Thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships surrounded Gaza’s largest city and fought militants at close range on the first full day of a ground offensive.

Israeli soldiers are fighting mainly in open areas in the launching zones used by Gaza’s militants to fire rockets into Israel.

A health ministry official says 64 Palestinian civilians have been killed since the ground assault began. The new deaths brought the death toll in the Gaza Strip to more than 512 since Dec. 27th.

Five Israelis have been killed since the offensive began.

abc12.com