No let-up in Israeli pounding of Gaza

JERUSALEM: Israel, on Friday, showed no signs of slowing down the massive air and sea attacks on the Hamas complexes in the Gaza Strip as the death toll climbed up to 420 and the Islamist group defiantly called for a "day of wrath" against the killing of its senior commander.

With its land forces still massed up for an onslaught, Israeli war planes carried out more than 20 sorties using precision munitions to target complexes of the Hamas leaderships.

And for the first time, as a gesture the war planes at places sounded warnings for people to flee before razing the complexes to rubbles.

In addition to the 420 dead, "Operation Cast Lead" has also left over 2000 wounded, according to Palestinian emergency services.

Israeli jets, on Thursday, attacked the house of hawkish Hamas leader Nizar Rayan in the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing the Islamist leader, his four wives, 10 of his children and two neighbours, witnesses and medical sources said.

Rayan's headless body was hurled into the street by the force of the blast, which also destroyed or damaged 12 nearby houses.

The Israeli army said it had targetted a mosque in Jabaliya where Rayan was a preacher, calling it a "terror-hub" and a storage site for rockets and other weapons.

Top Hamas leader Ismail Radwan said Israel would regret its attacks.

While they "are intended to break our will, they won't," he said on television. "This cowardly enemy must realise that he will regret these crimes against our people."

Hamas called for a "day of wrath" on Friday against Israel over the killing of Rayan.

The rockets fired by the Hamas from Gaza has killed four people and wounded dozens in Israel.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, speaking in Beersheva, said Israel is "not interested in conducting a long war" but insisted "we will deal with Hamas and terror with an iron fist."

However, Israel has kept an option open for diplomatic efforts, saying it would consider a halt to its attacks if international monitors were brought in to track compliance with any truce with Hamas.

For nearly a week, Israel has been bombing targets linked to the ruling Hamas militant group in Gaza. Israel began one of its deadliest-ever attacks on Gaza on Saturday in a bid to halt weeks of Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza.

After destroying Hamas' security infrastructure, Israel has turned its attention to the Islamist group's leadership.

The offensive has dealt a heavy blow to Hamas, but failed to halt the rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.