commenced, Gaza's Ministry of Health said on Thursday - 70 higher than the previous day's figure. Nearly a third of the dead are children, say Gaza doctors.
Thirteen Israelis - including three civilians - have died.
Reports said at least 15 rockets had been fired from Gaza into Israel since the early morning, injuring eight people in Beersheba.
Speaking to the media after meeting Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire, and said the suffering in Gaza was a "dire humanitarian crisis" that had reached an "unbearable point".
Meanwhile, Hamas and Israeli negotiators were said to be making progress towards a ceasefire agreement as they held separate meetings with Egyptian mediators in Cairo.
Hamas, which controls Gaza, says any ceasefire agreement would have to result in the opening of the border crossings that Israel blocks to prevent the smuggling of weapons.
The Israeli blockade of Gaza borders has repeatedly resulted in grave commodity crises in Gaza that spirals prices of food items and the anti-Semite sentiment in the region.
Israel launched its offensive on the Gaza Strip on 27 December and has refused to allow international journalists to enter Gaza without supervision, making it impossible to confirm reports of war crimes coming out of Gaza.
Earlier, Israeli troops and tanks moved closer into the heart of Gaza City, prompting fierce gun battles with fighters from Hamas.
Two other Hamas officials - the interior ministry's security director Saleh Abu Sharkh and the local Hamas leader, Mahmoud Abu Watfah – were also killed in the Israeli strike that targeted Siyam’s brother’s residence, reported the BBC website.
The UN's relief agency, Unrwa, said part of its HQ in Gaza was up in flames after being hit by Israeli shells.
Unrwa spokesman Christopher Gunness said three of the agency's employees were hurt in the attack.
About 700 people were sheltering in the compound at the time, he said, and the fire burnt through stocks of food and medicine, approaching five full fuel tanks.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and apologised for the attack, but said Palestinian fighters had been firing from the UN site.
"It is absolutely true that we were attacked from that place, but the consequences are very sad and we apologise for it," he said.
"I don't think it should have happened and I'm very sorry," said Olmert.
The coastal enclave came under heavy fire from the east in the early morning as Israeli soldiers and tanks continued to thrust into Gaza City.
Several residential complexes, including one that houses the residence of Rushdi Abualouf a local BBC employee, were hit in the suburbs of the Gaza city..
Columns of thick black smoke continued to rise about the city, as if in protest of the grave irregularities and war crimes being committed by Jerusalem’s irreverent army.
A total of 1,083 people in Gaza have been killed since Israeli operations commenced, Gaza's Ministry of Health said on Thursday - 70 higher than the previous day's figure. Nearly a third of the dead are children, say Gaza doctors.
Thirteen Israelis - including three civilians - have died.
Reports said at least 15 rockets had been fired from Gaza into Israel since the early morning, injuring eight people in Beersheba.
Speaking to the media after meeting Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire, and said the suffering in Gaza was a "dire humanitarian crisis" that had reached an "unbearable point".
Meanwhile, Hamas and Israeli negotiators were said to be making progress towards a ceasefire agreement as they held separate meetings with Egyptian mediators in Cairo.
Hamas, which controls Gaza, says any ceasefire agreement would have to result in the opening of the border crossings that Israel blocks to prevent the smuggling of weapons.
The Israeli blockade of Gaza borders has repeatedly resulted in grave commodity crises in Gaza that spirals prices of food items and the anti-Semite sentiment in the region.
Israel launched its offensive on the Gaza Strip on 27 December and has refused to allow international journalists to enter Gaza without supervision, making it impossible to confirm reports of war crimes coming out of Gaza.
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