Deadly conflict continues in Gaza strip

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-17-2009 14:34

The deadly conflict in the Middle East has entered into its 21st day. Israeli military forces continued their offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, despite calls by UN chief Ban Ki-moon for a unilateral cease-fire.

Smoke rises during Israel's offensive in the northern Gaza Strip January 14,2009.(Amir Cohen/Reuters)

More than 11-hundred Palestinians have been killed and about five-thousand others wounded in three weeks of fighting.

Meanwhile, medical staff in Gaza are accusing Israel of using phosphorus shells, an incendiary agent that can cause horrific injuries.

Israeli military said that before dawn on Friday, its aircraft struck about 40 targets all over Gaza.

An official Israeli statement said targets included smuggling tunnels along the Egyptian border a rocket launcher ready for firing as well as a mosque that housed a tunnel entrance that was also used to store arms.

Meanwhile, Palestinian medical officials reported that an 11-year-old girl was killed in a shelling in northern Gaza.

Medical sources also say two Palestinians were killed in Gaza City when an airstrike hit their car.

On the same day, rockets launched from the Gaza Strip fell on various southern Israeli towns.

There were reports of minor injuries.