'Pain' of Sri Lanka aid pullout

Fears of a humanitarian crisis are mounting in northern Sri Lanka as troops press ahead with an offensive to capture territory from Tamil rebels. A week ago the UN and other agencies pulled out of the area, where more than 200,000 people are displaced by fighting. Here one aid worker describes how hard it was to leave.

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During my last weeks in Kilinochchi there was a foreboding sense of a massive army approaching from the south-west.

Children have to cope with frequent air raids Enlarge Image

The escalating war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government was bringing fighting closer to the town. It led to a massive movement of civilians in the region, known as the Vanni.

I never heard gunfire or sounds of close-quarters fighting, instead day and night there were constant thuds and booms of artillery and rockets fired from multi-barrel launchers landing in the distance.

Day after day, the constant rumble of heavy artillery got closer and closer. Twenty-four hours a day my office, bedroom, kitchen and bunker would be shaking with the thumps of shells landing. The sensation of the approaching doom was all too real with this kind of warfare.

As an aid worker I had been struggling to provide greatly needed assistance to the ever increasing number of people who had been displaced by the fighting.

They had fled from the unbearable noise and fear of the approaching artillery - at first this was happening mostly in the south-western areas of the Vanni. With few transport facilities families couldn't go far, just a few tens of kilometres, before they sheltered under trees.

As the military advanced the shelling caught up with them and often they had to move again after a couple of days. Many of these areas to the south-west of the Vanni were out of bounds for us as aid workers because of the high danger. But as the military advanced further the people moving ahead of them came closer to Kilinochchi, and we began to meet them and hear their stories of multiple displacements.

I saw children shaking with fear and mothers trying to calm them while they themselves were shaking with fear In pictures: Agony of the displaced

They were hungry, tired, afraid and traumatised. The children had not attended school for months, fathers had lost their means of making a living, such as fishing boats, nets and engines. Mothers were dealing with the raw emotion of just not being able to protect, feed and educate their families.

As aid workers we tried our best to provide shelter, water and sanitation facilities to the people; we built emergency camps in areas that we predicted would be safe havens for people to gather, but as the days went by and the army approached Kilinochchi, the distant rumble of artillery rapidly escalated into a constant roar of shells raining down, in and around the town. Our own security was jeopardised and we were unable to continue to provide further assistance.

The security situation spiralled to emergency levels; artillery and air attacks on Kilinochchi became a frequent event. The Sri Lankan government had put pressure on us to leave as they could not ensure our safety any more in the town. We were 10 international staff there by that time and we had to begin the heartbreaking task of trying to close our offices and relocate to government-controlled areas.

Sheer panic

Emotions were very high through those days, we were dealing with the guilt and frustration of having to leave at the time when humanitarian assistance was needed the most by the community that we had all got to know and develop strong relationships with. Stopping our programmes was professionally hard, but our staff became the focal point of our emotional state.

The LTTE has a pass system for those who want to leave the Vanni for government areas. Many of our staff members were simply refused a pass for one reason or another.

The passes are granted to individuals, not families, so those who were granted one had a heartbreaking decision to make, whether to leave their spouse and children behind under a barrage of shells and air attacks to come with us to continue to work and earn money, or to stay behind with their family and face the possibility of being forced to join the LTTE and sent to fight.

To manage, advise and counsel our staff through this process was the hardest thing emotionally I and many of us had ever dealt with. As the roar of the shells got ever closer to Kilinochchi the urgency of the decision-making increased and staff had to begin to move to government areas, leaving their loved ones behind.

I remember one morning when an air attack happened very close to me. I managed to get into the bunker quickly and narrowly escaped being hurt. I will never forget the noise of that fighter jet, the unbelievable sound of the engine as it swooped from the sky and the explosions of the bombs dropped close by.

But the lasting image I have is of the sheer panic and traumatised people when I emerged. As aid agencies we have concrete fortified bunkers, but the population of Kilinochchi has muddy holes in the ground. I saw children shaking with fear and mothers trying to calm them while they themselves were shaking with fear.

We shared tears, we shared the feelings of terror and intense guilt, and we left

We were scheduled to leave Kilinochchi on Friday, 12 September but large-scale protests were held outside our compounds. The people were chanting "Don't Leave, Don't Leave".

The demonstrators were so polite and respectful to us. They were not angry, they were desperate. They understood that we needed to end our operations, and told us that they would manage themselves with shelter and water.

