Israel ignores Bush as offensive continues

Despite calls by the US president, George Bush, and the United Nations security council for Israel to halt its incursions, today Israel tanks rolled into new territory. A 14-year-old girl was killed by Israeli tank fire as she stood on her balcony watching soldiers enter Tubus, a West Bank town with about 20,000 residents, witnesses said.

Today Hebron and Jericho remained the only main West Bank towns still under Palestinian control as Israeli forces continued an eight-day-old offensive aimed at capturing Palestinian militants and weapons. Operation Protective Shield, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 78 Palestinians and 63 Israelis, was launched following a wave of suicide bombings aimed at Israeli civilians, including an attack last week that killed 26 Israelis gathered to mark the start of the Passover holiday.

Hundreds of Palestinian gunmen battled with Israeli soldiers in the streets of Nablus, the West Bank's largest and most militant city. Palestinians said the army had blocked access by emergency services, making a precise death toll impossible to calculate and forcing doctors to open a makeshift hospital in a mosque.