Israeli forces expanded their violent ground, air and sea attacks on the Gaza Strip yesterday on the third day of its ground operations. Fierce clashes broke out between Palestinian resistance and the Israeli army in Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya in the north of the Strip. Panic spread across the population in Gaza, while food and fuel have almost run out. Meanwhile, dozens of families fled their homes for fear of Israeli indiscriminate attacks. The stink of children's corpses spread over the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli forces target civilians' houses and ambulances. 11 people from two families were killed - among them eight children – while dozens of helpless civilians were injured when their houses were bombarded. The number of dead caused by the ground offensive stands now at 125 people, with hundreds more injured. As for the death toll since the beginning of the entire operation, it has now raised to 540 dead – a third of them children – and 2,550 wounded. A man, called Magdy el-Samouni, was seen carrying the corpses of his two children and his nephew in a hospital. "Those criminals have killed my family" he shouted. "Occupation soldiers move on our rooftops and our children are constantly terrified" said another person. Gaza is being threatened by a health crisis, as the area has been without electricity for a week now, while sanitation water has been accumulating. In addition to this looming environmental crisis, long lines of people formed in front of bakeries due to a lack of production and gas. The Israeli army declared it had bombarded 30 targets by air and sea on Saturday night, including five houses claimed to host Hamas armed men. The army also targeted main roads, ambulances, a university and the infrastructure. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Gaza City was partially besieged and that the army had reached all potential goals. Meanwhile, eye witnesses said army forces were still positioned outside densely-populated areas for fear of being hit by resistance's fire. The Palestinian resistance, for its part, fired dozens of rockets as far as an air base in southern Israel and north of the city of Ashdod for the first time. The resistance also warned that its rockets would go even further away if the offensive continued. Meanwhile, Hamas leaders said the movement would eventually win the war. In Egypt, thousands of children took to the streets in the governorates of Gharbia, Menoufia and Matrouh yesterday in solidarity with Palestinian children. They criticized Israel's massacres in the Gaza Strip. In Gharbia, 1,500 children with relatives belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group demonstrated in a village in the province of Bassioun, chanting anti-Israel slogans. In Menoufia, dozens of women and children took to the streets to criticize Israel's brutal attacks on Gaza. They called for the Rafah crossing to be opened and urged Arab rulers to take immediate measures to stop the aggression. They also called for dozens of campaigns to be carried out to donate blood and money to the MB. In Marsa Matrouh, the pupils of two schools staged a demonstration at the end of their school day, marching in the city streets.
