Brown calls for Gaza ceasefire

Gordon Brown has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza amid the worst fighting in the region for decades. The Prime Minister spoke out as Israeli troops battled Palestinian militants on the outskirts of Gaza City after cutting the Palestinian enclave in half in a night-time advance. Soldiers and Hamas fighters were locked in gun battles east of the Hamas stronghold of Zeitoun. The ruling Islamist group said it had captured two Israeli soldiers but the Israeli army could not confirm the report. Israeli shells killed at least five Palestinian civilians and wounded 40 others when they exploded in Gaza City's main shopping area, medics said. The ground invasion followed a week of Israeli bombardments from land, sea and air which failed to halt Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel but killed more than 450 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In initial clashes, Israeli ground forces killed eight Gazans, five of them fighters. Four Palestinians were killed when a house was struck by an Israeli missile in Rafah. Israel said 30 of its soldiers were wounded, two seriously, since the start of the ground assault. Israeli aircraft have struck more than 45 targets, including arms smuggling tunnels, weapons depots and mortar squads. The Jewish state has 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". Humanitarian agencies said the plight of the 1.5 million Palestinians crammed into the Gaza Strip is growing more desperate. People have taken shelter in their homes for days and water, food and medical supplies are running short. Gordon Brown said: "What we've got to do is work harder than we've done for an immediate ceasefire. The Israelis must have some assurance that there are no rocket attacks coming into Israel." In New York, the UN Security Council held a special meeting to discuss the latest developments. The US refused to back a Libyan-drafted demand for an immediate truce. On Saturday, at least 10,000 people packed London's Trafalgar Square in the biggest of a series of rallies at home and abroad demanding an end to the military action. Police later made 15 arrests outside the Israeli Embassy in South Kensington, claiming protesters tried to break through barriers and throw missiles.

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ITN | January 4, 2009

Tags:. .rafah. .gazans. .reservists. .enclave. .stronghold