Israel Ready to Expand Gaza Operation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israeli forces are ready to expand their now five-day old military operation against the Palestinian enclave.

"We will force Hamas and other terrorist organizations to pay a high price," Netanyahu told a Cabinet session on Sunday.

"The Israeli army is ready to significantly expand its operation," he added, as cited by RIA Novosti.

Israel earlier put 75 000 reservists on stand-by amid speculation of a ground invasion.

At least 50 people, around half of them civilians and many of them children, have been killed by Israeli bombs in Gaza since Wednesday, when an Israeli assassinated the head of the military wing of Hamas, Ahmed Jabari, in response to a surge in rocket attacks from the enclave. Six people were killed in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian medics said.

Hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed with casualties and short on supplies, the World Health Organization reported on the fifth day of the Israel – Hamas conflict.