Fears of a ground invasion grew last night as Israel called up 6500 reservists and moved dozens of tanks to the border.
Fears of a ground invasion grew last night as Israel called up 6500 reservists and moved dozens of tanks to the Gaza Strip border.
The development came as Israeli warplanes pounded the southern Gaza Strip for a second day in what Israeli leaders said was a response to almost daily rocket and mortar fire by Hamas militants following the end of a six-month ceasefire a week ago.
The move follows one of the deadliest periods in 60 years of conflict between the Palestinians and the Jewish state, with the two-day death toll climbing to nearly 300 and the injured numbering more than 700.
Hamas says an Israeli air strike destroyed a laboratory building at the Islamic University in the Gaza Strip. Israel has accused Hamas of using the facilities to develop explosives.
International reaction to the attacks has been swift, while there were worldwide demonstrations of concern, including a candlelit vigil in Glasgow's George Square.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Vatican, the UN and special Middle East envoy Tony Blair all called for calm.
A statement issued on behalf of the UN Security Council urged "an immediate halt to all violence".
Foreign Secretary David Miliband also called for an "urgent ceasefire and immediate halt to all violence".
Mr Miliband described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "deeply disturbing" and said that the "rise in rocket attacks on Israel since December 19" and Saturday's massive loss of life "make this a dangerous moment which should be of concern to the whole of the international community."
Mr Brown said that he was "deeply concerned" by continuing missile strikes from Gaza on Israel and by Israel's response yesterday. He urged Gaza militants to cease all rocket attacks on Israel immediately and Israel to do everything in its power to avoid civilian casualties.
The EU condemned the "disproportionate" use of force and called for an immediate halt to air strikes and Palestinian attacks in and around Gaza.
The US urged Israel to avoid civilian casualties and called on Hamas to cease its missile attacks.
Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said that Egyptians "in their millions" should take to the streets to force their government to open the country's border with Gaza, to help save Palestinians from the Israeli bombardments.
A call to "urgently halt" the military action also came from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who spoke to his Israeli counterpart.
Despite the international calls for restraint, the Israeli government promised to continue until Palestinian militants stopped firing rockets into Israel.
It says militants have fired 110 rockets into Israel since the conflict began on Saturday.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the operation had been a success so far and the aim is to "change realities on the ground" in Gaza.
Israeli Cabinet Secretary Oved Yehezkel added: "Right now, we are not considering an end to the fighting. We have the time, patience and means to return life in southern Israel to normal."
Amid signs of an imminent ground assault on Gaza, members of the Israeli tank corps were ordered to report to barracks as the army built up ground forces along the Gaza Strip's perimeter.
Military experts said that Israel would need at least 10,000 soldiers for a full-scale invasion.
Meanwhile, Israeli aircraft attempted to isolate the Gaza Strip by bombing the area where dozens of smuggler tunnels have been dug under the border into Egypt.
But as the Palestinian death toll in Operation Cast Lead rose, there were no signs that militants were stopping their rocket attacks on Israel.
As Israeli jets pounded the southern Gaza Strip, hundreds of Palestinians stormed over a fence on the Gaza-Egypt border. However, Egyptian security forces prevented them entering the country.
The security forces of Hamas shot dead an Egyptian border guard during clashes.
Israel declared a state of emergency in its communities in a 12-mile range of Gaza, putting the area on a war footing.
