Read the FRANCE 24 Observers on "Is the Israeli intervention justified?"

FRANCE 24's Ygal Saadoun reports from the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

FRANCE 24 with wires - For a fourth straight day, Israeli warplanes pounded Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, leveling key installations and setting off fires in the crowded Palestinian enclave as the death toll mounted amid international alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the bombardment of Hamas targets in Gaza was "the first of several stages" approved by his government.

"We are ready for a prolonged conflict and for weeks of combat," added Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai.

The Israeli army is ready to launch a ground operation in Gaza if ordered to do so, a government spokeswoman also said on Tuesday. "The ground forces are ready," Avital Liebovitz told AFP. "Everyone is in place on the ground."

"The option (of a ground operation) exists. It is possible that we will apply it but for the moment we are only hitting from the air and the sea."

Israeli airstrikes early on Tuesday intensified after midnight and centered mainly on Gaza City, where the foreign ministry building and the offices of the prime minister were among those hit.

Reporting from Gaza, FRANCE 24’s Radja Abou Dagga said Israeli ordnance pummelled ministerial targets overnight. “We heard a series of explosions which were concentrated on the ministerial complex, which was hit by at least 20 bombs,” said Abou Dagga. “This created panic everywhere, which made it difficult for ambulances to circulate.”

Palestinian medical sources said at least 10 people were killed in the latest attacks, putting the death toll at at least 360 since the Israeli onslaught began on Saturday. More than 1,690 others have been wounded, according to Gaza medical officials. According to a tally issued by UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, the civilian casualty count stands at 57, including 21 children and at least seven women.
 
The attacks failed to put an end to Hamas rocket attacks into Israel – the original cause of the latest Israeli offensive. At least four people – including an Israeli soldier – have been killed by Hamas rocket and mortar attacks since Saturday.
 
Israel’s first military casualty occurred on Monday evening when a Hamas mortar shell killed a soldier in his camp near the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli military officials. Israeli tanks and troops have massed on the border and the area around has been declared a "closed military zone".

Israeli Navy confronts boat with aid supplies

The prospect of an Israeli ground offensive has further shaken Gaza’s beleaguered residents, according to witnesses. International aid organisations have called on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged coastal enclave.
 
Early on Tuesday, an Israeli patrol boat confronted a boat carrying medical volunteers and supplies to Gaza. No-one was injured in the incident. While the Israeli military said the boat - which was operated by a pro-Palestinian charity - had collided with their patrol vessel, passengers on board the aid boat said the Israeli patrol boat had rammed their vessel.

Speaking to FRANCE 24 on Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Ygal Palmor said the Israeli Navy had offered assistance after the collision, but the crew had refused. “This boat, carrying more journalists than humanitarian aid, tried to force its way towards Gaza,” said Palmor. “The boat therefore tried a surprise manoeuvre operation.”
 
On Tuesday, a convoy of 109 trucks bearing humanitarian aid was authorised to enter the Strip, Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner told the AFP news service.

EU meeting in bid to halt violence

The latest Israeli attack follow the expiration of a six-month ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli government, with Israeli officials declaring that the goal of the onslaught was to stop the rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza on its citizens.
 
But on Monday, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon said the goal of the current military offensive was to “topple Hamas”.

 In an interview with FRANCE 24 Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu, head of Israel’s opposition Likud party, defended the current Gaza attacks. “We’re faced with the problem where we have an implacable foe that’s basically an al Qaeda-type enemy implanted next to our cities,” he said, referring to Hamas. “It is committed to our destruction, it is supported by Iran that openly declares its goal to destroy us.”

In its response, Washington has so far supported the Israeli goal. "The United States understands that Israel needs to take actions to defend itself," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters on Monday.
 
The US response followed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call on regional and world leaders to work urgently to end the "unacceptable" levels of violence.
 
EU foreign ministers are meeting in Paris on Tuesday to "look into how the European Union can help ease the current crisis,” according to a French foreign ministry statement. The diplomatic shuffle follows days of protests in several Arab and European capitals.

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