Israeli tanks advance more deeply into Gaza

Top News of Middle East: Israeli tanks advance more deeply into Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli tanks rolled into densely populated parts of the city of Gaza on Tuesday and troops fought intense battles with Hamas militants as world leaders struggled to coax the sides into a ceasefire.

Hamas said its forces detonated explosives beneath Israeli armor and fought with Israeli forces backed by helicopter gunships and naval fire in what appeared to be the most ferocious fighting since Israel sent ground troops into Gaza 10 days ago.

Explosions and the din of heavy machine gun fire echoed continuously through the Hamas-ruled territory's largest city before dawn. Flashes of light lit up the skies.

The Palestinian death toll in the 18 days since Israel launched its air offensive passed 900, including many civilians. Israel has had 10 soldiers killed and three civilians from motars and rockets fired from coastal Gaza.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon headed to the region to press for a truce in a week of talks with leaders in Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria.

"My message is simple, direct, and to the point: the fighting must stop. To both sides, I say: Just stop now," Ban told reporters before his departure.

Egypt pursued efforts to broker a ceasefire with Gaza, a territory that sits on its northern border.

But Lebanese political sources said Hamas negotiators would on Tuesday reject Cairo's proposals to end the offensive Israel said it launched so as to halt sporadic rocket fire from Gaza that causes few casualties but disrupts life in southern Israel.

Hamas's main objections were to a proposed long-term truce and to any ceasefire being put in place before Israel withdrew all its forces from Gaza, one of the Lebanese sources said.

Israel has rejected a United Nations Security Council call for a truce but said it was ready to discuss further proposals.

TANKS DEEPER INTO GAZA

Despite a world drive to end the fighting, Israel pressed on with its offensive, sending its tanks into built-up areas in the city of Gaza, the deepest thrust since the attack began.

Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Avi Benayahu said on Monday Israel was "deeper in the territory." Reserve units had moved in to free up regular troops for the push into the city.

"We are tightening the encirclement of the city," Brigadier General Eyal Eisenberg told reporters touring Israeli positions on Monday.

Three Israeli soldiers were wounded in a "friendly fire" incident in Gaza on Monday night, the military spokesman said.

Obama seeks remaining $350 billion in bailout funds

U.S. President-elect Obama seeks remaining $350 billion in bailout funds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama on Monday sought the remaining $350 billion of federal financial bailout funds from Congress, pledging a major overhaul that would distribute the money more widely and impose tougher restrictions on recipient companies.

Obama said he asked President George W. Bush to make the request on his behalf so he could take office next week with the funds at the ready to deal with a "still fragile" financial system.

"I felt that it would be irresponsible for me, with the first $350 billion already spent, to enter into the administration without any potential ammunition should there be some sort of emergency or a weakening of the financial system," Obama told reporters.

Obama and his economic team agreed to new restrictions and changes to the program to address concerns by fellow Democrats, who control both houses in Congress and have been critical of the Bush administration's handling of the funds so far.

The $700 billion rescue program was approved last October to bolster the financial industry as it reeled under the stress of bad mortgage debts and several major institutions were threatened with collapse.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson initially sold the program as necessary to buy up troubled assets to free banks to resume lending. But he quickly shifted focus and the first $350 billion was used primarily to make direct investments in financial institutions to buttress their capital.

Many lawmakers have complained that some recipients of the funds continue to pay big executive bonuses and shareholder dividends while loans are still difficult to get.

"Many of us have been disappointed with the absence of clarity, the lack of transparency, the failure to track how the money's been spent and the failure to take bold action with respect to areas like housing," Obama said.

"My commitment is that we are going to fundamentally change some of the practices in using this next phase of the program. We're going to focus on housing foreclosures, we're going to focus on small businesses, we're going to focus on what's required to make sure that credit is flowing to consumers and businesses," the president-elect added.

Bush submitted the request to Congress Monday evening, which under the law for the bailout starts a 15-day clock for lawmakers to decide whether to block access to the remaining $350 billion.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate could vote on the issue as early as Thursday. Democrats have not said when the House of Representatives would vote.

The 18-page request to Congress said the remaining funds would be used partly to help homeowners facing mortgage foreclosures as well as expand existing programs. But it did not offer specific details about how.

Top Senate and House Republicans quickly raised questions about the program.

"I would be hard-pressed to support additional funding for the TARP without sufficient assurances this money will not be wasted, misspent or simply used for more industry-specific bailouts," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said.

The Treasury has allocated in excess of the first $350 billion in funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, but it said on Monday it has disbursed only $265.3 billion so far.