Israeli Air, Ground Strikes Pound Gaza City Amid Mounting Tension

Rockets launched by Palestinian militants towards Israel make their way from the northern Gaza Strip, seen from the Israel Gaza Border, southern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. <AP Photo/Ariel Schalit>

A Palestinian boy holds a window pane taken from a damaged house hit in an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Israeli aircraft, tanks and naval gunboats pounded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and rocket salvoes thudded into southern Israel, as residents on both sides of the frontier holed up at home in anticipation of heavy fighting on the second day of Israel’s offensive against Islamic militants. <AP Photo/Hatem Moussa>

Iron Dome defense system fires to intercept incoming missiles from Gaza in the port town of Ashdod, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the army is prepared for a ‘significant widening’ of its operation in the Gaza Strip. <AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov>

Explosion and smoke rise following an Israeli air strike in the northern Gaza Strip, seen from the Israel Gaza Border, southern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. <AP Photo/Ariel Schalit>