Israel continued its aerial bombardment of Hamas
targets in the Gaza Strip Tuesday, as international pressure for a ceasefire
mounted and Israeli officials warned operations against the militant group were
only just beginning.
European foreign ministers met Tuesday in Paris, calling for an end to hostilities and increased access
to Gaza for humanitarian purposes. An Israeli government
official said French President Nicolas Sarkozy is planning to come to Israel on Monday to try and broker a ceasefire.
Turkey's prime minister, meanwhile, announced a round of
shuttle diplomacy to Arab capitals to consult on a response to the attacks. The
Israeli aerial bombardment, which began Saturday, has now claimed at least 350
Palestinians, including 60 civilians, according to United Nations estimates
Tuesday.
Israel's security cabinet meets Wednesday to discuss the
military operation, and Israeli press reports late Tuesday suggested a possible
ceasefire would be on the agenda. The military denied an earlier report that it
had recommended a 48-hour ceasefire, and a government spokesman said he had no
knowledge of plans to discuss a halt to the operation during Wednesday's
meeting.
Militants inside the enclave kept up a barrage of attacks Tuesday into southern
Israel and vowed to send rockets further into the country.
Gaza-launched rockets have killed four Israelis, including one soldier, so far.
Late Tuesday, a Hamas missile hit the Israeli desert town of Bersheba, expanding the known range of its arsenal.
Despite mounting international pressure for a return to a six-month ceasefire
between the two sides - which ended two weeks ago - Israeli government
spokespeople maintained throughout the day that the time wasn't ripe for talk
of renewing the pact.
"An instant fix that doesn't solve anything isn't a solution. We'll be
back in a month or two months in a round of violence like today," said
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "You need to
create a situation in which Hamas understands that it isn't in their interest
to shoot at innocent Israeli civilians."
Mr. Olmert shrugged off concern growing in Washington and European capitals
about a prolonged war, telling his nation that the operation was still in its
initial stages.
With infantry and armored units massing at the Gaza border, Israel's air force launched 40 strikes in the Gaza Strip on
Tuesday. Israeli officials said they had targeted administrative buildings used
by Hamas government officials, police stations, border tunnels and weapons
store houses.
Inside Gaza, eyewitnesses reported a GazaCity sports club, two mosques, and the homes of several
Hamas militants were also targeted.
At ShifaHospital, the Gaza Strip's largest, doctors struggled with
shortages of staff and supplies to provide care for the injured. In the 12-bed
intensive care unit doctors are now tending to 53 critically injured patients,
said Haitham Dababish, the hospital's emergency room director.
"Our medical teams are exhausted and our sources of medical supplies are
running out," Dr. Dababish said. "If we continue like this the whole
system will collapse."
Meanwhile, Palestinian militants lobbed at least 40 missiles into southern
Israeli towns. Hamas has vowed it won't surrender and has promised to continue
missile strikes as well as renew a campaign of suicide attacks.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, one of the few Hamas leaders not in hiding,
urged Palestinians to respond to Israel's military operation with "all available
means."
The Gaza fighting, the worst in decades, has risked
instability spilling over into other countries in the region. Thousands have
demonstrated in Arab capitals, criticizing leaders for acting too cautiously to
halt the attacks.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has angered Arabs across the region for
refusing to open that country's border with Gaza, said Tuesday the crossing would remain largely shut
until the Palestinian Authority regained control over Gaza. (Hamas won Palestinian-wide elections in 2006 and
then forcefully took control of Gaza in 2007.) Egypt allowed a trickle of wounded Palestinians across the
border Monday.