The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Saturday fired artillery shells into the Gaza Strip, local media reported.
This was the first artillery fire since the Cast Lead Operation in Gaza which started last Saturday.
According to Mo'aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance services in the Palestinian health ministry, the operation has so far claimed 462 Palestinians.
An IDF spokeswoman told Xinhua on the phone that she neither confirmed nor denied the artillery shells, saying that the operation was going on.
"I can not elaborate on the details of the operation at the moment," she said.
Asked whether there will be a ground incursion into Gaza anytime soon, the spokeswoman reiterated that she can not elaborate at the moment.
Earlier Saturday, local daily Ha'aretz reported on its website that IDF artillery batteries fired shells into open areas inside Gaza, heralding a possible escalation in more than a week of fighting.
Palestinian witnesses were quoted as saying that the barrage caused a large explosion in Gaza City as well as a series of blasts stitching the nearby frontier with Israel. There was no immediate word of casualties.
Meanwhile, local news service Ynet reported that IDF artillery cannons began pounding the eastern sector of the Gaza Strip around4 p.m. (1400 GMT) Saturday.
This is the first time in three years that the IDF has fired artillery shells at Gaza targets, said Ynet, adding that most shells landed in what the Palestinians characterize as the "security zone" close to the Gaza Strip fence.
The artillery shells were seen as a possible signal that a ground invasion could be nearing, said local daily The Jerusalem Post.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Channel 2 Saturday night that "We will do all that is necessary to provide a different reality for southern Israel, which has been under constant attacks for the past eight years."
Israeli defense officials said some 10,000 troops, including tank, artillery and special operations units, were massed on the Gaza border and prepared to invade.
They said top commanders were split over whether to send in ground forces, in part because such an operation could lead to heavy casualties but also because they believe Hamas had already been dealt a heavy blow by the Israeli air strikes.
Meanwhile, the Israel Air Forces (IAF) on Saturday continued to strike targets in the Hamas-controlled enclave.
According to Ynet, the IAF targeted more than 40 sites in Gaza Saturday, including a launching site used for firing rockets on the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. A training facility and underground tunnel were also attacked.
Overall, the IAF struck more than 800 targets since the Cast Lead operation got underway, said Ynet.
IDF officials said that the aerial assaults have achieved their objectives and were planned to cause Hamas significant damage by targeting its infrastructure and senior figures.
"The activity so far is effective and has harmed the organization, yet Hamas has not yet raised a white flag," one official was quoted as saying. "It won't do it anytime soon, if atall, and we shall continue operating using the variety of means a tour disposal."
IAF aircraft continued to drop leaflets in Gaza, calling on residents to leave their homes in order to avoid injury, said Ynet.
The leaflets dropped Saturday read: "Area resident, as a result of the acts undertaken by terror activists in your area against Israel, the IDF is forced to respond immediately and operate in this area. For your own safety, you are asked to leave the area immediately."
Source:Xinhua
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