Jerusalem: Dozens of armed Palestinians have been killed so far in Israel's ground offensive in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, a military source told AFP several hours after the launch of the operation.
“Dozens of terrorists have been killed and dozens of others have been wounded. There are no losses on the Israeli side,” the source said on condition of anonymity on Saturday.
Palestinian medics in Gaza were not able to immediately comment on the claim.
Earlier Hamas said that it had killed many Israeli soldiers during clashes that broke out after tanks rolled in. Israeli tanks fought battles with Hamas forces as soon as they crossed into Gaza on Saturday.
Israeli tanks and troops had pushed into two areas of northern Gaza, one near the Erez crossing and another east of the town of Jabaliya, near an Islamic cemetery.
Israeli tanks opened fire on Hamas positions after entering the impoverished territory and Hamas forces replied with mortar fire, witnesses told AFP.
They said there were explosions and tank fire just north of Jabaliya, where Palestinian militants were responding with rocket fire.
A Palestinian child was killed and 11 other children were wounded in the strike, when a tank shell hit a house in eastern Gaza City, Gaza medics said.
Explosions and shooting could be heard in many areas as troops backed by Apache helicopters forged into the territory, they said. Several people were reported injured but exact figures were hard to obtain, an AFP correspondent said.
Israeli ground troops launched an offensive a week after the start of air strikes which killed at least 460 Palestinians and caused widespread destruction.
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