Israel: ‘War to the bitter end’

Israeli war planes continued to pound Hamas government targets in Gaza this morning, as the bombing campaign entered its fourth day and the estimated death toll among Palestinians rose to 360.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, made a further call yesterday for Israel to halt its "unacceptable" attacks on Gaza. While he recognises Israel's right to defend itself, he condemned the wave of bombings as an "excessive use of force".

But Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defence Minister, said Israel was fighting a "war to the bitter end". As The First Post's photo report from Gaza shows, the border area around Gaza has been declared a military zone as troops and tanks mass for an expected ground invasion of the territory. Asked whether an invasion was imminent, a spokesman said the Israeli military had "a range of tools available to it".

The Bush administration refused to call on Israel to show restraint, instead putting total blame for the conflict on Hamas. "Israel is going after terrorists who are firing rockets and mortars into Israel, and they are taking the steps that they feel are necessary to deal with the terrorist threat," a White House spokesman said. Israel had told the US it was not planning to retake Gaza, he added.

Meanwhile, Palestinians continue to fire rockets from inside Gaza into Israel. Three Israeli civilians died yesterday as a result.

NOTE TO READERS: The First Post's daily Opinion Digest service will resume on Monday, January 5.