Israel Gaza strike kills 155, Hamas fire kills one

Israeli warplanes launched a massive air strike on Gaza City on Saturday, killing at least 155 people and injuring 200 as mass chaos erupted in the aftermath of the deadly strike that Israel said was "only the beginning."

Israeli F-16 fighter jets fired more than 30 missiles in a simultaneous attack on at least 30 separate targets in Gaza, which Israel said were"terrorist infrastructures."

The dead and wounded lay scattered on the ground following the Israeli attacks, which destroyed several Hamas police compounds in the bloodiest day for Palestinians in more than 20 years.

Distraught rescuers cried out as they tried to find those still alive and black smoke billowed over Gaza city.

Several of the rescuers beat their heads and shouted: "Allahu akbar (God is greatest)." One badly wounded prostrate man quietly recited verses from the Quran.

At another site, there was a huge crater in the ground. Nearby medics carried people into an ambulance.

Tensions mounted as Tel Aviv said it would expand attacks and announced the massive bombardment of Gaza is "only just the beginning" as Hamas and Palestinian factions called for revenge.

"This is only just the beginning of an operation launched after a security cabinet decision. It could take time. We have not fixed a timeline and we will act according to the situation on the ground," military spokesman Avi Benayahu said.

"All fighters are ordered to respond to the Israeli slaughter," said a statement by the Islamic Jihad group, echoing statements issued by Hamas and other armed factions.

Reaction

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that he was in "urgent contact" with numerous Arab and international countries over the deadly strikes.

"We have carried out urgent contacts with numerous Arab countries and other nations to stop the cowardly aggressions and massacres in the Gaza Strip," Abbas told AFP from Saudi Arabia which he is currently visiting.

Meanwhile, Egypt condemned the raids and said it would open its Rafah border crossing with the besieged territory.

"Egypt condemns the Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip and blames Israel, as an occupying force, for the victims and the wounded," President Hosni Mubarak said in a statement.

He gave instructions for the Rafah terminal -- the only one that bypasses Israel -- to be opened so wounded Palestinians could be evacuated "so they can receive the necessary treatment in Egyptian hospitals," it added.