It was the prospect of our physical departure that terrified them. With no international presence and no witness to the conflict, they believed that many atrocities would occur and no one would see this.

For three days the protests continued. We all understood and felt their fear but our hands were tied. The situation was becoming incredibly dangerous; some international aid workers had to leave their compounds and move to "safer areas" as artillery shells were landing within a few hundred metres of our compounds.

For the final two days in Kilinochchi we spent much time in our bunkers as the artillery and air attacks intensified in and around the town. The sound through these days was tremendous, everything would shake and the air implode as the shells landed. In the near distance we could hear the terrifying sound of helicopter gunships, firing rockets.

The residents of Kilinochchi town began to leave, moving further north, away from the approaching artillery. It was clear we would have to go too the following day or we would be stuck there.

Shame

On the morning of 16 September we lined our vehicles up at our compound and under heavy shelling and air attacks, wearing bullet-proof vests and helmets, we drove out of Kilinochchi town and headed for the government areas.

Troops are now near Kilinochchi

We left a number of our staff, who could not get passes, behind. We shared tears, we shared the feelings of terror and intense guilt, and we left.

I remember feeling deep shame as I drove past civilians who were watching me from the side of the road, in my ballistic vest, heading for safety, as they stood there in their trousers and shirts and saris. We drove through the site of a fresh air attack on the A9 road and once again saw the devastation it caused and understood what may come for Kilinochchi and its civilian population.

Although I appreciate and respect the security rules that govern aid workers and understand why we had to leave, I still have to deal with a great sense that I abandoned those people. There is the pain and guilt of saying goodbye and good luck to our staff who had worked so hard and with such passion for the victims of war in the Vanni - and leaving them behind.

A fearful end to Sri Lanka's war?

Sri Lanka's government says it is nearing victory in its 25-year conflict with the Tamil Tigers, but as Roland Buerk explains the war will leave a bitter legacy.

Sri Lanka's government believes it is now winning the 25-year war

The Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter flew fast and low out of Anuradhapura, heading north.

The white domes of the ancient city's Buddhist temples stood high over the green canopy of the treetops.

Flares thumped out of tubes on the helicopter's side, bright red sparks trailed thick white smoke into the jungle just below, a defence against being shot down.

We were being flown to meet soldiers taking part in the military's offensive against the Tamil Tigers. Not too close to the battlefields though: Sri Lanka's government carefully controls access by journalists.

Stronghold seized

But it was still a chance to meet commanders on the ground. Lt Col KNS Kotuwegoda said the fighting was like Vietnam, bunkers and booby traps in the jungles.

Only a day or so before, one of his men lost a leg when he stepped on a landmine. But the Lt Col said morale was high and the troops were confident of inflicting a final crushing defeat on the Tamil Tigers, and soon.

For supporters of Sri Lanka's ethnic majority Sinhalese-led government these are the best of times. They scent victory after a generation of bloodshed and loss.

The news from the battlefields of the north, or certainly the version given by the Ministry of Defence, has been relentlessly upbeat.

In recent months soldiers have driven the Tigers, who want a separate state for the ethnic Tamil minority, from the entire north-western coast.

They now seem poised to capture Kilinochchi from which the separatist rebels have administered areas under their control.

The fall of the town would be a hugely symbolic moment, although it would not mean the end of the war, not yet.

Guns glut

The government has pursued victory against the Tigers hard since fighting resumed in mid 2006 after a ceasefire failed. Perhaps too hard.

There are allegations of human rights abuses, abductions, killings and disappearances, especially in the east. There are an awful lot of guns there for a province that was, to quote the government, "liberated", from the Tamil Tigers last year.

As we drove down the main A15 road that runs parallel with the coast, but just inland, we were flagged down every few minutes by heavily armed soldiers and police officers at checkpoints.

They looked at our identity documents and sometimes poked around in the back of the van.

Fighting resumed in 2006 after a ceasefire failed

In Sri Lanka's Eastern Province we passed police stations and small army camps that had been turned into mini fortresses with earth embankments, look out towers made of old railway sleepers and ammunition boxes, and roll after roll of razor wire.

And then there were the offices of the party now in power with the support of the government in Colombo, the TMVP. They were also heavily guarded.

Abduction claims

A breakaway faction of the Tamil Tigers, they still have guns too. We could see the barrels of assault rifles poking over the top of their look out towers.

Sometimes their men, wearing check shirts and rubber sandals, and a gun slung casually over the shoulder, would stand openly in the street.

