Violence goes on in Gaza; UN rejects Arab calls

The ongoing Israeli air strikes on Gaza have claimed at least three more lives overnight, bringing the death toll in the Strip to almost 400.

The latest dead, two men and a woman, were neighbours of a Hamas chief whose home in Rafah had been targeted by Israeli jets.

At least 40 people, including several children, were injured.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh sounded a defiant tone in a televised address to Palestinians last night saying that the Islamist group would win the fight against Israel, and sooner than people thought.

Four Israelis have been killed so far by rockets fired by militants from Gaza, which is under Hamas control.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak visited a kindergarten in Beersheba to inspect the damage from a missile attack, having earlier rejected calls for a 48-hour truce to allow humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

The UN Security Council met earlier to consider an appeal by Arab nations for resolution on a ceasefire, but the session ended without a vote.