GAZA CITY - THE armed wing of Hamas said on Monday that it has 'thousands' of fighters ready to battle Israel in Gaza, in a second defiant televised address by the Islamists in a day.
'We have prepared thousands of brave fighters who are waiting for you in each corner of the street and will welcome you with fire and iron,' Mr Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said in a broadcast on Hamas's Al-Aqsa television channel.
Olmert refuses to call off Gaza offensive
JERUSALEM - ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert refused to call off his country's military offensive against Hamas in a series of telephone talks and meetings Sunday with foreign leaders and envoys, Mr Olmert's office said.
Mr Olmert had talks with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Quartet Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, his office said.
GAZA CITY - FRANTIC families across Gaza cowered in any shelter they could find early on Monday as the Israeli army struck at Hamas fighters for a second night.
Orange streaks flashed across the darkened sky from tank shells and warplane missiles while Hamas heavy machine guns took speculative shots at Israeli jets above the enclave of 1.5 million people.
'We tell you in all confidence that your defeat in the Gaza Strip is approaching with every hour,' he said. 'As long as the aggression intensifies, your losses will increase and you will sink further into the Gaza quagmire.
'God willing, we are at the gates of victory and the Zionist Jews will suffer only defeat and humiliation.' 'The Qassams still have many means and have up to now used only a part of their forces,' he said.
The latest remarks by Hamas comes after Israeli troops partially surrounded Gaza City, according to Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who said on Monday the Jewish state pressed on with a ground offensive in the Hamas-run enclave.
'Gaza City is partially surrounded,' Mr Barak told parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee.
His comments followed reports on the ground that Israeli ground troops were operating north, south and east of the main city in the embattled territory.
It marked the furthest the Israeli troops have gone into Gaza since the Jewish state unilaterally withdrew from the territory in 2005.
Israel allows humanitarian aid into Gaza Meanwhile, Israel allowed a convoy of humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip on Monday.
'A convoy of 80 trucks transporting humanitarian aid has started to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing' in the south, a military spokesman said.
The aid included medicine and food which was sent from Egypt, Jordan, Greece and UN aid agencies, he said.
The Nahal Oz terminal in the north was also opened on Monday to allow the transfer of 200,000 litres of fuel for Gaza's electricity station as well as 120 tonnes of cooking gas, he said.
The Erez crossing in the north meantime was opened to allow some 200 Palestinian holders of foreign passports to leave the territory.
Israel unleashed a massive bombing campaign of Hamas targets in Gaza on Dec 27 in response to consistent rocket fire from the territory and poured in ground troops to back up the bombardments a week later.
Aid groups have repeatedly warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the densely-populated territory, where most of the 1.5 million residents depend on foreign aid. -- AFP
