Gaza militants accused of stockpiling weapons

At least seven children are among the 12 Palestinian civilians killed in the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza. Three youngsters and their mother died when a tank shell hit their home in the Zeitoun neighbourhood. Elsewhere, seven members of a Palestinian family were killed in a strike on their home at Beach refugee camp. Meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli troops are moving deeper into Gaza as the second day of the ground assault gets under way. Supported by bombardments from land and sea, they have taken up positions on either side of Gaza City. The move follows a week of airstrikes that have killed at least 524 Palestinians and wounded around 1,700 others and which Israel says are aimed at stopping Hamas rocket attacks. On Sunday, 50 people, including many civilians, were killed. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak says offensive will continue until communities in Israel are safe from Hamas rocket strikes despite international pressure to secure a ceasefire. The region teeters on the brink of a humanitarian disaster with "grave" shortages of food and water and no electricity and water supplies. Save the Children has called for aid to be let in to the stricken area and said that 50,000 children are already suffering from chronic malnutrition. More than 2,000 families were displaced prior to the launch of the ground offensive on Saturday with charities expecting the number to increase significantly as fighting escalates. Politicians led by Prime Minister Gordon Brown have united to urge both sides to reach an immediate ceasefire. Mr Brown said it was vital that the international community, including the Arab League, worked together to find a workable solution to the problem. He said: "This is a very dangerous moment, I think everybody around the world is expressing grave concern. What we've got to do almost immediately is to work harder than we've done for an immediate ceasefire."

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ITN | January 5, 2009

Tags:. .workable. .harder. .malnutrition. .teeters. .stockpiling