HAMAS last night threatened to assassinate Israeli leaders as the bombing of the Gaza Strip entered a third day and armoured forces were deployed along the borders of the Palestinian territory.As Israel mobilised 6700 reservists in preparation for the next stage of combat, senior Hamas official Fatah Hamad warned that the militant group would assassinate Defence Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and other leaders if the attacks continued.
Mr Barak countered that Israeli was in "all-out war against Hamas", as the army declared the border area a closed military zone - a move that in the past has often been followed by ground operations in Gaza.
At least 51 civilians were among the victims so far, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said last night.
Palestinian medics said several children had been killed in the latest air raids, with the death toll in Gaza rising to 312.
An Israeli Arab was killed and eight others were wounded yesterday when a missile fired from Gaza landed near a construction site in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. Earlier, Hamas unleashed the longest-range rockets yet fired into Israel, striking near the port city of Ashdod, 40km inside the Jewish state.
Mr Hamad also threatened senior officials of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and "those in the Arab world who have conspired against us", an apparent reference to Egyptian leaders. Hamas has called for suicide bombers to attack inside Israel.
Planes used bunker buster bombs to destroy 40 tunnels through which supplies were smuggled into the Gaza Strip from Egypt, Israeli officials said.
Most of the targets hit were in Gaza City, including homes of Hamas leaders and the office of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya. A house next to Mr Haniya's home was destroyed but the Prime Minister had gone into hiding, as had other Hamas leaders.
Planes hit a security compound that included a Hamas prison, allowing dozens of prisoners to flee through the shattered walls. Also hit were two laboratory buildings at the Islamic University said by Israel to have been used to prepare explosives and fuel for rockets. Gaza's nine hospitals were reported to be overwhelmed as the number of wounded approached 1000.
Israel announced that it would permit the entry into Gaza of 100 trucks carrying medicines, food and other supplies contributed by Turkey, Jordan and international organisations. Hundreds of Gaza residents breached the border fence with Egypt to escape from the Strip.
Yuval Diskin, the head of domestic spy agency Shin Bet, told the Israeli cabinet early yesterday that Hamas was still in shock from the scale of the onslaught but was preparing attacks it hoped would change the picture.
The cabinet approval for the mobilisation of 6700 reservists suggested any initial ground thrusts would be limited in scope. Ms Livni said Israel had no intention of reoccupying the Gaza Strip, from which it pulled out three years ago. Officials said the Foreign Ministry was already working on an exit strategy that would not involve stationing an international force in Gaza similar to that deployed in southern Lebanon after the war against Hezbollah.