Gaza toll passes 300 as UN chief heads to region

GAZA CITY: Israeli strikes killed 20 people in Gaza Saturday, taking the death toll from a 12-day bombardment to 318, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon headed to the region to join truce efforts.

His peace push came as Israel was poised to intensify a ground operation inside the besieged Palestinian territory aimed at stemming rocket fire by militants, Gaza´s bloodiest conflict since 2009.The United States urged its Israeli ally to do more to limit the high civilian death toll from the operation while supporting the Jewish state´s right to defend itself.

President Barack Obama said Washington was "deeply concerned about the risks of further escalation and the loss of more innocent life."

He added that Washington was "hopeful" that Israel would operate "in a way that minimises civilian casualties".

But Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, said the army was "expanding the ground phase of the operation."

"There will be moments of hardship," he warned in a briefing to the military, anticipating further Israeli casualties.

Hamas´s military wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said its fighters had battled Israeli troops inside the Jewish state on Saturday.

"The Qassam Brigades carried out an operation behind enemy lines," it said in a statement. "Heavy fighting is ongoing with the forces of the occupation."

Israeli media quoted Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch as saying that troops had clashed with fighters at the Gaza border, without specifying on which side of the frontier.