100,000 said to be trapped in assault on north Gaza

Palestinians say civilians marooned; Israel claims 100 suspected militants nabbed in raid

CAIRO - Israeli tanks thrust deeper on Oct 28 into two north Gaza towns and a historical refugee camp, trapping around 100,000 civilians, the Palestinian emergency service said.

The Israeli military launched the operations to root out regrouping Hamas militants.

It said its soldiers captured around 100 suspected Hamas militants in a raid on the Kamal Adwan hospital in the Jabalia camp, but Hamas and medics denied any militant presence at the facility.

The Gaza Strip's health ministry said at least 19 people were killed by Israeli air strikes and bombardment on Oct 28, 13 of them in the north of the shattered coastal territory.

The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said around 100,000 people were marooned in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun without medical or food supplies.

Reuters could not verify the number independently.

The emergency service said its operations had ground to a halt because of the three-week-long Israeli assault back into the north, an area where the military said it had wiped out viable Hamas combat forces earlier in the year-long war.

As talks led by the US, Egypt and Qatar to broker a ceasefire resumed on Oct 27 after multiple abortive attempts, Egypt's president proposed an initial two-day truce to exchange four Israeli hostages of Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners, to be followed by talks within 10 days on a permanent ceasefire.

There was no public comment from Israel or Hamas, who have stuck to irreconcilable conditions for ending the war.