The head of the UN has urged Israel and Hamas to end the fighting in Gaza, telling them to “just stop, now”. 

Speaking ahead of a visit to the Middle East to push for a ceasefire, Ban Ki-moon said “too many people have died” and there has been too much civilian suffering.

It comes amid reports Israeli troops are fighting battles with Hamas gunmen as they move into the suburbs of Gaza City.

Artillery and attack helicopters and navy gunboats, which shelled the coast from the west, backed up the ground forces.

An Israeli army spokesman confirmed fighting in several areas, as the war to end rocket fire from the Gaza Strip entered its 18th day.
 
Israeli troops enter the Gaza Strip

Special forces advanced into the southern neighbourhood of Tal al Hawa after midnight (2200 GMT) and were ambushed by Palestinian fighters, according to witnesses.

Tanks then pushed into the district and opened fire, supported by aerial bombing.

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al Qassam Brigades, said fighters had knocked out two Israeli tanks in the Zeitun area with rocket-propelled grenades. Israel denied the claim.

One Palestinian was killed by tankfire in Zeitun, medics said. It is not yet known if the victim was a fighter or a civilian.

And witnesses said three people were hurt when an air strike destroyed a house in the Sheikh Radwan district.

“We are tightening the encirclement of the city,” said the commander of the operation, Brigadier Eyal Eisenberg.

“We are not static. We are careful to be constantly on the move.”
The move came hours after the Israeli Prime Minister warned militants they would face an “iron fist” unless they agreed to Israel’s terms to end the fighting.

“We will continue to strike with full strength, with full force until there is quiet and rearmament stops,” Ehud Olmert said.

More than 900 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israeli operation on December 27, Palestinian medics say.

Ten Israeli soldiers have died, along with three civilians killed in rocket and mortar fire from Gaza.