Israeli F-16 bombers have launched a series of air strikes against key targets in the Gaza Strip, killing and injuring scores of people. Medical staff and Hamas officials said at least 140 people were killed when missiles hit security compounds and militant bases across Gaza.
The strikes, the most intense Israeli attacks on Gaza in recent times, come after the expiry of a truce with Hamas.
Israel said it was responding to continued rocket attacks from Gaza.
Palestinian militants frequently fire rockets against Israeli towns from within the borders of Gaza.
In a statement, Israel's military said it targeted "Hamas terror operatives" as well as training camps and weaponry storage warehouses.
In the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas - whose Fatah faction was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007 - condemned the attacks and called for restraint.
But Hamas quickly vowed to carry out revenge attacks on Israel in response to the air strikes, firing Qassam rockets into Israeli territory as an immediate reply.
"Hamas will continue the resistance until the last drop of blood," spokesman Fawzi Barhoum was reported as saying.
Israel also stood firm, saying operations "will continue, will be expanded, and will deepen if necessary".
Rising toll
Reports of the casualties in Gaza mounted swiftly after news broke of the Israeli operation.
Map
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, initially said at least 40 people had been killed when a missile hit security headquarters in and around Gaza City.
That figure quickly rose until both Hamas and Palestinian doctors said at least 140 were killed and some 400 people injured.
Egypt opened its border crossing to the Gaza Strip at Rafah to absorb and treat some of those injured in the south of the territory.
Most of the dead and injured were said to be in Gaza City, where Hamas's main security compound was destroyed.
But casualties were also reported around Gaza, including in the southern town of Khan Younis, where Reuters news agency said at least 20 people were thought to have died.
Hamas said all of its security compounds in Gaza were destroyed by the Israeli air strikes, which Israel said hit some 40 targets across the territory.
The air strikes are the most intense Israel has launched against Gaza for some time, and come amid rumours that a ground operation is imminent.
Israeli security officials have been briefing about the possibility of a new offensive into Gaza for some days now, says the BBC's Paul Wood, in Jerusalem.
But most reports centred on the possibility of a ground offensive, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was not expected to authorise any operation until Sunday at the earliest.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7800985.stm
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