Gaza battle rages as US pushes for truce

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Even as Secretary of State John Kerry reports progress in efforts to work out a truce, Israeli troops have been battling Hamas militants near a town in the southern Gaza Strip.

The fighting forced dozens of families to flee. A Palestinian health official says at least eight militants were killed.

The Palestinian Red Crescent has been trying to evacuate about 250 people from the area, which has been pummeled by air strikes and tank shelling since early today. A resident says homes are “collapsing upon us.”

To the north, an airstrike demolished a home in Gaza City, killing three people.

Meanwhile, police in Israel say a foreign worker was killed when a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed near the city of Ashkelon. Israel also said two more of its soldiers have died in the conflict, bringing the military death toll to 29.

In Jerusalem, 30,000 people attended the funeral of Max Steinberg, a 24-year-old from Southern California who was serving in the Israeli military. He was killed in an attack on an armored personnel carrier on Sunday.

Kerry flew into Tel Aviv today even though the U.S. government has banned airlines from flying there after a Hamas rocket hit near the airport yesterday. He’s meeting with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

%@AP Links

120-a-06-(Secretary of State John Kerry, during photo op with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon)-“to be done”-Secretary of State John Kerry says negotiations toward a cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip are making some progress after days of a deadly impasse between Israel and Hamas militants. (23 Jul 2014)

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127-a-19-(Nadim Shehadi (nah-DEEM’ sheh-HAH’-dee), associate fellow, Middle East and North Africa Program, Chatham House, in AP interview)-“results with Israel”-Middle East analyst Nadim Shehadi says anyone trying to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians is up against a problem with very deep roots. ((note cut length)) (23 Jul 2014)

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APPHOTO GAZ101: A Palestinian man carries his father as he and others run to take cover during an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 23, 2014. Israeli troops battled Hamas militants on Wednesday in the southern Gaza Strip as the U.S. secretary of state reported progress in efforts to broker a truce in the conflict that has so far killed hundreds of Palestinians and tens of Israelis. Trapped by an escalation of fighting in Khan Younis, a town on the edge of the Gaza Strip, dozens of Palestinian families scrambled to flee the area. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali) (23 Jul 2014)

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