Israeli fire hits U.N., media facilities in Gaza

JERUSALEM AND GAZA CITY â€”  On a day of action on military and diplomatic fronts, Israeli soldiers Thursday drove deep into Gaza City, killed two top Hamas leaders and incurred withering international criticism for shelling a United Nations compound full of provisions for refugees.

Despite the assault, Hamas fighters managed to fire at least 26 rockets and mortar shells at southern Israel. A rocket seriously wounded a woman and a 7-year-old boy in Beersheba, about 26 miles from Gaza, and injured three others.

But there also were signs that a cease-fire deal was within reach. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni boarded a midnight flight to Washington, where she was expected to sign an agreement with U.S. diplomats for aggressive interdiction of rockets and other arms to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

U.S. officials in Washington said Livni would meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to work out details of an understanding concerning the U.S. security assurances. Another Israeli envoy consulted with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after meeting in Cairo with Egyptian officials, key players in the proposed anti-smuggling agreement.

Olmert called Rice to say that Israel wanted to pursue the “Egyptian track� to end the military operation, officials said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who met with Livni and other leaders after arriving from Cairo, expressed hope for a resolution.

“I believe from my talks in Egypt that the elements are in place for this violence to end now,� he said in Jerusalem.

Moreover, there is widespread belief in Israel that its leaders will end the combat before President-elect Barack Obama takes office Tuesday to avoid getting off on the wrong foot with the new administration.

Death still ruled the streets and skies of Gaza City on the 20th day of the offensive. An Israeli airstrike obliterated a three-story building in the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing Said Siam, 49, who as Hamas’ interior minister oversaw the police and other security forces. Israeli and Palestinian officials said the attack also killed Siam’s brother, Iyad, and one of Siam’s deputies, Salah abu Sharah, who was head of the domestic security apparatus.

Said Siam, a former teacher, was one of the top five political figures in Hamas and very close to its military wing. Hamas members eulogized him with defiant rhetoric.

“We will not wave white flags or surrender,� said Osama Hamdan, a Beirut-based Hamas figure. “This is evidence that Hamas leaders are in the battlefield and not hiding.�

At least 70 Palestinians were killed Thursday, according to Gaza medical sources, bringing the death toll to about 1,100. Thirteen Israelis have died, including three civilians killed by rocket fire from Gaza and four soldiers slain by “friendly fire.�

The war has plunged Gaza, already squeezed under an 18-month blockade, into a humanitarian crisis, with food, fuel, electricity and medicine in short supply.

Israeli forces advanced to within half a mile of the heart of Gaza City, their deepest penetration yet into the densely populated area, according to Adnan abu Hasna, a spokesman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.

Artillery fire hit an UNRWA compound where at least 700 Palestinians had sought shelter and thousands of gallons of fuel were stored. The shelling set the compound ablaze, destroying thousands of pounds of badly needed food and medicine. Three U.N. employees were injured.

“This fire is threatening to consume all the other buildings surrounding ours,� Abu Hasna said.

In Jerusalem, Secretary-General Ban expressed “strong protest and outrage� over the attack and demanded an explanation. Olmert said Israeli forces had returned fire at Hamas fighters in or near the U.N. site.

“It is absolutely true that we were attacked from that place, but the consequences are very sad and we apologize for it,� Olmert said. “I don’t think it should have happened, and I’m very sorry.�

However, U.N. officials denied that Hamas militants fired from the compound.

Israeli leaders accuse Hamas of taking refuge in U.N. installations, hospitals, schools, mosques and other sensitive buildings in Gaza, and of using civilians as human shields.

Authorities in Israel took criticism from foreign media after gunfire hit a building that houses offices of media organizations, which rely on local employees because Israel has banned their correspondents from the Gaza Strip. At least one photographer was injured, according to the Reuters news agency, which has an office in the building.

“We call on the military to halt this fire immediately,� the Foreign Press Assn. of Jerusalem said in a statement. “These are buildings housing journalists working for international news agencies and must not be targeted. We note that these buildings are well-known landmarks in Gaza and that the [military] has been clearly notified of their location on several occasions.�

An Israeli rights group accused the military of violating rules of war.

“There is a sense that the Israeli forces do not care about hitting civilians,� said Dan Yakir, an attorney who runs the Assn. for Civil Rights in Israel. “It is true that Hamas fights from within the civilian population . . . but the fact that Hamas commits war crimes does not give Israel the right to use the same currency and do the same.�

Overall, though, Israeli opinion remains strongly behind the war because of the persistent rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel. Most rockets land without harming people, but on Thursday one did cause injuries.

About 4:55 p.m., an air raid siren in Beersheba caused a row of cars to stop and passengers to scramble out and hit the ground. A mother shielded her 7-year-old son, but he suffered a serious head injury from a rocket that exploded nearby.

During a visit to naval forces in nearby Ashdod, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the military offensive was on track to forcing a diplomatic accord.

“We set out to bring peace to the south and create a situation in which effective action against smuggling shall be taken on the border,� Barak said. “The fighting continues in order to achieve these two things. At the same time, our eyes are also open to the possibility of concluding this move, and completing the results and the army’s outstanding achievements through the diplomatic system.�

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Abu Alouf is a special correspondent.