At least four Palestinians and an Israeli army officer are reported to have been killed in further violence in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Israeli troops and tanks tightened their grip on the city as the government ordered the army to press ahead with its offensive against the Palestinians.
Washington said that it was very concerned about the Israeli action, warning that it could undermine efforts by US peace envoy Anthony Zinni to broker a ceasefire. Mr Zinni is due to arrive in the region tomorrow.
Earlier, an Italian news photographer was killed after being hit by Israeli tank fire in Ramallah. Palestinian hospital sources said that Raffaele Ciriello was hit six times in the chest by Israeli gunfire. The Italian Foreign Ministry has asked Israel for a report on the incident.
Also in Ramallah, an Egyptian television journalist was injured after being hit by Israeli machine gun fire. Tareq Abdel Jaber was wounded by two Israeli bullets which pierced his bullet-proof vest. "Journalists were targeted by the Israeli army today," Jaber told the AFP news agency.
Three Palestinians were seriously injured in Ramallah this morning as Israeli troops tightened their grip on the city. Earlier reports suggested that they had been killed.
In a separate development, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has welcomed this morning's decision by the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution on the situation in the Middle East.
Ireland was active in seeking to bring about the adoption of this text. Brian Cowen described resolution 13-97, which refers for the first time in a Security Council resolution to a state of Palestine, as "a landmark resolution".
Mr Cowen said that it was essential for the credibility of the Security Council that it expresses itself clearly and decisively on this "grave crisis" which poses a serious threat to international peace and security.
The resolution was sponsored by the United States, which had vetoed previous Palestinian-inspired attempts to get the Council to curb the actions of the Israeli armed forces.
The resolution said that the Council was affirming a vision of a region where the two states, Israel and Palestine, lived side-by-side within secure and recognised borders.
