(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-15 21:55

Gaza -- Israeli troops ended a half-day military operation in eastern Gaza city on Tuesday after leaving 18 Palestinians dead, medical and official sources said.

Palestinian relatives of a Hamas militant mourn after he was killed by Israeli troops during a raid in Gaza January 15, 2008. [Agencies]

The death toll is the largest in nearly one year. The last time such a toll was recorded was in November 2006, when Israeli army fired artillery shells at a house in northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun and killed 18 from one family.

Tuesday's operation involved regular incursion but residents in eastern Gaza said the high number of casualties was due to the random fire and tank shells launched by the Israeli army.

At least seven of the dead were killed in a single artillery strike, and the others died from their wounds later, according to hospital sources. The Israeli army fired several shells into densely populated areas of al-Zaitoun and al-Sheja'eya.

Among the dead was a Hamas fighter called Hussam. He was identified as the son of Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza.

The Palestinian presidency, government and Hamas condemned the Israeli offensive and described it as massacre. Hamas went further and said the offensive was a result of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement said the Israeli aggression aims at "killing any hope from the peace process and destroying the chances of ending the occupation."

"We call on the international community to take its role in promoting the peace and to condemn Israel for its crimes," said Fehmi al-Za'arrer, Fatah spokesman.