(AKI) - The military wing of Gaza's ruling Hamas, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, has hundreds of suicide bombers ready to blow them selves up in the current military conflict with Israel, spokesman Abu Obeida said on Tuesday. He was speaking after a suicide bomber struck early in the day in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.Hamas militants lured a group of Israeli soldiers into a building in Beit Lahiya and while they clashed another Hamas fighter climbed into an Israeli tank and blew himself up, Obeida said. Obeida also said fierce clashes between Hamas fighters and Israeli security forces had erupted in elevated areas captured by Israeli forces such as Ar-Rayis hill, Al-Kashif hill and Al-Atra near Gaza City, Palestinian news agency Maan reported. Obeidi warned on Monday it had "thousands of fighters" ready to fight and would eventually be victorious in the conflict.
A violent battle raged on Tuesday between Palestinian militants and Israeli soldiers in Khan Yunes in the southern Gaza Strip, Arabic satellite TV network Al-Arabiya reported. The Israeli military is reportedly seeking to isolate the key Rafah crossing point from Khan Yunes.
Israeli forces resumed bombing of eastern Gaza on Tuesday, Al-Arabiya said. In the ground offensive it began on Saturday, Israel is trying to surround and seal off all Gaza's main cities, especially Gaza City in the north. Israel is seeking a cessation of Palestinian cross-border rocket fire and the destruction of Hamas' weapons infrastructure.
Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert told the Israeli daily, Haaretz, on Tuesday that Israel had no interest in a prolonged offensive in Gaza. "The sooner, the better," he said when asked when the army planned to end its operation. "We did not set out to occupy Gaza or kill every terrorist. We set out to bring change to the south."