As Israel's Operation Cast Lead against Hamas terror infrastructure in Gaza entered its tenth day, IDF soldiers were holding fights against Hamas gunmen near the Gaza Strip border on Sunday overnight, Israel Radio reported.
Hamas terrorists were firing mortar shells and using grenade launchers on IDF tanks. Five Israeli soldiers were wounded moderately and lightly.
The air force was assisting ground troops, the station reported. Separately, IAF craft attacked more than 40 targets, including targets along the Gaza-Egypt border.
Fighting concentrated around Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.
Meanwhile, the military infiltrated Hamas's television and was broadcasting a call to Palestinian non-combatants not to serve as human shields to Hamas terrorists.
Palestinians reported that 64 people have died in battles since the ground offensive began Saturday afternoon, saying most of them were civilians.
However there was no objective monitor to the number of Palestinian casualties and The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report.
Since Cast Lead began, 512 Palestinians were killed. Unconfirmed reports cited 87 children among the dead. The UN estimated that a quarter of fatalities on the Palestinian side were civilians.
On the Israeli side, one soldier and four civilians were killed by Hamas rockets and mortar shells since the operation began.
Earlier on Sunday, defense officials said the IDF was prepared to deepen and escalate its ground operations in Gaza, after the army split the territory in half and began surrounding Gaza City. Hamas, the officials said, was encountering difficulties in delivering orders to its forces.
St.-Sgt. Dvir Emmanueloff, 22, from Givat Ze'ev and of the Golani reconnaissance unit, was killed on Sunday by mortar shell shrapnel during clashes with Hamas terrorists near Jabalya.
Another soldier was critically wounded in the attack.
Earlier in the morning, 30 soldiers from Battalion 51 of the Golani Brigade were injured in clashes and on Sunday night four soldiers were shot and wounded by Palestinian snipers. (source Jpost)
The defense officials said it was likely that a number of senior Hamas operatives and terror chiefs were hiding and conducting their operations from within Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
"Hamas operatives are in the hospital and have disguised themselves as nurses and doctors," one official said.
OC Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin told the cabinet that Hamas was using mosques, public institutions and private homes as ammunition stores.
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