One mother went to the local TMVP camp to ask for her son's release, and saw him with his hands tied and bearing marks of a beating

The TMVP's defection weakened the Tigers, who are themselves accused of serious human rights abuses, and helped government forces to drive the rebels from the east.

And even though they were still armed, the TMVP were allowed to run on a government ticket in provincial elections earlier this year.

They won, and a former Tamil Tiger child soldier is now Chief Minister of the East, but they have been accused of carrying out abductions and killings.

The woman we went to meet in her small bare concrete house outside the town of Batticaloa did not care much about politics, she just wanted her son back.

'Mothers of the disappeared'

As did the mothers of two boys who were taken with him, who we also met.

Mangy stray dogs leapt up, barking, from their dozing places under the trees of the otherwise bare sandy garden as we approached, before the lady of the house saw them off with a few well aimed stones.

The Tamil Tigers were driven from the east, and are losing the north

The women complained that a year ago their boys, in their late teens and early 20s, were taken away on suspicion of being involved with the Tamil Tigers.

One mother went to the local TMVP camp to ask for her son's release, and saw him with his hands tied and bearing marks of a beating.

But she was sent away after being told the young men would be released in the morning. However they were not and the women described going back fruitlessly again and again, as the days turned to weeks, then months, with no word on their fate.

Human rights groups say there have been hundreds of such cases reported in Sri Lanka in recent years, blamed on paramilitaries and elements of the security forces.

The government insists almost all are fabrications intended to discredit it and its new found allies, that alleged victims did not disappear at all, but have gone abroad, or eloped.

So Sri Lanka's war may be drawing slowly to a close but it seems bound at least to leave in its wake a legacy of fear and deep distrust.

Key loss will test Tamil Tigers

Troops raised the flag in nearby Terumarikandi as they closed in on Kilinochchi

By Ethirajan Anbarasan BBC News, Colombo

The Sri Lankan army's capture of the northern town of Kilinochchi marks a new phase in the fighting between the security forces and the Tamil Tiger rebels.

With its fall the rebels have now lost the biggest township they had under their control for more than a decade.

For the security forces, it will enable them to consolidate their domination of the key A9 highway, which links the Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the country.

The Tamil Tigers until recently had their administrative headquarters in the town. They proudly showcased offices of their political, police and judicial divisions to visiting foreign dignitaries and media. In fact, it acted like their de-facto capital.

See map of the region

It also helped the rebels to convince their supporters inside the country and the Tamil diaspora that they were running a parallel administration, a de-facto state in northern Sri Lanka.

"So, politically, the capture of Kilinochchi is highly symbolic for the Sri Lankan government," says Sri Lankan analyst DBS Jeyaraj.

He says now the government can gain political mileage by telling the majority Sinhala community in the south that it has dealt a severe blow to the Tamil Tigers and their claims for a separate Tamil homeland.

Land route

The Sri Lankan army lost Kilinochchi after a daring assault by the rebels about 10 years ago. The capture of the town helped the rebels to press ahead with their offensive up to the Jaffna peninsula.

The town was thrown into the international spotlight as the regular meeting place for the rebels and Norwegian peace facilitators and foreign envoys following the 2002 ceasefire agreement.

International donors also helped to rebuild some of the public buildings destroyed by years of intense fighting.

The Tamil Tigers put up stiff resistance around Kilinochchi

New shops opened, produce from surrounding areas started coming to the local market and the reopening of the A9 highway linked the town with the rest of the country.

International aid agencies used Kilinochchi as their main base to carry out work for the internally displaced people living in the Wanni region. Thousands of expatriate Tamils who visited Kilinochchi used to wax eloquently about the town.

"Militarily, Kilinochchi has no major significance but it will help the army to bring a major part of the A9 highway under their control," says Mr Jeyaraj.

With the A9 highway closed the government at the moment sends supplies to nearly 40,000 troops and civilians in the Jaffna peninsula by sea and air.

Now the troops can do what the rebels did to them 10 years ago. Once they consolidate their positions in and around the town, they can set their sights on Elephant Pass, the strategic land bridge leading to the Jaffna peninsula.

The Tigers' leader Velupillai Prabhakaran vows the fight will go on

If they are successful in their offensive to capture Elephant Pass, then the rebels will be forced to withdraw from their crucial defence lines further up the peninsula.

The entire A9 highway would possibly come under army control and the government.

But as the government rejoices over the capture of Kilinochchi, its residents are wary. They say the town has seen nothing but war and destruction in the past two decades.

