Some 520 Palestinians have been killed, and 2,500 injured, since December 27 in the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, a medical official in the salient said Sunday, according to dpa. The total makes Israel's "Operation Cast Lead" the bloodiest offensive against the Palestinians since the Palestinian Authority came into being in 1994. Previously, the highest toll was in Israel's Operation "Defensive Shield" in 2002, when Israeli troops entered the West Bank. According to United Nations figures, some 497 Palestinians were killed in the five weeks of fighting in that operation. The Palestinian medical official said that since Israeli ground troops entered the salient on Saturday night, some 50 Palestinians have been killed and another 200 injured. An Israeli soldier was also killed Sunday morning in ground fighting in the enclave, and 31 others were injured. Four Israelis - three civilians and a soldier - have been killed by Palestinian rockets since the Israeli operation began and dozens more inured. Israel launched Operation Cast Lead with a wave of airstrikes on December 27.
