Air Strikes in Gaza Kill 225 As Israel Targets Hamas

Israel stood defiant last night in the face of mounting international condemnation, as it vowed to continue a massive bombing offensive against key targets in the Gaza Strip that left 205 dead and 700 others injured.

As world leaders called for an immediate end to the biggest air assault on Gaza since 1967, Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, refused to rule out a ground invasion in the next few days saying that the retaliation against rocket attacks by Hamas had only just begun. "It won't be easy and it won't be short," said Barak. "There is a time for calm and a time for fighting, and now the time has come to fight."

Asked if a ground invasion would be the next move, as bomb attacks continued into the night, Barak said: "I do not exclude anything as long as the result has not been achieved."

A flight of Israeli F-16 fighters fired at least 30 missiles during air strikes against Hamas positions in Gaza.

Gordon Brown last night expressed "deep concern" and urged both sides to exercise restraint, amid signs that tit-for-tat clashes were spiraling out of control. He said the only way to reach a lasting solution was through peaceful means. "I understand the Israeli government's sense of obligation to its population. Israel needs to meet its humanitarian obligations, act in a way to further the long-term vision of a two-state solution, and do everything in its power to avoid civilian casualties," he said.

A White House spokesman said that the United States "urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties as it targets Hamas in Gaza", adding: "Hamas's continued rocket attacks into Israel must cease if the violence is to stop."

Hamas remained defiant. "Today we are stronger then we've ever been," said Hamas spokesman Taher Nounou. "We won't raise the white flag, we won't give anything up, we won't retreat. We call on the Arab states in the region to take a stance against this massacre and not to be satisfied with just condemnations." Fawzi Barhoum, another spokesman, called the air strikes a "holocaust" and "an act of war".

The attacks, which came days after a ceasefire expired, prompted speculation that Israel might be preparing a full-scale military invasion of Gaza. Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, said: "Israel wishes to make clear that it will continue to act against terrorist operations and missile fire from the Strip which is intended to harm civilians." Public support for an attack has been growing in Israel, where a recent opinion poll showed that 20% of voters supported reoccupying Gaza, 27% wanted a return to assassinations and 18% wanted a short military strike.

The Arab League is convening an emergency meeting on Wednesday. Egypt announced it would open its border with Gaza to allow the injured to be treated.