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GAZA CITY : Thousands of Israeli troops and scores of tanks advanced into Gaza on Sunday, battling Hamas fighters and surrounding the main city on a mission to end militant rocket attacks.
At least 23 Palestinians were killed by tank shells or missiles fired from warplanes as families fled battlefield towns in packed trucks and cars to escape the biggest Israeli military operation since its 2006 war in Lebanon.
International efforts to halt the conflict floundered. The UN Security Council failed even to agree the wording of a statement on the conflict, with the United States giving strong backing to Israel.
Israeli troops and tanks took over areas south and north of Gaza City.
Heavy fighting was also reported around the northern towns of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanun and Jabaliya.
Explosions shook the Hamas-controlled enclave, home to 1.5 million people, as the Israeli army took control of main roads. There was a constant clatter of automatic gunfire in the territory which has been under a tight Israeli blockade for months.
In the hours since Israel launched its night-time offensive on Saturday, at least 23 people have been killed, adding to the 485 Palestinians slain in eight days of air strikes when another 2,500 were wounded, Gaza medics said.
More than 80 children are among the dead.
Some 30 Israeli soldiers and "several" Hamas fighters were reported to have been wounded since the ground offensive began, the army and medics said.
Israel denied Hamas claims that soldiers had been killed. The Al-Jazeera Arabic news channel reported that one Israeli had been killed but there was no immediate comment from Israel.
A Hamas spokesman, speaking as troops crossed the border, said Gaza will become "a cemetery" for Israeli soldiers.
Witnesses said Israeli infantry and tanks had taken control of the Salaheddine Road, the main highway along the length of the enclave.
Advancing troops exchanged fire with Hamas fighters, who shot mortar rounds and detonated roadside bombs, they said. Israeli forces were also seen detaining people.
Defence Minister Ehud Barak said before the cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv that "the operation will be expanded and intensified as much as necessary. War is not a picnic."
Briefing reporters after the meeting, a government official said: "Israel has no intention to return to occupy the Gaza Strip."
Government secretary Ovid Yehezkel said the incursion could last a long time, but added: "The operation is aimed solely to achieve the goals set forth by the cabinet."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the Gaza offensive had been "unavoidable" but Israel would not open a new front in the north, a veiled reference to tensions with the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
Olmert said he had told the army to be "extremely alert" in case "someone might think that this is his opportunity to take advantage" of the conflict in Gaza.
Israel unleashed "Operation Cast Lead" on December 27 with the declared aim of ending rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza that resumed after a six-month truce ended.
Rocket fire from Gaza over the past week has killed four people in Israel.
Twenty-five rockets and mortar rounds were fired across the border on Sunday and hit the towns of Sderot and Ashdod, although no casualties were reported.
Schools in southern Israel remain closed. Streets clear as soon as siren alerts of incoming rockets are sounded by authorities.
Israel's offensive has sparked spiralling anger in the Muslim world and protests across the globe.
The UN Security Council failed to agree a statement calling for a ceasefire despite nearly four hours of closed-door consultations late on Saturday.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said that "what is happening in the Security Council is a farce that shows the level that America and the Zionist occupier dominates its decisions".
The deputy US ambassador to the United Nations, Alejandro Wolff, said after the talks that Washington believed it was crucial "not to return to the status quo" that had allowed Hamas to attack Israel.
"The efforts we are making internationally are designed to establish a sustainable, durable ceasefire that's respected by all," he said. "And that means no more rocket attacks. It means no more smuggling of arms."
France led criticism of the Israeli offensive that Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas warned would have "grave consequences" for the region.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was to hold talks on Monday with Olmert in Jerusalem and Abbas in Ramallah.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called the attack a "dangerous military escalation" that would undermine truce efforts.
"France condemns the Israeli ground offensive against Gaza just as it condemns the continuing firing of rockets," he said.
Turkey, one of Israel's few Muslim allies, also condemned the air and ground offensive and called for it to end immediately.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Israeli attack had created a "very dangerous moment" in the conflict.
"I think everybody around the world is expressing grave concerns. What we've got to do almost immediately is to work harder than we've done for an immediate ceasefire," he told BBC.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana called on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire, adding that European nations were ready to contribute international monitors to help keep the peace.
Israel has called a snap general election for February 10, and the current leadership has widespread public support for the offensive. - AFP/ms
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