Israel 'expands' Gaza offensive
Gaza City's skyline at dawn
Israeli forces have widened their attacks in the Gaza Strip to include Khan Younis in the south, reports say.
The fresh attack follows heavy fighting overnight near Gaza City in the north.
At least 20 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday and three Israeli soldiers were killed by fire from one of their own tanks in northern Gaza.
Palestinian medical officials say at least 110 people have died since the ground assault began while Israel says it has killed 130 Hamas fighters.
About 560 Palestinians have been killed since Israel moved to end rocket attacks from Gaza 11 days ago, Palestinian medical officials say. The UN says at least 25% of those are civilians.
At least three Palestinians were killed on Tuesday when an Israeli air strike hit a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip, UN officials said.
Other people were killed as Israeli shell-fire and air strikes hit the Gaza coast, Gaza City and Jebaliya refugee camp in the north of the territory.
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The reported move by Israeli forces into Khan Younis followed heavy fighting overnight around Gaza City and on the edges of the Deir al-Balah and Bureij refugee camps in central Gaza.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad said their fighters had engaged Israeli soldiers with machine-guns and rockets in Gaza City. Residents reported hearing loud explosions and heavy gunfire.
The Israeli army said three of its soldiers were killed by a shell from an Israeli tank which hit their position.
A fourth Israeli soldier was killed in fighting in the north of the Gaza Strip, military officials said.
Information about what is happening inside Gaza is limited as Israel has barred foreign reporters from entering.
Ceasefire calls
The escalation in fighting comes as international pressure for a ceasefire is growing.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is due to attend a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, along with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France and Britain, in an attempt to put pressure on the Security Council to act decisively.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in the Middle East trying to gather support for a ceasefire and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose country holds the EU presidency, is also in the region.
Israeli officials have so far rejected calls for a truce.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said any ceasefire would have to include provisions to prevent Hamas from re-arming in order to prevent future rocket attacks on Israel.
Hamas has said that Israeli attacks on Gaza must stop and the crossings into the territory, which Israel controls, must be fully opened.
'Serious hunger'
Living conditions in Gaza are reported to be deteriorating sharply, with supplies of fuel and food not getting to where they are needed. Many in Gaza are also without running water or electricity.
 Fears are growing over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza |
The UN says a million people in the territory are without electricity and many are facing "serious hunger" within days.
Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, one of two foreign doctors working at Gaza's biggest hospital, al-Shifa, said operating rooms were full and people were dying because of a lack of supplies.
Dominic Nutt, of the aid agency Save The Children, told the BBC that workers in the territory were reporting rapidly deteriorating conditions:
"They don't have any water most of the day, there is no electricity, they are freezing cold, the windows have to be left open to stop them smashing when the bombs fall.
"Children are at risk from hypothermia, they are malnourished, there is not enough food, the situation is getting desperate."
Thousands of Gazans are reported to have fled their homes, despite the dangers of moving around outdoors in the territory.
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