GAZA CITY - A SUMMARY of the main events on the ground and on the diplomatic front over the past 24 hours in Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip:
MILITARY
- Israel indicates for the first time an end is in sight to its war on Hamas.
- Israeli warplanes bomb about 60 targets throughout Gaza overnight into Sunday, while Palestinian militants fire at least 19 rockets into the Jewish state.
- Six Palestinian civilians, including four children, are killed in Israeli bombing of northern Gaza, while 12 bodies are found buried in Gaza City.
- Dozens of Palestinians flee their homes in a neighbourhood of Gaza City as Israeli ground troops advance deeper into the capital of the battered territory.
- The military says it has killed senior Hamas rocket launcher Amir Mansi, who was responsible for many of the long-range rockets fired in recent days.
- Three Egyptian policemen and two children are wounded by shrapnel during Israeli air strikes apparently targeting smuggling tunnels near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
- Israel says it has destroyed 20 tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border on Sunday alone.
- An Israeli air raid destroys a clinic in Gaza but no one was hurt as the building was evacuated in time, Swedish charities that help finance it said.
- Channel Two television reports Israel has begun sending reservists into Gaza alongside the regular army.
DIPLOMACY
- Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal rejects the notion of deploying international forces in Gaza and says any truce must be preceded by a halt to the Israeli offensive and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
- Egypt and Hamas hold talks aimed at brokering a ceasefire ahead of further negotiations with Israeli officials.
- US president-elect Barack Obama pledges to engage in Middle East peace efforts as soon as he takes office in nine days.
- Israel is exploring diplomatic channels while its military carries on the offensive in the Gaza Strip, says Defence Minister Ehud Barak.
- A group of prominent British Jews write to the Israeli government to urge an immediate ceasefire, saying only a negotiated solution can secure long-term security in the region.
PROTESTS
- Cities around the world stage fresh protests both in support of and opposed to Israel's attacks.
- At least 20,000 Indonesian Muslims rally in the capital Jakarta to call for an end to Israel's military offensive.
- Thousands of British Jews rally in central London to call for peace for the citizens of both Israel and Gaza.
TOLL
- At least 885 Palestinians have been killed, including 275 children, and another 3,620 wounded, since the start of the Israeli offensive, Palestinian emergency services say.
- A high-ranking army officer says Israeli troops have killed more than 550 Palestinian fighters since the operation began.
- Three Israeli civilians and 10 soldiers have been killed and 154 Israelis wounded, the army says. -- AFP