Israeli forces killed 33( 13:00 gmt)

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces killed 33( 13:00 gmt) Palestinians, about half of them civilians, in the Gaza Strip on Saturday in intense fighting that renewed threats of a broader Israeli offensive and put peace talks at risk.

A total of 66 Palestinians have been killed in four days of Israeli air strikes and raids in the tiny Hamas-controlled coastal territory, home to 1.5 million people, straddling Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean.

Of the 31 killed on Saturday, 16 were civilians and the rest militants, according to hospital staff and the Islamist Hamas movement, which seized control of Gaza last June after routing the more secular forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

One of the dead civilians was a mother who was preparing breakfast for her children when she was hit by gunfire, relatives and medical workers said. A girl and her brother were also among the dead.

Witnesses said fighting erupted after Israel soldiers, backed by helicopter gunships, entered northern Gaza and were confronted by Palestinian gunmen.