Nearly 300 people were killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza, and the situation in the Middle East deteriorated sharply (Figure)

　　BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua)-According to comprehensive reports, Israel has carried out continuous air strikes against the Gaza. Up to now, the attacks have killed 298 people and injured more than 950 people, including both Hamas militants and ordinary Palestinians. It is reported that this is the deadliest conflict in Gaza since the Middle East War in 1967.

　　The Israeli side hinted that it did not rule out escalating the operation and launching a ground attack, and it has begun to increase its troops; Palestinian militant group Hamas has called for suicide attacks. Hamas stepped up its long-range rocket launcher to fight back, reaching 30 kilometers deep into Israel, with the longest range ever.

　　Israel launched several air raids on Gaza in the past two days in retaliation for the Palestinian attacks in recent days, while Hamas repeatedly fired rockets and mortars in response, claiming that it had fired two long-range "hail-type" rockets at Ashdod, a southern Israeli city 30 kilometers from Gaza. Another rocket was fired at Javne, a small town 30 kilometers away from Gaza, which was the longest range of Hamas’s attack.

　　The attack took place on the Jewish Sabbath, which was unexpected. On the other hand, analysts and the media have long expected that Israeli military actions against the Gaza Strip will be inevitable before the Israeli parliamentary elections in February next year.

　　Israel: carefully planned air strikes, army ready to attack

　　From the deep-seated reasons, the attack on the Gaza Strip was the result of the struggle between Israeli political forces before the election. Although they know that there are risks in using force, they still judge that attacking is a more favorable choice for themselves. From the standpoint of the ruling party, this is forced by the election situation. As the air strikes launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip entered the second day, the Israeli Cabinet passed a decision on the 28th to call some reservists.

　　Israeli Foreign Minister Livni said that the operation has been "very successful" so far. She said that Israel is determined to change the reality in Gaza, so that the Israeli public can get rid of the Palestinian rocket attack for four years forever.

　　Israeli local media reported that the Israeli air raid had destroyed 230 targets in the Gaza, and 170 targets were destroyed in the first day. In fact, after a year of intelligence collection and careful deployment, it showed that the use of force was by no means an "improvisation". At present, the Israeli army is mobilizing tanks and ground troops to assemble near Gaza, ready to attack at any time.

　　Cabinet Minister Yitzhak herzog said: "We may not want to conquer Gaza, but of course we are considering all options."

　　Hamas: Resolutely will not surrender and plan to launch a "jihad."

　　Hamas said it would never surrender with a white flag, and warned that it would pay a heavy price if the Israelis invaded Gaza. "All options are on the table, including rocket attacks and suicide bombings," Hamas spokesman Fawaz Bahome said.

　　According to Iranian media reports, Hamas’s foreign propaganda officials even said that "the only way to fight back against Israeli crimes is to launch jihad and uprising". It is reported that Hamas’s strength has not been hit hard by air strikes.

　　The Israeli police have completely cancelled their vacation and issued a high-level terrorist attack alert on the territory to prevent Hamas from retaliating. According to the information held by the Israeli security department, after the Israeli military attacked Gaza, at least 10 terrorist attacks were reported.