Israel Hits Gaza Again

A baby has been killed in Gaza as aid groups warn that the Palestinian territory's humanitarian situation is worse than at any time since 1967, the start of the Israeli occupation.

The month-old child died in crossfire when Israeli forces briefly entered southern Gaza and clashed with militants, Palestinian health officials said, in two hours of shelling by tanks and missiles fired from helicopters. A local Islamic Jihad leader also died, the officials said.

Islamic Jihad issued a statement pledging revenge attacks "in the depths of the Zionist enemy, God willing".

Some Israeli officials have called for a large-scale invasion of Gaza to stop rocket attacks that last week reached as far north as the coastal city of Ashkelon, 11 miles (17 kilometers) from Gaza. The longer-range rockets mean that militants are closer to striking Tel Aviv.

The Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, was quoted as saying Israel might be forced to return to Gaza, which it evacuated in late 2000. Officials in her office later said she meant a military operation, not reoccupation.

Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, has said that a large-scale operation is in the offing, indicating Israel might try to overthrow Hamas, which won an election two years ago before seizing complete control of Gaza from its rival Fatah last June.

The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has shrunk from a full-scale invasion. The heavy fighting has severely dented US hopes of brokering an Israeli-Palestinian settlement by the time George Bush leaves the White House next January.

On the final leg of a two-day trip, the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, is expected to urge negotiators from both sides to resume peace talks that started at the Annapolis conference in November.

The fighting of the past week has left more than 120 Palestinians dead and damaged Gaza's already battered infrastructure.

A coalition of charities and aid groups today condemned Israel's blockade of Gaza and called on Britain to press for a new strategy for the territory.

Poverty and unemployment levels are rising, hospitals have no power for 12 hours a day and the water and sewage systems are close to collapse, says today's report from groups including Amnesty International, Oxfam and Christian Aid.

The 16-page report, The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion, urges Britain to put greater pressure on Israel to open crossings into Gaza, stop fuel and electricity cuts, and begin negotiations with all Palestinian parties, including Hamas.

Geoffrey Dennis, chief executive of Care International UK, said: "The recent escalation in violence, both from rocket attacks and military strikes, will make life even more unbearable in Gaza… Unless the blockade ends now, it will be impossible to pull Gaza back from the brink of this disaster and any hopes for peace in the region will be dashed."