Israel Rebuffs Peace Efforts, Driving Deeper Into Gaza

GAZA — Backed by fire from air, sea and land, Israeli troops and tanks pushed deeper into Gaza on Monday after rebuffing diplomatic efforts to end the 10-day assault.

Even as President Nicolas Sarkozy of France readied a new quest for a cease-fire, Israeli forces took control of rocket-launching areas and surrounded Gaza City after slicing through the center of the beleaguered territory on Sunday.

Despite the onslaught, Hamas militants continued to lob rockets into southern Israel, witnesses said, as Gaza residents, fearful of growing casualties, faced severe power shortages and other deprivations. The reported death toll of Palestinians passed 500 since the assault began, including 100 said to be civilians.

Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, insisted Monday that Israel was “not only defending its right to defend itself” but was also waging a regional campaign “against extremism and against terror.”

She was speaking at a press conference after meeting with envoys from the European Union, whose rotating presidency is currently held by the Czech Republic.

Ms. Livni defended Israel’s actions, saying Israel had acted to “change the equation” that existed before it struck against Hamas when, she said, Hamas had been able to fire rockets at will and Israel showed restraint.

From now on, "When Israel is targeted, Israel is going to retaliate," she said.

Hospital officials in Gaza said 81 Palestinians had died so far in the ground offensive, which is now in its third day, and more than 400 had been injured.

Witnesses and hospital officials reported on Monday that 11 members of one family, including five children, died in one air strike and, according to Reuters, three children were killed in a separate incident as Israeli shellfire fell on Gaza.

At Gaza City’s Shifa main hospital, survivors of the Al-Samouni family said Israeli forces had ordered them to evacuate their homes in the Zaitoun neighborhood as the ground offensive moved closer toward the city. Family members said they had moved into another apartment house when it was struck by a missile fired from an Israeli warplane at 6 a.m. on Monday.

Masouda Al-Samouni, 20, said she had been preparing food for her 10-month-old son when the missile struck. “He died hungry,” she said in an interview.

Hamas, the Islamist militant group that governs Gaza, had warned that Israeli ground troops would find themselves trapped, resulting in numerous casualties.

Israel reported the death of one soldier during the ground campaign. Four other Israelis, including civilians, were killed by shelling from Gaza since Israel began its assault on Dec. 27. The Israeli military, which said it was checking the reports of civilian deaths, also said it launched 30 air strikes overnight.

Senior Israeli officials said that the fighting could go on for days, if not weeks, and that calls for a cease-fire were premature. Apart from President Sarkozy’s mission to the region, set to begin Monday, the European Union and Egypt are engaged in contacts to try to build a truce. Mr. Sarkozy plans to visit Cairo, Jerusalem, Damascus and the West Bank city of Ramallah.

But as the outsiders talked, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak insisted that, while Hamas had “sustained a very heavy blow from us,” Gaza operation was not finished. “We have yet to achieve our objective,” he told Israel Radio.

Israel’s fundamental aim, he said, was “to change the reality of security for the south” of the country, which is threatened by Hamas missiles.

Hamas officials in Gaza said two senior officials from the organization had been invited to Cairo to discuss the crisis with the Egyptian authorities.

As the ground offensive unfolded on Sunday, Israel aimed its power at Hamas’s fighters and infrastructure and said its forces had killed several dozen militants, including a senior leader, and destroyed a smuggling tunnel.

Palestinian officials did not confirm the militants’ deaths, and it was difficult for foreign news organizations to verify Israel’s claims, because journalists have been restricted from entering Gaza.

At Shifa hospital, dozens of casualties seen being brought in over many hours all appeared to be civilians.

Most of the fighting was taking place in northern and eastern Gaza, in areas not far from the Israeli border. But at least five civilians were killed and many wounded on Sunday when Israeli shells or rockets landed in the market of Gaza City while people were stocking up on supplies.