Defiant Hamas hammers Israel

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip sent a deadly barrage of missiles flying deep into Israel, demonstrating that Hamas still has firepower three days into Israel's punishing offensive against Gaza. Three Israelis were killed and two seriously wounded.

A young Palestinian protester throws stones during clashes with Israeli troops A young Palestinian protester throws stones during clashes with Israeli troops

Israel, meanwhile, turned the force of its air assault toward Hamas field operatives in Gaza, sending warplanes to bomb their houses in a sweep meant to tear at the roots of the militant organisation.

A tough-talking Israeli defence minister promised them a "war to the bitter end", as the three-day death toll in Israel's shock-and-awe offensive rose to 364, according to Gaza health officials.

The intensified rocket strikes by militants, which triggered the Israeli offensive, have revealed the expanding range of missiles in their stockpiles. Larger cities farther inside Israel are now vulnerable.

In a night-time barrage, militants sent a missile crashing into a bus stop in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, 23 miles from Gaza. A woman was killed and two others were wounded, one of them seriously. They were the first causalities in the city of 190,000 residents.

One person was killed and another was seriously wounded by another missile in the Negev desert community of Nahal Oz, closer to the Gaza border. Earlier today, a construction worker was killed by a missile hit in the city of Ashkelon. In all, four Israelis were killed since the weekend.

Israel's overwhelming retaliation has rattled the Middle East and capitals around the world, triggering street protests and fiery speeches by key adversaries of Israel like Lebanon's Hezbollah. In the largest street rally yet, tens of thousands of Lebanese Hezbollah supporters stood under pouring rain in Beirut in protest at the assault.

Stone-throwing clashes also broke out in around half a dozen places in the West Bank as well as in several Arab-populated areas inside Israel.

As signs mounted that the Gaza offensive could widen into a ground war, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak told Israel's parliament he wanted to strike a devastating blow against Hamas. However, later he indicated a ground assault was not inevitable, issuing an ultimatum-sounding statement that he was giving Hamas a last chance to halt its rocket fire.

Short of reoccupying Gaza, however, it is unlikely that any amount of Israeli firepower will be able to completely snuff out the rocket barrages. Past operations have all failed to do so.

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