Israel, Hamas slide towards all-out war:Daily Star

Gaza Braces For All-out War Smoke and dust rise following an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, yesterday. Photo: AFP Israeli warplanes killed 13 Palestinians in Gaza yesterday, with Israel weighing "all options" in a new drive to stamp out Hamas rocket fire as the two sides slid toward another major conflict. The most serious flare-up over the Gaza Strip since November 2
012 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 that Israel "immediately stop" its air campaign, dubbed Operation Protective Edge. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to order a "significant broadening" of the operation, army radio said, quoting a source close to the premier. After nearly four weeks of intensifying rocket fire on the south, Israel appeared bent on dealing the Islamist Hamas movement a heavy blow, with the cabinet authorising the callup of some 40,000 reservists. In the worst strike, a missile slammed into a house in the southern city of Khan Yunis killing seven people, among them two teenagers, and wounding 25, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP. Witnesses said an Israeli drone fired a warning flare, prompting relatives and neighbours to gather at the house as a human shield. But shortly afterwards, an F-16 warplane fired a missile that levelled the building. In response to the pounding, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said all Israelis would be potential targets for retaliation. In another strike, east of Gaza City, two people were killed, Qudra said, without giving details on their identities. Earlier, three people were killed in a separate strike on a car in central Gaza City, he said, correcting an earlier report of four fatalities. Meanwhile, the military was preparing all options to stamp out rocket fire from Gaza, including a ground assault, a senior Israeli official told AFP. "The army is preparing for all possible scenarios, including an invasion or a ground operation," he said. Military spokesman General Moti Almoz also confirmed preparations for a possible ground offensive. "We have been instructed by the political echelon to hit Hamas hard," he told army radio, saying the campaign against Hamas would happen "in stages." "All options are on the table; all these steps are being considered. Two brigades, which are currently stationed around the Gaza Strip, are prepared and ready, and in the coming days, more will arrive," he said. Around Gaza, dozens of tanks and soldiers could be seen massing along the border, AFP correspondents reported. Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon warned it was likely to be a protracted campaign. "We are preparing for a campaign against Hamas, which will not end in just a few days," he said in a statement which defined the aim as being "to exact a very heavy price from Hamas." Since June 12, when the current round of tit-for-tat violence began, more than 250 rockets have hit southern Israel, with another 40 intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system. So far no Israelis have been killed. Since midnight Monday, militants have fired more than 130 rockets, an army spokeswoman told AFP.