Israeli forces killed 31 Palestinians today in their biggest offensive in the West Bank and Gaza since Israel captured the territories in the 1967 Middle East war.
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Israeli soldiers take up positions as they enter the West Bank city of Qalqilya Photo: Reuters
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Israeli armour and infantry stormed refugee camps and the West Bank city of Ramallah, where Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has his headquarters, on the eve of a US truce mission.
UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan, in his harshest criticism of Israel, urged it to stop the bombing of civilian areas, the assassinations, the unnecessary use of lethal force, the demolitions and the daily humiliation of ordinary Palestinians .
Hours after tanks occupied Ramallah, trapping Mr Arafat in his office, two gunmen disguised as Israeli soldiers killed six Israelis near the Lebanese border as tit-for-tat violence reached a new level of ferocity.
An Israeli army spokesman said there were no signs that the gunmen, who fired on a bus and cars before soldiers shot them dead, had infiltrated from Lebanon. Hours after the attack the identities of the assailants had not been released.
The cycle of violence threatened to derail US envoy Mr Anthony Zinni's mission before it starts.
The Israeli army's chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Shaul Mofaz, told a parliamentary committee the military had thrown 20,000 troops into action in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Even so, the scale of the offensive was not enough to satisfy two ultra-nationalist ministers who resigned from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition government today.
Witnesses said 150 tanks thrust overnight into Ramallah and nearby refugee camps, tearing up roads and crushing cars in the main Palestinian commercial and political hub in the West Bank.
Heavy shooting broke out in some parts of the city of more than 200,000, and Israeli helicopter gunships opened fire on the al-Am'ari refugee camp on the city's outskirts. Mr Arafat remained in his headquarters as the shooting erupted outside.
By mid-afternoon the usually bustling city streets were empty except for gunmen trying to resist troops who went from house to house searching for weapons and militants, accused of leading a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.
In Ramallah's main square, angry Palestinians strung up the corpse of an alleged collaborator with the Israelis. The young man, blood staining his face and bare chest, dangled upside down by his feet from a metal pylon.
Israeli troops and tanks had battled their way into the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least 17 Palestinians in fierce fighting, Palestinian hospital sources and witnesses said.
People ran screaming for cover down the camp's warren of alleys as the tanks surged into the densely populated camp of about 90,000 people. The army withdrew four hours later.
Nine Palestinians were killed in other violence in Gaza and five died in the West Bank. The six Israelis and two gunmen killed in the Galilee attack, and an Israeli shot in the West Bank, took the total killed on both sides to 38 in 24 hours.
More than 1,000 Palestinians and almost 350 Israelis have been killed since the uprising began after peace talks stalled.
The Israeli army said its offensive was intended to root out militants behind suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis.