Israeli tanks massed at the Gaza border yesterday as warplanes again pounded Hamas targets in the densely populated enclave where raids killed more than 280 people in less than 48 hours.
Dozens of tanks and personnel carriers idled at several points near the border after Israel warned it could launch a ground offensive in addition to its massive air bombardment, AFP photographers reported.
Hamas responded by firing rockets the farthest yet into Israel, with one striking not far from Ashdod, Israel's second-largest port, some 30 kilometers north of Gaza. It caused no casualties.
Pope Benedict XVI implored the world community to do "all it can to help the Israelis and Palestinians on this dead- end road" and not give in to the "perverse logic" of violence.
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But Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed to "expand and deepen" the bombing blitz, unleashed in retaliation for persistent rocket fire by militant groups.
"If it's necessary to deploy ground forces to defend our citizens, we will do so," his spokesman quoted him as saying.
The cabinet gave the green light to call up 6,500 reserve soldiers, a senior official told reporters after the meeting.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called for an "urgent ceasefire and immediate halt to all violence" in Gaza. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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