"It has changed hands many times in the past. As civilians we have to bear the brunt of the fighting. We just want peace," a Tamil woman from Kilinochchi, now living in Colombo, said.

Without Kilinochchi, the guerrillas will be forced to operate from other smaller towns in the northern region that are still under their control.

But the army is also making an eastward move from the town of Mankulam, south of Kilinochchi, in an effort to confine the rebels mostly within Mullaitivu district.

Nevertheless, the capture of Kilinochchi is not the end of the Tamil Tiger movement. The rebels have shown their resilience in the past and with most of their heavy weapons and cadres intact, they may spring a surprise.

Even if the rebels lose control of other smaller towns and villages in the remaining areas, they may revert back to guerrilla warfare.

In his annual Heroes Day speech this November, the Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran vowed to fight on until the security forces were evicted from the Tamil areas.

"Whatever challenges confront us, whatever contingencies we encounter, whatever forces stand in our path, we will still continue with our struggle for the freedom of the Tamil people," he said.

It is too early to talk about the end of the conflict in Sri Lanka.

MAP OF THE REGION

Sri Lankan troops seize rebel HQ

Government troops have been advancing on Kilinochchi for months

Sri Lanka's military have seized control of the Tamil Tiger rebels' de facto capital of Kilinochchi, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has announced.

He described the taking of the northern town as an "unparalleled victory" for government forces.

A pro-Tamil website confirmed the news but said the town was mostly empty as the rebel fighters had moved out.

A suspected suicide bomber later killed two airmen in the capital, Colombo, the military said.

Correspondents say the loss of Kilinochchi will be a heavy blow to the rebel group.

See map of the region

The town is of huge symbolic importance to the Tigers, who had assembled there the trappings of a separate state they want for the ethnic Tamil minority.

We should pay the gratitude of the whole nation to those heroic soldiers who achieved that victory President Mahinda Rajapaksa In pictures: Kilinochchi advance

The Sri Lankan army has for months been advancing towards Kilinochchi, which has been in the hands of rebels for the last decade.

Both sides have recently claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties on each other in the north of the island.

But there have been no independent reports from the front line and it is impossible to verify either account of casualties.

Bitter fighting

"We should pay the gratitude of the whole nation to those heroic soldiers who achieved that victory," President Rajapaksa said in a nationally televised address.

He urged the rebel fighters to lay down their arms.

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Sri Lankan troops fighting in the north of the country

The pro-Tamil website TamilNet reported the occupation of Kilinochchi, saying troops had entered a "virtual ghost town" as the civilian population and rebels shifted further north-east.

It said most of the buildings in the town had been destroyed by continuous military strikes and added that rebel casualties had been kept low despite the fighting.

In Colombo, a suspected suicide bomber attacked the headquarters of the Sri Lankan air force, killing at least two personnel and wounding around 30 people, including nine airmen, officials say.

The scene of the bomb blast outside Sri Lanka's air force headquarters

Earlier on Friday, government officials said troops had entered Kilinochchi from three directions and predicted the town would fall within a few hours.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said troops had to overcome "enemy pockets" of rebel fighters.

On Thursday, the military said it had seized the strategically important junction of Paranthan, a crossroads north of Kilinochchi, in a bitter fight that lasted for hours.

It said the success at Paranthan had effectively cut the main supply line to several Tiger strongholds in the north of Sri Lanka.

Although the loss of Kilinochchi will be a blow to the Tigers, the head of its political wing, B Nadesan, told the BBC recently they would be able to continue fighting even if they lost the town.

The rebels would remain in possession of some territory to the east of the town down to Mullaitivu on the coast, although that too is under threat from government forces.

Correspondents say that while the government seems able to maintain the upper hand, heavy battles are likely still to lie ahead and there is concern about the fate of the large number of civilians in the Tiger-controlled north.

The rebels deny using them as human shields and reject allegations they are forcing people into their ranks to fight.

Renewed protests at Israeli raids

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Protests in the US, Indonesia, Iraq, Venezuela, Lebanon, Jordan and Argentina

Protests against the Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip have again been taking place, with rallies in several cities across the region.

For a second day in Jordan, several thousand protesters gathered in Amman and burned Israeli and American flags.

There were similar rallies in Egypt, Syria, Libya and Iraq with many calling for a firm response from their leaders.

One of the largest gatherings was in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, organised by the Hezbollah movement.

