Nidal al-Mughrabi, GAZA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Israel killed 10 Palestinians in military operations in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and threatened a major ground sweep of the Hamas-run territory to stem rocket fire.
Following a surge in the cross-border salvoes, Israeli troops and tanks rolled into the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, touching off clashes with local gunmen. Israeli shelling killed a gunman from the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) militant group along with three bystanders, witnesses said. An air strike killed a Hamas militant. Earlier, Israel's air force attacked a car in nearby Gaza City, killing its five occupants. They were identified as members of the Army of Islam militant group.
At least 22 Palestinians were also wounded in the fighting, among the fiercest in Gaza since Hamas Islamists seized control of it in June.
Israel, which last week declared Gaza an "enemy entity" because of the continued short-range rocket fire, signalled that it could soon order invasions of areas used for the launches.
"We are getting closer to carrying out a widespread operation in Gaza which, for many reasons, has not taken place in the past weeks," Defence Minister Ehud Barak told Israel's Army Radio.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has come under pressure from residents of the Israeli town of Sderot, which was targeted by rockets, and rightist politicians to crack down on Gaza, some of them arguing that Hamas, which rejects the Jewish state's right to exist, is amassing arms in the territory.
Several Israeli cabinet ministers have cautioned that such a campaign could lead to heavy casualties among Israeli forces and Palestinians in the coastal territory of 1.5 million people.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh denounced on Wednesday "a new wave of Israeli aggression". Government spokesman David Baker said Israel would continue to take "pre-emptive measures" to prevent rocket attacks or other assaults on its citizens.
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