Israel extends offensive in Gaza

The Israeli commander in Gaza said his troops met significant resistance from homemade bombs and anti-tank rockets.

A member of Hamas militant movement was killed and two others were wounded by an Israeli missile fired at the town.

The operation is the deadliest since the start of the Palestinian uprising four years ago and has left more than 100 Palestinians dead.

An Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile near a house during the fighting in Beit Lahiya, killing 22-year-old member of Hamas's armed wing Mohammed Marouf, Palestinian medics said.

Meanwhile, an 11-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl, Ghadir Mokheimer, who was hit by Israeli army gunfire at her school in Gaza's Khan Younis refugee camp on Tuesday has died of her injuries.

Codenamed Days of Penitence, Israel said the north Gaza operation was launched to wipe out the threat of homemade rockets being fired by Hamas at Sderot, an Israeli town just beyond the north-east borders of Gaza.

Two young boys were killed by one such rocket after the operation began, triggering a massive Israeli escalation.

Nearly half the Palestinian dead in fighting - which until now has been centred on the crowded Jabaliya refugee camp - are reported to be civilians.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3738946.stm