Tens of thousands of people poured on to the streets of southern Beirut, many carrying Palestinian, Lebanese and Hezbollah flags and banners supporting the Palestinian people, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Many held banners - one read "We are ready to die". One Palestinian woman was brandishing a Jambiyya Mohammed al-Qiri, Yemen Read eyewitness accounts

The rally was called for by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who in a speech on Sunday urged crowds in the Arab and Islamic world to rise up in support of Gaza.

He also urged his fighters in southern Lebanon, who fought a brief war with Israel in 2006, to be on alert in case of Israeli attacks.

In Amman demonstrators, responding to a call by Islamist-led trades unionists, marched to the office of Prime Minister Nader Dahabi and delivered a letter demanding Jordan scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel and close its embassy, the AFP news agency reported.

Egyptians staged their largest yet demonstration against Israel's offensive against the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, with thousands taking to the streets of central Cairo.

The rally was once again organised by the Islamist opposition in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Hamas first emerged.

Elsewhere in the Islamic world, there were anti-Israeli protests in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Gaza aid boat 'rammed by Israel'

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The damaged boat arrives at a Lebanese port

A boat delivering 3.5 tonnes of Cypriot medical aid to the Gaza Strip has been rammed by Israeli naval vessels in international waters, activists say.

The Free Gaza campaign group, which operates the Dignity, also claimed shots were fired towards the crew.

The boat later docked in Lebanon after sustaining serious damage to one side.

Israeli officials confirmed there had been "physical contact" but denied reports of shooting and said the crew had not responded to radio calls.

The 20m (66ft) Dignity was carrying 15 civilian passengers, including several doctors, journalists, a former US congresswoman and a member of the Cypriot parliament, says Free Gaza.

'Heavy gunfire'

Crowds turned out to greet the Dignity as it arrived in Tyre port.

The organisation sent out an urgent statement on Tuesday saying the vessel had been surrounded by at least six Israeli military ships.

"They are firing live ammunition around the Dignity, and one of the warships has rammed the civilian craft causing an unknown amount of damage," said the statement.

"We heard heavy gunfire in the background before all contact was lost with the Dignity."

The boat was eventually able to reach the Lebanese port of Tyre, where it was greeted by a flotilla of fishing boats.

Heavy damage was clearly visible along one side but there were no reports of any injuries.

The Dignity's captain, Denis Healey, told reporters in Tyre they had been attacked "without any warning, any provocation, or anything".

"There were two other gunboats on our portside with search lights shining at us, distracting us, while a third boat came from ahead and rammed us," he said.

Another crew member, British doctor David Halpin, described hearing "the most almighty three bangs" and said he thought he was going to die.

'Light damage'

The boat setting off from Cyprus with aid

A spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Yigal Palmor, said the navy had tried to contact the Dignity by radio to say it could not enter Gaza.

Much of the small region has been surrounded by a closed military zone since the Israeli bombardment began four days ago.

"After the boat did not answer the radio, it sharply veered and the two vessels collided, causing only light damage," said Mr Palmor.

Speaking before the ship set sail from Cyprus, spokesperson Renee Boyer said the crew were not taking the voyage lightly and did not expect it to be easy.

Free Gaza said the incident was "an act of terrorism", as well as a violation of international maritime law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The group has sent six boat loads of aid into the Gaza Strip in the past few months and said they would try again to deliver the medical supplies.

Gaza air campaign 'a first stage'

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Devastation in the Gaza Strip as Israeli forces gather on boundary

Israel's air assault on Gaza is "the first in several stages" of operations aimed at ending militant rocket fire, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said.

As bombing continued for a fourth day, another top official said Israel was ready for "long weeks of action".

Palestinian officials say more than 360 people have been killed since Saturday. Four Israelis have died in rocket fire.

As EU officials met to discuss the crisis, some reports from Israel said it was considering a temporary truce.

Mr Olmert was set to discuss the idea of a 48-hour suspension, suggested by France, with his officials later in the day, the French news agency AFP said.

But Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer warned a truce would allow militant group Hamas - which controls Gaza - "to regain strength... and prepare an even stronger attack against Israel".

US President Bush agreed in a telephone conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that for any ceasefire to be effective it had to respected by Hamas, the White House said.

A BBC reporter says Israeli tanks and troops are massed along Gaza's border.

Correspondents say this could be a prelude to ground operations, but could also be intended to build pressure on Hamas.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of crossings to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, as EU foreign ministers held talks in Paris to discuss the crisis.

