Tanks move in on Gaza refugee camp

Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved into the Rafah refugee camp on the Gaza-Egypt border early today as two air strikes killed 11 Palestinians and wounded 30, reflecting an Israeli decision to take control of the camp to stop arms smuggling and arrest militants.

However, an army official backed away from a plan to raze entire rows of houses to widen a border buffer zone. The decision follows withering international criticism of Israeli destruction in the Rafah camp over the past week, after Palestinians blew up an armoured vehicle, killing five soldiers assigned to find and destroy weapons-smuggling tunnels.