Jerusalem: Israel massed more troops and armour on the Gaza border apparently in preparation for a "major" ground assault, which its leaders said would be "short" and a defiant Hamas vowed to "spring surprises" on them and fight to "the last breath".
The Israeli preparation came even as it's leaders said that only an international monitors could be a key for any future truce with the Hamas as its war planes bombed the parliament building in Gaza and it's high-speed boats attacked Hamas rulers coastline homes.
Setting up of such an international forces would satisfy Israel as it's monitors would ensure that the Gaza Strip is not used to launch missiles attacks as the toll from the six-day massive air strikes soared up to more than 400 and left thousands wounded and hospitalised.
Israel has so far used only air power to crush Hamas and hunt and target it's missiles batteries which it said has been hidden inside heavily populated areas and government buildings.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recommended the ground operationas military preparations continued on the border lining up tanks and troops. IDF officers in Israels southern command have been receiving detailed briefings on the way ahead and the General Staff believes that more pressure must be put on Islamist Hamas, in control of the Gaza Strip,to make it agree to a long-term ceasefire under conditions more favourable to Israel.
Despite mounting international criticism and appeals to end the bloodshed, Israel's security cabinet has rejected proposals for a ceasefire and decided to push ahead with the offensive till "all the goals of the operation are achieved".
Prime minister Ehud Olmert told the cabinet that "conditions were not yet ripe to halt the bombardment, launched in response to persistent rocket fire from the territory that Hamas has run for a year and a half".
"We did not launch the Gaza operation only to end it with the same rocket firing that we had at it's start," Olmert was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, defence minister Ehud Barak pledged "to enlarge and deepen" the scope ofIsraels military operation "until we have achieved the objectives we have set for ourselves."
Gaza based Hamas continued to fire rockets and mortar shells on Israels southern communes with Israels Home Front command warning residents in 40-kms of Gaza radius to follow instructions, closing all the schools in the area.
Some 20 rockets were fired into Israel on Thursday, some hitting deep inside the Jewish state. Beersheva, Israels fourth largest city, some 37-kms from gaza has also been hit by long-range rockets in a major concern for the Jewish state and the attacks are only expected to increase as it pushes on with the ground operation.
"We are prepared for the Israeli tanks to move in. We will not give up our right to defend our land and fight till the last breath. The Zionists will be taught a lesson here", I had al-Ghusain, a spokesman for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, said.
"We have already made clear our demands for a ceasefire and will not compromise on them," al-Ghusain said. The Islamist faction has demanded that Israel open all crossings leading into the Gaza Strip and also stop incursions into the West Bank. Both the sides seem to be leaning towards a ceasefire but on their terms to portray a victory.
The Israeli army has recommendedthat a diplomatic exit plan be prepared while a ceasefire agreement is formulated, but foreign minister Tzipi Livnibelievesit might be better to aim for a situation in which there is no clearly set-out agreement, though Israel would make clear beforehand that it would respond forcefully to any firing from Gaza after hostilities ended, daily Haaretz reported.
A Grad rocket fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Thursday scored a direct hit on an eight-floor residential building in the northern Negev city of Ashdod. The rocket caused a fire to erupt in the building and seriously damaged the top floor.
A number of people were treated for shock, many of them children, however there were no physical injuries reported in the incident. At least four Israelis have been killed since Israeli fighter jets attacked the Hamas controlled Gaza.
The strike on Ashdod was the ninth rocket to hit the western Negev region of Israel on Thursday.
