The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Gaza

Israeli forces killed 20 Palestinians, most of them civilians including a Reuters cameraman, in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Wednesday, medical officials and witnesses said.

The attacks came after three Israeli troops died in a Hamas ambush near a border fuel pipeline. But despite the bloodiest day's toll in more than a month, Israel allowed European-funded fuel into Gaza to keep its only power plant operational. "The fuel has started to go through," said the European Union official, referring to the Nahal Oz terminal, close to the scene of clashes in which the three soldiers died. Seventeen Palestinians, at least 11 of them civilians, were killed in Israeli assaults, Hamas and medical officials said. The dead included Fadel Shana, 23, a Reuters cameraman who was felled while trying to film in central Gaza. Footage from Shana's camera showed an Israeli tank firing a shell in his direction from several hundred meters (yards) away.

Israel struck hard against targets in Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 20 Palestinians in a day of heavy fighting that also saw three Israeli soldiers killed in a Hamas ambush. Several civilians were among the dead - including five children and a Reuters cameraman killed while covering the conflict, according to Palestinian officials. The surge in violence came after a relatively quiet month and threatened to unravel an Egyptian effort to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

Wednesday's death toll was the highest since a broad Israeli military offensive in early March killed more than 120 Gazans, including dozens of civilians. Since then, Israel and Hamas appeared to be honoring an informal truce, though punctuated with Palestinian rocket attacks, some Israeli airstrikes and minor border skirmishes.