A large force of Israeli soldiers have marched into the extremist Gaza Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom at daybreak, beginning the second day of forcible eviction of all Jewish settlers remaining in the Gaza Strip.

Thousands of soldiers on Thursday entered on foot from a side gate at the south side of the settlement after settlers barricaded the main entrance.

Officers said they expected stiff opposition from an estimated 2000 residents and other opponents of the Gaza withdrawal.

The forces quickly surrounded the settlement's synagogue and three nearby buildings where people were barricaded inside. Hundreds of people were in the synagogue, and many others were on the roof, which fortified with razor wire.

And after the first day of a mission scheduled to take three weeks, more than half the settlements were empty, a huge step towards ending Israel's 38-year occupation.

In Wednesday's forcible evictions, orthodox Jews sobbed as they carried sacred Torah scrolls out of a synagogue.

Eleven of the 21 Gaza settlements were empty as of early Thursday morning.

Only 60 of the 480 families remained in Neve Dekalim, but hundreds of hardline "reinforcements" from the West Bank, most of them teenagers, were holed up in a synagogue, pledging to resist eviction.

Israelis and Palestinians are cooperating to prevent violence during the pullout, but in recent weeks it is been Jewish extremists who have caused the most concern.

PHOTO CAPTION

Israeli troops are attacked by Jewish settlers as they try to get to the roof of the synagogue in the settlement of Kfar Darom, Gaza Strip, August 18, 2005. (REUTERS)