An explosion is seen after an Israeli air strike in the northern Gaza Strip January 3, 2009. Israeli artillery shelled the Gaza Strip on Saturday, stepping up the offensive against Hamas militants in the Palestinian enclave as tanks and troops waited on the border for a possible ground offensive. Earlier in the day Israel bombed Gaza from the air and sea, killing a senior Hamas commander. Hamas meanwhile kept up its rocket attacks on southern Israeli towns in defiance of international calls for it to cease such actions. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)From The Jerusalem Post:
At least 30 Hamas gunmen were reported killed as IDF troops swept into the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday night, encountering fierce resistance from Hamas forces entrenched in fortifications just over the border.
IDF sources said that the goal was to conquer territory in northern Gaza, including rocket launch sites. Soldiers from the Armored Corps, Engineering Corps, and Paratroopers, Givati, Golani brigades were participating in the fighting, with at least four brigades' worth of troops inside the Gaza Strip.
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