GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israel resisted mounting international pressure Wednesday to suspend its devastating air offensive against Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip, sending more troops and tanks to the border as signs of an impending ground invasion multiplied.
A long column of tanks and other army vehicles, two and three abreast, was strung out along an access road to Gaza. Dozens of tanks were parked in a rain-sodden field on the frontier.
Commanders were moving forward with preparations for a possible ground assault, said an Israeli defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.
Earlier this week the government approved the call-up of more than 9,000 reserves soldiers.
The diplomatic action was set in motion by Israel's aerial campaign, now in its fifth day, aimed at snuffing out Hamas rocket barrages that are striking ominously close to the Israeli heartland.
Gaza officials put the Palestinian death toll at more than 390 dead and 1,600 wounded. Hamas says some 200 uniformed members of its security forces have been killed, and the United Nations says at least 60 Palestinian civilians have died. Israeli defence officials say Hamas' top military and political leaders have gone underground and have not been touched.
Four Israelis have been killed by rocket fire, including three civilians.
The chief of Israel's internal security services, Yuval Diskin, told cabinet ministers Wednesday that Hamas' ability to rule had been "badly impaired."
Weapons development facilities have been "completely wiped out" and a network of smuggling tunnels that has been Hamas' lifeline has been badly damaged, a participant in the meeting quoted Diskin as saying. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed to the media.
The bombing onslaught has touched off protests across the Islamic world. In Iran on Wednesday, students asked their government to authorize volunteer suicide bombers to attack Israel. The Tehran government had no immediate response.
On Tuesday, France urged Israel to halt its operation for 48 hours. Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert discussed the idea with his defence and foreign ministers overnight, but the trio decided to pursue the aerial campaign.
Calls for an immediate ceasefire have also come from the United States, the European Union, the UN and Russia. U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice both called leaders in the Middle East on Tuesday to press for a durable solution.
White House officials said Bush talked with Olmert on Wednesday about finding ways to "end the violence" in the region and to voice concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza. Spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Olmert assured Bush that Israel is trying to limit such casualties as it goes after Hamas targets.
Israeli cabinet ministers did not discuss the substance of the French ceasefire proposal at a meeting later Wednesday.
Olmert told ministers Israel embarked upon the offensive to radically transform the security situation in Israel's south and would not leave the job half done.
France said it was still trying to persuade Israel to suspend its attacks. "I hope there are no ground operations," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner added.
Underlying the Israeli decision to keep fighting are the mightier weapons that Hamas has smuggled into Gaza through underground tunnels along the border with Egypt.
Early Wednesday, Israeli aircraft pounded smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border in another attempt to sever the pipeline that keeps Hamas in power by supplying weapons, food and fuel.
Israel and Egypt blockaded Gaza after Hamas violently seized control of the territory in June 2007, and have cracked open their borders only to let in limited amounts of humanitarian aid.
In Gaza City, powerful bomb blasts sent high-rise apartment buildings swaying and showered streets with broken glass and pulverized concrete. The Israeli military said government buildings were hit, including an office of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Israeli aircraft also flattened a mosque, leaving only its minaret standing.
Two Palestinian medics were killed and two others were wounded when an Israeli missile struck next to their ambulance east of Gaza City, Palestinians said. The Israeli military said it did not know of the incident.
Israeli navy ships also fired at Hamas positions along the coast.
Although Hamas leaders have been driven underground, spokesman Taher Nunu said the Gaza government was functioning and had met over the past few days.
"What our people want is clear: an immediate stop to all kinds of aggression, the end of the siege by all means, the opening of all border crossings, and international guarantees that the occupation will not renew this terrorist war again," Nunu said in a statement.
