By NNN-KUNA,
Gaza : According to media reports aired Saturday, an unidentified number of Israeli soldiers were killed and injured within the early hours of the ground incursion to Gaza, whereas the Israeli Navy had bombarded coastal areas before the strip.
Some 25 Israeli soldiers were either killed or injured during the second phase of the wide-scale military operation dubbed “Cast Lead”, which entered its eighth day; Al-Arabiya TV channel quoted anonymous Israeli sources as saying.
These reports were authenticated by sources at the de facto Hamas Movement in Gaza, where they said that fighters of Palestinian factions managed to launch several attacks on Israeli forces, as they detonated an anti-individual explosive device at an Israeli military convoy, which resulted in the casualties.
To that, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak “indirectly” warned the Lebanese Hezbollah militia from attempting any attacks on Israel shortly after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s televised speech earlier tonight, in which he called on Hamas to cause more damage, in terms of human casualties, amid Israeli soldiers.
In a related development, Palestinian medical sources said that Israeli warplanes had bombarded a building in al-Shujaeya neighborhood, which resulted in killing three Palestinians; an old man, a woman and a child.
Members of one family had also sustained injuries due to an air strike at Beit Lahya, the sources added, noting that nine more Palestinians had sustained injuries due to an air raid near Gaza borders.