Tel Aviv  - An Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis Sunday killed two top Hamas militants, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.

New York, Jan 4 : Israeli tanks and troops crossed over to the Gaza strip on Saturday, killing nearly 30 Hamas militants in fierce attempt to end rocket attacks, but question remains: Will the rockets really be stopped while Hamas remains in power in Gaza?

"If the war ends in a draw, as expected, and Israel refrains from re-occupying Gaza, Hamas will gain diplomatic recognition," wrote Aluf Benn, a political analyst with newspaper Haaretz. "No matter what you call it," he added, "Hamas will obtain legitimacy."

Oslo  - Norway urged Israel to "immediately" halt its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, which Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store described as "a dramatic escalation of the conflict."

Tehran - Tehran on Sunday called the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza Strip a "strategic mistake" and said Israel could never eliminate the Hamas group, ISNA news agency reported.

"The ground offensive by the Zionist regime (Israel) is a strategic mistake and the aim of eliminating Hamas is unachievable as Hamas is a nation and a nation can never be eliminated," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying in a telephone conversation with some of his European counterparts.

According to ISNA, Mottaki had contacted his counterparts in the Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

Prague/Brussels - Israel's land attack on the Gaza Strip was expected, but cannot justify the suffering inflicted on the civilian population, the European Union's presidency said in a statement Sunday.

"Launching land operations by the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip is not surprising, there were indications that Israel had been considering this step. But even the indisputable right of the state to defend itself does not allow actions which largely affect civilians," the Czech government said.

The Czech Republic currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, having taken over the role from France on Thursday.

Tel Aviv/Gaza  - Israeli troops pushed further into the Gaza Strip Sunday morning, battling Palestinian militants in the north of the salient as they advanced on Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, supported by air attacks.

An Israeli military spokesman said 30 soldiers were wounded in overnight fighting, including two seriously.

Palestinian medical officials spoke of 17 killed, and 130 wounded, since the Israeli ground operation began. At least four of the dead were civilians who were killed by an Israeli tank shell.