(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-03-03 09:58

Roughly half of those killed since Wednesday were civilians, medical officials said. On Saturday, Palestinian leaders called the killings "genocide" and a "holocaust."

"We are following the aggression against our people in Gaza," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters. He said he had contacted the UN Security Council, the EU and Arab leaders "to work to stop this aggression."

Abbas has wielded little influence in Gaza since Hamas vanquished his forces and took over last June. In a symbolic move, he donated blood for Gaza residents at his West Bank office.

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The normally bustling streets of Gaza City were eerily empty. The sound of verses from the Muslim holy book, the Quran, sounding from mosque loudspeakers mingled with the roar of Israeli warplanes and unmanned drones in the sky.

Hundreds gathered outside Gaza hospitals waiting for bodies to be brought out of morgues for burial. Many, like schoolteacher Tawfek Shaban, a 44-year-old father of five, were holding small radios, listening to the news.

"Shame on the Arabs, shame on the Muslims, shame on humanity ... When will they act to stop Israel?" Shaban asked.

The reduced casualty count may have been the result of new measures imposed by Hamas. It told its fighters to use alleys for cover and avoid moving in large groups, ordered schools closed and set up roadblocks to keep civilians out of battle zones. In recent days, schoolchildren had left their studies to watch the fighting. The order forced children to stay at home.

The unrest spilled over to the West Bank, where Abbas and his Fatah faction run a rival government.

In the West Bank town of Hebron, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy was fatally shot in the chest during a protest against Israel, Palestinian medical officials said. It was the first death in the West Bank connected to the Gaza offensive.

An Israeli military spokesman said youths staged a "violent demonstration," throwing firebombs and putting soldiers at risk. Later about 2,000 angry Hamas supporters marched through the city streets, waving copies of the Quran and green Hamas flags. "Revenge. Revenge. Retaliate in Tel Aviv," the crowd chanted.

Schools and shops across the West Bank shut down to protest the operation in Gaza and there were demonstrations at traditional flashpoints like checkpoints, watchtowers and patrol routes.

In Ramallah, home to Abbas' government, club-wielding Palestinian security forces used tear gas and pushed back dozens of women demonstrating in support of Hamas. Security forces tried to stop TV crews filming and clubbed protesters, said Muhib Barghouthi, a photographer who was on scene.

The Gaza offensive also drew a chorus of international condemnation. The EU and UN chief Ban Ki-moon accused Israel of using excessive force. The UN Security Council urged Israelis and Palestinians "to immediately cease all acts of violence."

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