Israel denies Hamas' claim it captured 2 soldiers

UN Security Council fails to agree on Gaza

UNITED NATIONS/GAZA/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AlArabiya.net, Agencies)

Hamas said it captured two Israeli soldiers during fighting in the Gaza Strip on Sunday and was holding them hostage. The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, also said it has struck two Israeli tanks and a military copter.

But the Israeli army said it had no knowledge of any of its soldiers falling into Hamas's hands.

"Two soldiers were captured," Hamas radio and television said.

The capture of Israeli soldiers by Hamas could have a large impact on public support in Israel for the Gaza offensive.

Gaza fighters captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid in June 2006. Negotiations brokered by Egypt to secure Shalit's release have foundered.

The Israeli army responded by saying that it has no knowledge of any of its soldiers being captured during fighting on Sunday with Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip, a senior army official told reporters.

"As far as we know, this is not true," the official said of Hamas's claim to have captured two soldiers.

Hamas fighters in Gaza fired 25 rockets & mortar rounds into Israel, wounding one woman, an army spokesman said, pointing out that twelve of the rockets were the longer-range Grad.

Casualties

Israeli soldiers entered the densely populated enclave along with tank columns

At least 19 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli ground fire and air strikes in Gaza early on Sunday, medics said as troops pushed deeper into the Hamas-run territory.

Eighteen people were killed around Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya in the north and one near Khan Yunis in the south, they said.

The identities of all the victims were not immediately available, but civilians were among the dead, they added.

Israel unleashed a massive bombardment of Hamas targets in Gaza on Dec. 27 in response to militant rocket and mortar fire, and sent in ground troops a week later.

Since the start of "Operation Cast Lead" at least 485 Palestinians have been killed, including 80 children, and more than 2,400 wounded in Gaza, according to Gaza medics.

Rockets fired by Gaza fighters have killed three civilians and one soldier inside Israel during the same time period.

Expanding offensive

Fire and smoke rise into the sky from an Israeli air strike in Gaza City

Israel earlier said it will expand and intensify its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip "as much as necessary," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting.

"This operation won't be easy and won't be simple," he said. "The operation will be expanded and intensified as much as necessary. War is not a picnic."

Israeli tanks continued pouring into Gaza along with military ambulances as artillery shells rained down on the Palestinian territory.

Troops were reported to be operating just three kilometers (nearly two miles) south of Gaza City, the main population center of the densely populated enclave sandwiched between Israel and Egypt.

Issuing its first casualty report since tanks and infantry entered the Hamas-controlled territory on Saturday, Israel said 30 of its soldiers have been wounded, two seriously, since the start of the ground assault. AlArabiya TV reported that an Israeli officer and a soldier have died and 28 soldiers have been wounded.

Israeli troops face Hamas fighters whom the United States and Israel say have received arms and training from Iran. Hamas is believed to have about 25,000 fighters and has placed landmines and other traps in anticipation of an invasion.

Security Council failure

Frence Ambassadot to the U.N. Jean-Maurice Ripert

The U.N. Security Council ended its meeting early Sunday without reaching an agreement on a statement on the situation in the Gaza Strip, the French ambassador said.

The ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert who presides in the council this month, said members of the body could not agree on a statement that would call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

"There was no formal agreement between member states but I have noted strong convergences about our concern at the escalation of violence and the deterioration of the situation and strong convergences on our call for an immediate, durable and respected ceasefire," Ripert toldreporters after the meeting.

The United States thwarted an effort by Libya to persuade the Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire, diplomats said.

Several council diplomats said the U.S. refusal to back the Libyan-drafted demand for an immediate truce had killed the initiative, since council statements must be passed unanimously.

The text by Libya, the only Arab member of the council, expressed "serious concern at the escalation of the situation in Gaza, in particular, after the launching of the Israeli ground offensive" and called on all parties "to observe an immediate ceasefire".

The U.S. State Department said a ceasefire should take place "as soon as possible", in a statement that urged Israel to be "mindful of the potential consequences to civilians" but did not refer directly to the invasion or call for an immediate truce.

Washington, the statement said, was working towards a ceasefire that would not allow for a re-establishment of the status quo, "where Hamas can continue to launch rockets out of Gaza and to condemn the people of Gaza to a life of misery".

Statement of victory

Palestinian death toll since the start of an air campaign hit more than 485

Israel earlier said it called up tens of thousands of reservists and the military's chief spokesman estimated the operation in the Hamas-run territory could take "many long days".

Heavy casualties are likely to increase international pressure on Israel to halt its biggest operation in the Gaza Strip in four decades, fighting that holds significant political risks for Israeli leaders ahead of a Feb. 10 national election.

The plight of the 1.5 million Palestinians crammed into the Gaza Strip was growing more desperate. People have taken shelter in their homes for days and humanitarian agencies warned that water, food and medical supplies were running short.

A spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said Israeli troops faced certain death or capture. "The Zionist enemy must know his battle in Gaza is a losing one," said the spokesman, Abu Ubaida.

"We have prepared the statement of victory for you (Palestinians) ... and you will see it soon," said Hamas official Ismail Radwan. "Gaza will not be a picnic. Gaza will be a graveyard for you (Israelis)."

At least a quarter of the Palestinians killed in the current conflict have been civilians, a U.N. agency said. A leading Palestinian rights group put the number at 40 percent.