Israel shuns truce calls on Day Four of Gaza blitz

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-31 00:16

GAZA CITY – Israel on Tuesday shunned world appeals for a truce, massed forces on the Gaza border and warned that its deadly assault on Hamas could last for weeks as jets pummelled Islamist targets for a fourth day.

Palestinian youths, protesting Israel's offensive in Gaza, throw stones at police and military vehicles driving past in al-Ram in the West Bank on the outskirts of Jerusalem December 30, 2008. [Agencies]

Despite the devastating aerial pounding that has killed at least 363 Palestinians, Hamas militants continued to fight back, firing deadly rockets deep inside Israel.

Children again fell victim to the Jewish state's "all-out war" on the Islamist Hamas movement, with two sisters dying when a missile slammed into their donkey cart in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun.

In Gaza City, residents picked through rubble and broken glass after a night which saw Israel hammering the overcrowded territory with some 40 strikes targeting Hamas buildings, training camps and rocket launching sites.

"We are scared... that we can die at any moment," said 11-year-old Mohammed Ayyad who lives near a government compound blasted in the overnight raids.

Despite pleas by UN chief Ban Ki-moon for a stop to the "unacceptable" violence that has sparked outrage in the Muslim world and protests in many countries, Israel waved aside calls for a truce.

"There is no reason that we would accept a ceasefire at this stage," Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer told AFP.

"If there is a ceasefire, that will allow Hamas to regain strength, recover from the shock and prepare an even stronger attack against Israel."

With tanks and troops massed on the Gaza border, the Israeli military said "ground forces are ready" to join what politicians have warned would be a prolonged offensive.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the bombardment so far was "the first of several stages approved by the security cabinet."

Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai warned the offensive -- one of Israel's deadliest against Gaza -- could turn into "weeks of combat."

Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said the "all-out war" against Hamas "will be intensified as necessary" to "deal a severe blow to Hamas so that it stops firing against Israeli citizens and soldiers."

The four days of intensive bombardment, which have killed several senior Hamas officials and reduced much of its infrastructure in Gaza to rubble, have failed to stop rocket fire from the territory.

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