Foreign ministers from the Quartet trying to broker peace in the Middle East - the US, Russia, the UN and the EU - also held a conference call, no details of which were released.

'Defenceless population'

On Tuesday, Israeli jets attacked more targets linked to Hamas, hitting a number of government buildings and security installations.

See detailed map of attacks

At least 10 people were killed and 40 said to have been wounded in the raids.

One air strike killed two sisters, the eldest aged 11, riding in a donkey cart in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said.

Gaza aid boat 'rammed by Israel' US tacitly backs Israeli offensive Aid worker diary: Gaza raids Rocket attacks plague Israeli towns

The UN has called for an investigation into the attacks, which are causing heavy civilian casualties. It says at least 62 of the Palestinians killed so far were women and children.

Richard Falk - the UN special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories - said the international community must put more pressure on Israel to end its assault.

"Israel is committing a shocking series of atrocities by using modern weaponry against a defenceless population - attacking a population that has been enduring a severe blockade for many months," Mr Falk said in a BBC interview.

But Israeli officials said there was more to come.

The Israeli military "has made preparations for long weeks of action", deputy defence minister Matan Vilnai said.

Mr Olmert's statement that the bombardment was "the first of several stages approved by the security cabinet" was quoted from a briefing he gave to President Shimon Peres on Tuesday.

Separately, Israeli naval vessels confronted pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break the Gaza blockade by boat. The activists said one vessel rammed them; their boat made port in Lebanon with heavy damage on one side.

Rocket fire

The Egyptian-Gaza border was due to be opened to permit more trucks carrying aid to enter the territory, and for wounded Palestinians to be transported to Egyptian hospitals.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, under popular pressure to open the crossing fully, said that could not happen while Hamas, rather than the Palestinian Authority, led by its rival Fatah, controlled the border.

Demonstrators in Yemen, angered by Egypt's co-operation with the blockade on Gaza, briefly stormed the country's consulate in Aden, where they burned an Egyptian flag and hoisted a Palestinian one.

There have been angry protests against the Israeli offensive in many other cities across the Arab world and in several European capitals.

Binyamin Netanyahu: 'Terrorists cannot have immunity'

Hamas has pressed on with rocket and mortar assaults, killing three Israeli civilians and a soldier in areas that have not previously suffered such fatalities.

Israeli military officials said rocket attacks landing more than 25 miles (40km) from Gaza put nearly 10% of Israel's population of seven million within range.

Israeli political leaders have been under pressure to act against rocket fire with a general election looming in early February.

Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu has backed the offensive, telling the BBC that "Israel is using a fraction of its power to try to target surgically the terrorists".

The strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007.

Correspondents say short of a full-scale invasion of Gaza, it is unlikely Israel will be able to prevent rocket fire permanently.

Israel dismantled its strategic settlements and military bases in Gaza in 2005 but has kept tight control over access in and out of the narrow coastal strip and its airspace.

GAZA VIOLENCE 27-30 DECEMBER

1. Ashdod: First attack so far north, Sunday. Woman killed in second rocket attack, Tuesday
2. Ashkelon: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Monday
3. Sderot: rocket attacks
4. Nevitot: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Saturday
5. Civilian family reported killed in attack on Yabna refugee camp, Sunday
6. Israeli warplanes strike tunnels under Gaza/Egypt border, Sunday
7. Three brothers reported killed in attack on Rafah, Sunday
8. Khan Younis: Four members of Islamic Jihad and a child reported killed, Sunday. Security officer killed in air strike on Hamas police station, Tuesday
9. Deir al-Balah: Palestinians injured, houses and buildings destroyed, Sunday
10. Tel al-Hawa - Interior ministry and Islamic University badly damaged, Monday. At least three buildings in ministry compound hit, Tuesday
11. Gaza City port: naval vessels targeted, Sunday
12. Shati refugee camp: Home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya targeted, Monday
13. Intelligence building attacked, Sunday
14. Jebaliya refugee camp: several people killed in attack on mosque, Sunday 15. Beit Hanoun - two girls killed in air strike, Tuesday
16. Israeli soldier killed at unspecified military base near Nahal Oz border crossing - five other soldiers wounded in same rocket attack, Monday night.

Gaza rockets hit deep into Israel

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The Hamas rocket hit an empty kindergarten

Long-range rockets fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have landed in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, some 46km (28 miles) away.

