By RIA Novosti,
Gaza : A nine-year-old girl was killed by Israeli tank fire and a Hamas militant was shot dead during an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, local medics said.
The Israeli military are conducting a ground offensive in central Gaza, trying to stop daily rocket attacks from the enclave.
Militants fired more than 20 shells into Israel on Tuesday, and at least three Hamas fighters were killed and around six injured in an Israeli missile strike on eastern Gaza.
The latest clashes have coincided with top-level discussions in Israel on a possible ceasefire with Hamas under the mediation of Egypt. However, a new Israeli military large-scale offensive in Gaza is widely expected.
Israel has put restrictions on fuel supplies and deliveries of other essential goods to Gaza as part of its attempt to pressure Hamas to stop rocket attacks on Israeli border towns. The radical Islamic group seized control of the enclave from the pro-Palestinian presidential Fatah movement 12 months ago.