Israel vows to launch a full-scale attack on Hamas despite international pressure.

Gaza is at risk of a ground invasion by the Israeli army.

An airstrike outside a civilian home on the morning of July 12th raised the total number of Palestinian deaths to over 100 in just four days of cross-border fighting between Israel and Palestine. Israel shows no sign of halting its military operations, despite international pressure to negotiate a ceasefire with Palestinian fighters.

Israel launches airstrikes on the Gaza Strip (photo: timeslive)

When asked whether Israel would shift from the predominantly air strikes of the past four days to a ground war in the Gaza Strip to stop Hamas rocket fire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu replied: “We are considering all possibilities and preparing for all possibilities.”

Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv a day after a phone call with US President Obama about the most intense outbreak of violence between Israel and Palestine in two years, Netanyahu said: “No international pressure can stop us from acting with all our might.”

On July 11, Washington affirmed Israel's right to self-defense in a statement released from the Pentagon. However, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon that he was concerned about "the risk of escalation and stressed the need for all parties to do everything possible to protect civilians and restore peace."

Early on July 12, an Israeli airstrike killed five young men and injured 15 others outside a home in the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to witnesses and health officials.

Meanwhile, a rocket struck a fuel truck, seriously injuring one person and wounding seven other Israelis in Ashdod, 30km north of Gaza. Palestinian militants warned international airlines that they would fire rockets at Tel Aviv's main airport.

Health officials in Gaza say at least 75 civilians, including 23 children, have been killed in Israeli bombings since the beginning of last week. Twelve people died on July 12 alone.

Palestinian President Abbas urged the UN Security Council to order an immediate ceasefire, but Israel said it was determined to end the increased cross-border rocket attacks that have been ongoing since last month after its forces arrested hundreds of Hamas activists in the West Bank following the kidnapping and killing of three Jewish teenagers.

Israel has attacked more than 1,000 targets in Gaza.

Israeli military commander General Benny Gantz said his forces were ready to act as needed: “We are in the middle of an offensive and we are prepared to expand it as much as required, to wherever necessary, with whatever forces are required and for as long as necessary.”

This could be an indication that Israel is prepared to send tanks and ground troops into Gaza, as it did in early 2009, in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.

According to VOV