No injuries or damage were reported after the rockets hit an empty school and fields in the city's north.

Correspondents say it is the furthest the Palestinian militants in Gaza have managed to strike.

The attacks came as Israel renewed its air strikes on Gaza for a fifth day, amid growing pressure for a ceasefire.

Two rockets also hit the nearby city of Ashkelon on Wednesday, injuring one person slightly.

It is not known exactly what rockets Hamas and other groups in Gaza have Israel says Hamas used the six-month truce to boost its arsenal through smuggling tunnels Grad-style missiles have reached Ashkelon since 2006 Recent strikes in Ashdod could be Iranian-made Oghab, Fajr-3 or Ra'ad missiles

Four Israelis have been killed by rocket fire from Gaza since the Israeli offensive began on Saturday. Palestinian officials say about 374 Palestinians have died, including at least 62 civilians.

Following the attack on Beersheba, an Israeli police spokesman said 860,000 Israelis - more than a tenth of the population - were now in range of Hamas rockets.

The BBC's Mike Sergeant in Jerusalem says that will only increase Israeli public support for continued military action.

Hamas's military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, says it plans to fire at Israeli targets that are even further away as long as the attacks on Gaza continue.

The Israeli air strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but has kept tight control over access in and out of Gaza and its airspace.

Israel rejects Gaza truce calls

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Gaza wakes up to another day of air strikes

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected international calls for a 48-hour truce in the Gaza Strip to allow in more humanitarian aid.

He said conditions were not right for a ceasefire, but did not rule one out if a "better security reality in the south" of Israel came about.

Israel has launched air strikes on Gaza for a fifth day, while more Hamas rockets have landed in southern Israel.

The town of Beersheba was hit, the deepest penetration by rockets so far.

Map: Gaza and Israel violence In pictures: Day five of strikes Gaza rockets hit deep into Israel Taking cover on Sderot front line

In the last five days, Israeli jets and attack helicopters have hit Hamas targets, including security compounds, government buildings, smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt and homes belonging to militant leaders.

Palestinian officials say about 391 Palestinians have died in the Israeli air strikes; four Israelis have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza, which is under Hamas control.

After meeting his cabinet, Prime Minister Olmert said conditions were not right for a ceasefire, but he did not rule one out in the future.

"If conditions will ripen, and we think there can be a diplomatic solution that will ensure a better security reality in the south, we will consider it. But at the moment, it's not there," he was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

Any ceasefire with Hamas had to be permanent, he said, adding that there was international consensus that Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel had to stop.

International appeals

The 48-hour ceasefire plan to allow more aid into Gaza, was proposed by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

The Hamas PM's offices were again attacked early on Wednesday

A Hamas spokesman quoted by AFP news agency criticised the current international truce proposals, saying they "put the executioner and victim on equal footing".

Fawzi Barhum said international and Arab efforts had to focus on "ending this aggression".

A European Union statement had called for an "unconditional" halt to Hamas rocket attacks.

The Arab League is also meeting in Cairo to discuss the crisis.

Hospitals depleted

On Wednesday, Israeli missiles again pounded tunnels along Gaza's Egyptian frontier, as well as an office of former Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and other buildings linked to his Hamas movement.

Rockets landed in and around the southern Israeli town of Beersheba, about 40 km (24 miles) from Gaza, on Wednesday and Tuesday.

Although no serious casualties were reported, this is the deepest that Palestinian rockets have penetrated inside Israel - something that will only increase Israeli public support for continued military action, observers say.

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Hamas rocket reaches Beersheba

A police spokesman said 860,000 Israelis were now in range of Palestinian rockets.

The UN says at least 62 Palestinian civilians have died since Saturday. Palestinian medical officials say more than 1,700 people have been injured, overwhelming Gaza's hospitals.

Red Cross spokesman in Gaza Iyad Nasr said Gaza badly needed more supplies.

"In particular the hospitals have been depleted and stretched to the maximum because of the closure imposed," he told the BBC.

Israel said it was allowing 106 lorries carrying humanitarian aid - including medical supplies - from a variety of international organisations into Gaza on Wednesday.

Closed military zone

The US - Israel's strongest ally - has called for a long-term solution beyond any immediate ceasefire. But the White House reiterated the onus was on Hamas to act first to end the violence.

