Cairo  - Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip is cutting the Arab world to the quick, leaving millions left to seethe with anger and helplessness while their leaders do little or nothing.

From Marrakesh to Damascus, demonstrators have given vent to their outrage and sympathy in a series of protests and donation campaigns on behalf of the Palestinians reeling under Israel's offensive.

Many Arabs feel personally humiliated at the way Israeli forces are acting against their militarily hapless fellow Arabs while, apart from protests and humanitarian aid, Arab leaders have done nothing.

The Arabs know that even the few political means at their disposal count for little because those who have the power to use them are not prepared to do so.

Geneva - A specialist medical team from the International Committee of the Red Cross has been unable to enter the Gaza Strip for the past three days, a spokeswoman for the organization said Sunday.

The team, comprised of two doctors and two nurses, was supposed to enter the enclave on Friday to help the local Palestinian medical staff, who were "exhausted" and having trouble coping with the massive influx of injured people, she said.

Many of the wounds were complicated, requiring outside medical expertise, the spokeswoman said. The team was "badly needed" and their presence in Gaza was "essential."

Istanbul  - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Istanbul Sunday to protest Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip.

To the backdrop of large screens broadcasting Al-Jazeera news reports of Israeli ground operations, the protesters in Caglayan Square on the European side of the city shouted "death to Israel" and "we are all Palestinians".

"We are here to share our feelings with the Palestinians", a young man at the rally told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry meanwhile called on Israel immediately to halt operations.

Taipei  - Taiwan's foreign trade is expected to shrink in 2009 owing to lingering effects of the global financial crisis, according to a government report released Sunday.

Taiwan's exports last year grew 7.19 per cent to 264.4 billion US dollars while imports rose 13.83 per cent to 249.6 billion, according to the report by the Bureau of Foreign Trade carried by the Central News Agency. The trade surplus fell to 14.8 billion dollars from 2007's 27.4 billion.

For 2009, exports are forecast to contract 1.35 per cent to 260.8 billion dollars, imports to drop 4.2 per cent to 239 billion and the trade surplus to increase to 21.7 billion.

Istanbul  - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Istanbul Sunday to protest Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip.

To the backdrop of large screens broadcasting Al-Jazeera news reports of Israeli ground operations, the protesters in Caglayan Square on the European side of the city shouted "death to Israel" and "we are all Palestinians".

"We are here to share our feelings with the Palestinians", a young man at the rally told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry meanwhile called on Israel immediately to halt operations.

Tel Aviv  - An Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis Sunday killed two top Hamas militants, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.