The Israeli army is shelling the Ramal neighborhood in downtown Gaza City, with panic residents trying to flee in the streets, witness in Gaza City told Xinhua.

One resident in Ramal neighborhood said the Israeli army is shelling the city center, while helpless local Palestinians are running in the streets trying to find shelters.

The resident said she can hear people in the streets shouting "Go to the Shelouk tower," referring to a 15-floor building located in the city center.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel said in a statement that heavy firepower currently being employed by Israeli forces against the building in Gaza City that houses some international media offices.

Initial reports said that these attacks have caused injury and damage, said the statement, adding that bullets shot by the Israeli army have entered the windows of the offices of the Associated Press in a different part of the city today.

The FPA call on the military to halt this fire immediately, adding that these are buildings housing journalists working for international news agencies and must not be targeted.

At least 30 Palestinians in Gaza Strip were killed on Thursday morning hours, as Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into densely populated areas of Gaza City, medical sources and witnesses said.

The overall Palestinian death toll in the massive Israeli military offensive has reached about 1,060, according to the sources.

Since midnight till now, at least 30 tanks entered densely populated neighborhood of Tal al-Hawwa in southern Gaza City, shelling houses and exchanging heavy fire with Palestinian militants, killing at least five militants and injured dozens, said witnesses.

According to the witnesses, Al-Quds hospital, one of the hospitals located in Tal al-Hawwa, was badly damaged. Several other high-rise buildings were also attacked by Israeli shelling. Black and white smoke can be seen rising from all over the area. The Israeli ground forces have now taken control of the Tal al-Hawwa neighborhood, said the witnesses, estimating that the army has seized around 15 percent of the area in Gaza City.

Thousands of Tal al-Hawwa residents fled their homes in pajamas, some elderly were in wheelchairs. Ambulance and paramedics were unable to enter this area due to the fierce confrontation.

Residents in Gaza City said that huge black and white smoke can be seen from the whole city, adding that Israeli tanks were just two kilometers away from Ramal neighborhood in the downtown city.

The Israeli offensive on Gaza Strip has been going on for 20 days.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2009)