The Israeli army killed 68 Palestinians and wounded 200 others on Saturday in a daylong large-scale military ground operation into northern Gaza Strip, hospital officials said.

Mo'aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance services in the Palestinian health ministry told reporters that the Israeli army on Saturday killed 68 Palestinians and wounded 200 others, many in serious condition.

"It is the highest ever (daily) death and casualties toll in the Gaza Strip. I have never witnessed such a high score of death toll since I started my career 20 years ago," said Hassanein.

Saturday marks the bloodiest and the most violent day since 1967. The most recent high toll occurred in last November, when the Israeli army killed 21 Palestinians in one day.

Hamas-police sources said that dozens of Israeli army tanks backed by helicopters and drones stormed an area east of Jabalia town in northern Gaza Strip, where heavy gun battles erupted.

The sources said that Israeli aircrafts and warplanes as well as tanks fired missiles and shelled at houses and individuals in northern Gaza Strip, killing 46 people, at least 20 of whom civilians, including four women and six children.

A fresh Israeli airstrike was carried out at a house in northern Gaza city, killing the owner of the house and a toddler. Three others were injured, witnesses and medics said.

In Jabalia, Israeli aircrafts carried out two separate airstrikes at a van and a car, killing in each strike four people, Hamas-police sources and witnesses said.

Hassanein warned of a humanitarian disaster if Israeli airstrikes go on and cause more casualties, noting the lack of medical support and fuel for ambulances due to more than eight-month of Israeli closure on the Gaza Strip.

In spite of the high death toll, the Israeli army's actions fail to stop rockets attacks on Israel. Different militant groups, mainly from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, continued launching homemade rockets attacks at Israeli towns and communities.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed on Saturday in eastern Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip and four wounded, where ten Israelis were injured by the homemade rockets the militants fired from Gaza at southern Israel.

(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2008)