Tel Aviv [Israel], July 1: Israeli forces advanced further on Sunday into the Shejaia neighbourhood of northern Gaza and also pushed deeper into western and central Rafah in the south, killing at least six Palestinians and destroying several homes, residents said.
Israeli tanks, which moved back into Shejaia four days ago, fired shells towards several houses, leaving families trapped inside and unable to leave, the residents said.
Speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his stance that there is no substitute for victory in the war against the Islamist militant group Hamas.
While the offensive focused on Gaza, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, one man was killed and five were wounded in an Israeli strike near the city of Tulkarm, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The dead man was a member of militant group Islamic Jihad, the group said. The Israeli military issued no comment.
Hours after Netanyahu's comments about Gaza, the armed wing of Hamas released a video purporting to show weapons-making, in a show of defiance.
The video, which was not immediately verified by Reuters, showed fighters preparing anti-tank rocket warheads. In the background a large TV screen showed recent news events to indicate the video was recent.
The Israeli military said forces operating in Shejaia had killed several Palestinian gunmen over the past day and found military infrastructure inside a United Nations school as well as dozens of weapons and "valuable intelligence documents".
On Saturday the military announced the death of two Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza.
In another raid in Shejaia, the forces located a "terrorist war room" at a clinic, said the military, which again accused Hamas of "embedding itself in civilian structures for terror purposes".
Hamas denies using civilian sites such as schools and hospitals for military purposes.
The armed wing of Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad reported fierce fighting in both Shejaia and Rafah, saying their fighters had fired anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs against Israeli forces operating there.
More than eight months into Israel's air and ground war in Gaza, militants continue to stage attacks on Israeli forces, operating in areas that the Israeli army said it had gained control over months ago.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation