Israeli ground troops, tanks and armored vehicles advanced into two Gaza Strip towns on Wednesday in pursuit of Palestinian rocket squads, even as the Red Cross _ in a major blow to aid efforts _ suspended activities in the impoverished territory after two of its workers were briefly kidnapped. Snipers positioned themselves on rooftops in Beit Hanoun and Jebaliya in northern Gaza as the ground troops fanned out, and three Palestinian girls were wounded by Israeli bullet fire outside a school in Beit Hanoun, Palestinian security officials said. The Red Cross' open-ended suspension of its field activities spelled further hardship in the violence-wracked coastal strip, where the organization facilitates movement of ambulances and emergency supplies, the Associated Press reported. Iyad Nasr, a spokesman for the Red Cross's Gaza office, said Tuesday that the organization had ceased all field operations and would intervene only «in matters of life and death.» Workers have been ordered to stay in their offices because of fears for their safety, Nasr said.
