Israel moved closer to invading Gaza, saying Thursday it had wrapped up preparations for a broad offensive after Palestinian militants fired about 100 rockets and mortar shells across the border in two days.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned on Thursday that terrorists in the Gaza Strip would pay a "heavy price" if they continued to target Israel, as the IDF finalized preparations for a possible large-scale assault on the coastal territory.
The two frontrunners in the race to become prime minister after a snap election in February both vowed to topple Hamas, which has run Gaza since violently seizing power there in June 2007.
Iran is conducting a second day of war games near the Strait of Hormuz. The Fars News Agency reports fighter jets successfully launched air-to-sea missiles against a predetermined target.
Israeli forces pounded dozens of Hamas targets early Saturday as the army kept up pressure on the Islamic militant group ahead of a crucial vote on whether to end Israel's punishing three-week-long campaign against Gaza's rulers.
Israeli aircraft struck a Gaza City cemetery on Wednesday, unearthing dozens of bodies, and pounded militants' weapons positions and arms smuggling tunnels, witnesses and the military said, as guerrillas in Lebanon raised the specter of a new front by sending rockets crashing into northern Israel.
Despite heavy air and ground assaults, Israel has yet to cripple the military wing of Hamas or destroy the group's ability to launch rockets, Israeli intelligence officials said on Tuesday, suggesting that Israel's main goals in the conflict remain unfulfilled even after 18 days of war.
Russia has hardened its stance toward US plans for a missile shield in an apparent bid to "test the mettle" of incoming President Barack Obama, US arms negotiator John Rood said Wednesday.
Iranian Vice President Esfandyar Rahim Mashaei believes the destruction of Israel should become an international goal and a global demand, the state-owned IRNA reported Tuesday. 
