Gaza City: Israeli warplanes killed 12 Palestinians on Tuesday, pounding the Gaza Strip in a new campaign to stamp out Hamas rocket fire as the two sides slid toward another major conflict.
There were no reports of deaths from rockets fired out of Gaza.
The most serious flare-up over Gaza since November 2012 comes as Israel struggles to contain a wave of violence in Arab towns over the grisly murder of a Palestinian teenager by Jewish extremists.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas demanded Israel “immediately stop” its air campaign, dubbed Operation Protective Edge, and asked the world to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government..
But Mr Netanyahu was expected to order a “significant broadening” of the operation and instruct the Army to “take off the gloves,” Army radio said.
“We are preparing for a battle against Hamas which will not end within a few days,” defence minister Moshe Yaalon said in a statement.
“We will not tolerate missiles being fired at Israeli towns and we are prepared to extend the operations with all means at our disposal in order to keep hitting Hamas,” Mr Yaalon said.
A senior official said: “The Army is preparing for all possible scenarios, including an invasion or a ground operation.”
Military spokesman Gen. Moti Almoz said over Army radio, “we have been instructed by the political echelon to hit Hamas hard.”
