THE TOLL MOUNTS: Israeli bombs explode during yesterday’s airstrikes on Gaza City, where residents dug bodies and debris out of a three-story house where 11 Palestinians were killed. (AP)
THE TOLL MOUNTS: Israeli bombs explode during yesterday’s airstrikes on Gaza City, where residents dug bodies and debris out of a three-story house (above) where 11 Palestinians were killed. (Reuters)
BLOODIED: A roughed-up protester who allegedly jumped a police barricade is subdued by NYPD officers yesterday. (
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Israel is weighing the pros and cons of a ground invasion into Gaza after the bloodiest day yet in the ongoing clash with Hamas.
Eleven Palestinian civilians were killed when an Israeli missile flattened a three-story home yesterday, authorities in Gaza said.
And early today, an airstrike took out two houses, killing four people while two others were wounded, Gaza officials said.
Rescue workers were searching for 12 to 15 people under the rubble.
As Israel considered the terms of an Egypt-brokered truce, its leaders warned that putting boots on the ground to drive back missile-launching Palestinians was not out of the question.
“We are exacting a heavy price from Hamas and the terrorist organizations, and the Israel Defense Forces are prepared for a significant expansion of the operation,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting.
Israeli officials say their airstrikes are aimed at ending months of rocket fire out of the Hamas-ruled territory.
President Obama backed Israel, but cautioned about a bloody ground incursion.
“Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory,” Obama said in Thailand at the start of a three-nation tour in Asia.
“If that can be accomplished without a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that’s preferable.
“It’s not just preferable for the people of Gaza. It’s also preferable for Israelis, because if Israeli troops are in Gaza, they’re much more at risk of incurring fatalities or being wounded.”
The conflict sparked bitter protests in New York, where supporters of Palestinians and Israel shouted at each other.
At least three people were hauled away by police — including a bloodied protester against the Israeli attack, who was apprehended after allegedly jumping a police barricade and blocking Seventh Avenue traffic in Midtown.
It was not immediately clear if any charges would be filed.
Israel, under rocket fire from Gaza, began the retaliatory offensive Wednesday with an airstrike that killed Hamas’ military chief. It has since targeted suspected rocket launchers and storage sites, and deployed tanks near the border.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Israel against putting soldiers on the ground, while blaming Hamas for starting the violence.
In all, 77 Palestinians including 41 civilians, have been killed in the five-day onslaught. Three Israeli civilians have died from Palestinian rocket fire.