Three Israeli soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, bringing to nine the total death toll of the army in battle.
One was killed in a close gunfight with Hamas militants, one by Palestinian sniper fire, and the third in an anti-tank missile attack, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), adding that several other soldiers were wounded in these incidents.
The latest deaths added to another six killed earlier in the ongoing ground incursion launched on Saturday night, including four fallen in two friendly fire incidents.
So far, 13 Israelis have died since the IDF staged the so-called Operation Cast Lead, with the other four killed by rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled strip.
As Israeli troops are being engaged in fierce fighting in densely populated areas, more casualties are expected. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said that Israel might have to pay heavy cost in order to restore quiet to its southern land.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday hinted that his government might further escalate the ongoing offensive, which would see tens of thousands of reserve soldiers enter the coastal area, where over 760 Palestinians have been killed and over 3,000 others injured.
Meanwhile, under mounting pressure from the international community, the Jewish state sent a delegation to Cairo on Thursday for talks on a possible ceasefire.
Source:Xinhua
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