Israel, Hamas locked in fierce Gaza street battles

Abbas says Israel aims to "wipe out" Palestinians

Israel, Hamas locked in fierce Gaza street battles

Diplomatic efforts Tanks deeper into Israel Shortage of supplies

Smoke billows from the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

GAZA (AlArabiya.net, Agencies)

Israeli troops and Hamas fighters traded fierce gunfire on the streets of Gaza City on Tuesday as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas accused the Jewish state of trying to "wipe out" his people and diplomatic efforts to end the 18-day war continued on several fronts.

In Ramallah, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas accused Israel of aiming to "wipe out" the Palestinian people in Gaza by refusing to end its deadly war on Hamas in the battered enclave.

"This is the 18th day of the Israeli aggression against our people, which has become more ferocious each day as the number of victims rises," Abbas said at the opening of a meeting of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

Egypt was on Tuesday holding talks with Hamas on Cairo's Gaza truce proposal, with an official calling for the Islamists to sign up "now" in the hope of announcing a ceasefire "before the end of the week."

Meanwhile the U.N. secretary-general headed to the Middle East to press for a truce as the Security Council was to hold closed-door consultations on the crisis later on Tuesday.

Diplomatic efforts The United Nations secretary general heads to the region United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon headed to the region to press for a truce in a week of talks with leaders in Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria. "My message is simple, direct, and to the point: the fighting must stop. To both sides, I say: Just stop now," Ban told reporters before his departure. Egypt pursued efforts to broker a ceasefire with Gaza, a territory that sits on its northern border. Meanwhile, Qatar's renewed call for an extraordinary Arab summit to discuss the Gaza bloodshed ahead of a scheduled summit in Kuwait highlighted the divisions among Arab governments over the Palestinians. Qatar, the only Gulf Arab state with ties to Israel, called late on Monday for an extraordinary summit, in a third such plea, and has proposed hosting the summit on Friday, according to newspaper reports. That is the same day that Arab foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Kuwait under Arab League auspices in response to a demand also by Qatar, adding to the confusion about Arab joint action.

Tanks deeper into Israel Palestinian ambulances wait for the ICRC and the Israeli Army to let them leave Gaza City for Egypt Despite a world drive to end the fighting, Israel pressed on with its offensive, sending its tanks into built-up areas in the city of Gaza, the deepest thrust since the attack began. Hamas said its forces detonated explosives beneath Israeli armor and fought with Israeli forces backed by helicopter gunships and naval fire in what appeared to be the most ferocious fighting since Israel sent ground troops into Gaza 10 days ago. Palestinian medics said at least 913 people in Gaza have been killed in the Israeli attacks launched since Dec. 27 in the territory. The health minister in Gaza's Hamas-run government said close to 400 of those were women and children. Israel has confirmed 10 soldiers killed and three civilians from mortars and rockets fired from coastal Gaza. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded in a "friendly fire" incident in Gaza on Monday night, a military spokesman said. Violence was also reported in the occupied West Bank, where gunmen shot and wounded four soldiers while shooting at an Israeli vehicle, a military spokesman said. The bloodshed has burst open fault lines in the map of Middle East diplomacy, with the Bush administration in its final week standing behind Israel, Europe pressing Israel to call off its attacks and Arab leaders speaking out against the Jewish state.

Shortage of supplies Ismail Haniya said Hamas would only negotiate a truce if Israel pulled back all its forces International Committee of the Red Cross chief Jakob Kellenberger arrived in the Gaza Strip at the start of a three-day visit to the Occupied Territories and Israel, his agency said Tuesday. Kellenberger, the agency's president, is planning to hold talks with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials and to visit the embattled Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip, the ICRC said in a statement. Human rights groups have reported shortages of vital supplies including water, in Gaza, due to the fighting. A fuel shortage has brought frequent power blackouts. Israel has permitted almost daily truck shipments of food and medicine. Israeli leaders, facing a Feb. 10 election, have given few clues on how long they would continue the offensive. Analysts have cited Obama's coming inauguration on Jan.20 as a factor pushing for an end to the fighting. Hamas rejects Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, and opposes U.S.-backed peace talks with Israel conducted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007.