http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2778583.stm

Eleven dead in ZIONAZIS Gaza raid

Eleven Palestinians have died after Israeli troops, backed by tanks and helicopters, launched an overnight raid on Gaza City. At least 30 tanks swept into two neighbourhoods in the north and east, triggering fierce gun battles with Palestinian militants.


Israel has recently stepped up pressure on militant groups in
Gaza, heightening expectations it would stage a major
incursion into the area.

The army said it launched the latest operation following the
deaths of four soldiers, whose tank was blown up by the
Islamic militant group Hamas in Gaza on Saturday.

Up to four metal workshops - said by Israel to have been used
to by Palestinians to manufacture rockets - were destroyed
by troops accompanied by bulldozers.

One of the Palestinians who died was a Hamas suicide bomber
who blew himself up in front of a tank, the group said.

The Israeli army said its troops suffered no casualties.

The incursion was the bloodiest since 12 Palestinians died in
an Israeli raid on Gaza City on 26 January.

Eight senior Hamas officials have died in Gaza since Sunday,
six of whom were killed in a blast and two shot dead by Israeli forces.

Explosions

Dozens of tanks rumbled into the Shajaiyeh and Tufah
districts - known strongholds of Palestinian militants - after nightfall on Tuesday.

Troops cut off electricity, plunging the whole of Gaza City
into darkness.

Attack helicopters hovered
overhead and explosions rang
out across the city.

In Shajaiyeh, Islamic Jihad fighters clad in balaclavas and
camouflage fatigues, fired homemade rockets and guns at
troops, who returned fire.

Gaza resident Iman Shamali said "Bullets are coming from all
directions. It's a real war here."

Palestinian sources said three men were crushed to death
when a building collapsed form a nearby explosion.

Three members of the Palestinian intelligence service were
among the dead and at least 17 people were wounded.

The Israeli forces withdrew after six hours, and warned the
army would "continue to act against the infrastructure of
terrorism in the Gaza Strip".

Peace talks

The violence came after a day of talks in London where
mediators from the US, the European Union, Russia and the
UN met Israeli and Palestinian delegations to discuss a "road
map" for Middle East peace.

The UK has been pressing for quick progress on the issue to
send a signal to the Arab world that international interest in
Middle East peace talks was not diminishing.

Speaking at a meeting of the main aid donors to the
Palestinians, also in London, the UN envoy to the region, Terje Roed-Larsen, said the diplomatic Quartet should present the final plans to the Israelis and Palestinians as soon as possible.

"The road map is the only available political tool which can
bring us out of the abyss and back to the negotiating table,"
he said.