Early yesterday, the bodies of four Palestinians were brought from the northern town of Beit Lahiya to a Gaza hospital. Palestinians identified the four as Hamas militants, one of them a field commander in northern Gaza, Saref Masri, 29, the brother of Hamas spokesman Musher Masri.

The army said the militants were killed by an Israeli missile as they tried to detonate a bomb at Israeli troops.

A few hours earlier, Israeli forces targeted a local Hamas commander in a Gaza City airstrike, seriously wounding him along with another militant and a woman, witnesses and hospital officials said. The military had no comment.

"The forces will have to remain there as long as this danger exists," Sharon told Army Radio, and Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, the army commander, said, "The troops are ready to continue, not in terms of days, but weeks."

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called on Israel "to halt its military incursions into the Gaza Strip, which have led to the deaths of scores of Palestinians, among them many civilians, including children."

Earlier the State Department said Israel has the right to defend itself but urged Israel to avoid civilian casualties and "minimise humanitarian consequences."

China yesterday "strongly urged" Israel to end military operations in the Gaza Strip, where dozens have been killed in a new offensive.

Foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan pointed to the high number of civilian casualties among the 69 dead and called for a halt to the operation to stem rising tensions.