Israeli troops killed six Palestinians in sporadic clashes with militants across the northern Gaza Strip this evening, drawing European Union accusations that Israel was using excessive force.
In a possible attempt to find a way out of the crisis, an Israeli cabinet minister suggested that Palestinian prisoners might be released as a "goodwill gesture" if militants first freed a captured soldier and ended rocket attacks.
The governing Hamas movement rejected the apparent overture, warning that Israel's offensive had hurt efforts to free Corporal Gilad Shalit and said the Jewish state would "pay the price for every drop of blood".
The European Union accused Israel of "disproportionate use of force", a day after 20 Palestinians and one soldier were killed in the bloodiest day of fighting since 2004.
The army has pushed deep into northern Gaza, taking over ruined Jewish settlements that Israel abandoned last year, in an offensive to bring home the soldier and end rocket attacks.
The incursion has piled pressure on the Hamas government, already reeling from a Western aid embargo. Any lingering hope peace talks could be revived has been dashed by the violence.
An air strike in northern Gaza killed two militants, witnesses and medics said. The army said it had targeted gunmen. Witnesses said tank fire killed one man near the northern town of Beit Lahiya, scene of the worst violence yesterday.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered tanks into Gaza after Hamas militants fired rockets into a major Israeli city for the first time. The offensive began last week with the main goal of freeing Shalit, captured in a raid on June 25th.