It is not known exactly what rockets Hamas and other groups in Gaza have Israel says Hamas used the six-month truce to boost its arsenal through smuggling tunnels Grad-style missiles have reached Ashkelon since 2006 Recent strikes in Ashdod could be Iranian-made Oghab, Fajr-3 or Ra'ad missiles

An extra 2,500 reservists have been called up by the Israeli army and, on the frontier with Gaza, preparations continue for a possible ground operation.

Israel has massed forces along the boundary and has declared the area around it a "closed military zone".

Correspondents say this could be a prelude to ground operations, but could also be intended to build pressure on Hamas.

A statement by Hamas has warned any invasion would see "the children of Gaza collecting the body parts of Israeli soldiers and the ruins of tanks".

The Israeli air strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but has kept tight control over access in and out of Gaza and its airspace.

Israeli leaders 'to topple Hamas'

Tzipi Livni said Israel must react when it is fired upon

The two leading candidates to become Israel's next prime minister have vowed if elected to topple the Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas, in Gaza.

The threats by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Likud party leader Binyamin Netanyahu came after PM Ehud Olmert warned against making bold statements.

A six-month Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas, which runs Gaza, came to an end on Friday.

On Sunday rockets fired by militants in Gaza hit a house in the town of Sderot.

No-one was injured in the attack, though a worker at a nearby farming community was hurt when another device landed in a field.

The Israeli military has said militants fired some 30 rockets and mortar bombs into Israel on Saturday. A Palestinian militant was killed in an Israeli air strike.

'Proper response'

At the Israeli cabinet meeting on Sunday, the head of the country's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, said that Hamas had increased the range of its rockets during the ceasefire and could now hit several southern Israeli cities.

Israel will know how to give the proper response at the right time in the right way, responsibly Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert

Yuval Diskin said the rockets could now reach Kiryat Gat, Ashdod and even Beersheba, about 40km (25 miles) from Gaza.

He also told ministers that while Hamas had renewed its attacks, it was "interested in continuing the truce, but wants to improve its terms".

"It wants us to lift the siege [of Gaza], stop attacks, and extend the truce to include [the West Bank]," Mr Diskin added.

Hamas blamed Israel for the end of the ceasefire on Friday, saying it had not respected its terms, including the lifting of the blockade under which little more than humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza.

Israel said it initially began a staged easing of the blockade, but this was halted when Hamas failed to fulfil what Israel says were agreed conditions, including ending all rocket fire and halting weapons smuggling.

Each side accuses the other of breaking the ceasefire

Prime Minister Olmert said during the cabinet meeting that the government had agreed to the ceasefire with Hamas last June with little doubt or hesitation.

"Israel has always hoped for and wanted quiet for the residents of the South and that they should enjoy genuine calm and be free of the threat of unceasing Qassam and mortar attacks that have disrupted life in the South for a very long period," he said.

Mr Olmert and Defence Minister Ehud Barak also warned the cabinet and opposition parties against making "bold statements" about plans for a major military operation in Gaza.

"A government doesn't rush to battle, but doesn't avoid it either," Mr Olmert said. "Israel will know how to give the proper response at the right time in the right way, responsibly."

'Policy of attack'

Shortly afterwards, however, Ms Livni told a meeting of her Kadima party that she would topple Hamas if she became prime minister after the general election on 10 February.

Right now we have to go from passive response to active assault Benjamin Netanyahu Likud party

"The state of Israel, and a government under me, will make it a strategic objective to topple the Hamas regime in Gaza," she said. "The means for doing this should be military, economic and diplomatic.

"Israel must react when it is fired upon, must re-establish its force of dissuasion and stop the rockets," she added. "This is what has to be done and this is what I will do."

Mr Netanyahu, whose right-wing Likud party is currently ahead in the polls, meanwhile called for a more "active policy of attack", accusing the current government of being too "passive".

"In the long-term, the toppling of the Hamas regime is inevitable," he said while visiting Sderot on Sunday.

He said residents of southern Israeli towns close to the Gaza Strip were "paying a hefty price for the mistakes made by Livni and her ministers" since the Israeli withdrawal from the territory in 2005.

Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas government in Gaza and former Palestinian prime minister, dismissed the Israeli threats.

"Nothing can finish off our people," he said. "It is not our people who are escalating the situation; it is the Israeli occupation which should have stuck to the conditions of the truce."

The BBC's Katya Adler in Jerusalem says the countdown to February's election has started with the candidates eager to court an electorate fearful of the future.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that a "major escalation of violence would have grave consequences for the protection of civilians in Israel and Gaza, the welfare of the Gazan civilian population, and the sustainability of political efforts".