Deadliest day yet in Gaza as Israel lost 13 soldiers

Grinning Israeli tank commanders have been pictured flashing the victory signs as they blast their way through Gaza in the bloodiest day of the offensive so far – as one resident of the troubled region said: ‘The gate of hell has opened.’

At least 65 people have been killed since this morning’s dawn strike on Gaza City’s Shijaiyah neighbourhood – including the son, daughter-in-law and two small grandchildren of a senior Hamas leader.

Hamas says it has captured an Israeli soldier – a scenario that has proven to be fraught with difficulties for the country in the past – but Israel’s U.N. Ambassador has denied the claims.

The neighbourhood has come under heavy tank fire as Israel widened its ground offensive against Hamas, causing hundreds of residents to flee.

The dead and wounded – including dozens of women and children – have reportedly been left in streets, with ambulances unable to approach.

Early this morning, the wounded from Shijaiyah were rushed to Gaza City’s central Shifa Hospital. Frantic parents carried children wounded by shrapnel and the emergency room quickly overflowed, forcing doctors to treat some patients on mattresses in a hallway.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing said on Sunday the group had captured an Israeli soldier during fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking on a Hamas television station, the masked spokesman, Abu Ubaida, said: ‘We have captured a Zionist soldier and the occupation has not admitted that.’

The claims raised the spectre of Gilad Shalit, who was captured by Hamas in 2006 and only released in exchange for 1,027 prisoners – many convicted of terror offences – in 2011.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor later insisted there was no kidnapped Israeli soldier and dismissed Hamas’s televised announcement.

‘There’s no kidnapped Israeli soldier and those rumours are untrue,’ Prosor told reporters at the United Nations as the Security

Throughout the night, loud explosions shook Gaza as Israeli flares lit up the night sky and fighter jets flew low over the densely populated territory.

Today’s battle was the deadliest so far in Israel’s three-day-old ground offensive, which followed 10 days of heavy airstrikes on targets linked to Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

The mass casualties in the district in northeast Gaza appeared to be the heaviest since Israel launched its offensive on the Palestinian territory on July 8 after cross-border rocket strikes by militants intensified.

The Hamas military wing said its fighters exchanged fire with Israeli forces in Shijaiyah and a nearby neighborhood. The sound of gunfire could be heard from the centre of the city.

One resident, Jawad Hassanain, said Israeli tanks entered the community after midnight and fired heavily. He said: ‘The gate of hell has opened, and shrapnel came through the windows. All you could hear is heavy bombardment, the smell of fire and the smell of death.’

Several diplomats are tweeting about the meeting. French Ambassador Gerard Araud tweeted that the meeting is being held at the request of council member Jordan. The U.N. spokesman’s office says it cannot confirm the meeting.

Israeli soldiers uncovered 34 shafts leading into about a dozen underground tunnels, some as deep as 30 meters, that could be used to carry out attacks, the military said.

Still, Palestinian gunmen disguised in Israeli uniforms managed to infiltrate Israel from Gaza using another tunnel and today killed two Israeli soldiers and injured several others, the military said. At least one Palestinian was killed in the clash.

Hamas said 12 of its fighters participated in the attack and that the group took some of the soldiers’ weapons back to their hideouts.

In two other confrontations, Palestinian gunmen jumped out of tunnels and shot at soldiers who returned fire. Two of the gunmen were killed. Another militant died when the explosive vest he was wearing went off, the military said.

In one instance, the militants were found with tranquilizers and handcuffs, indicating they ‘intended to abduct Israelis,’ according to the military.