Israeli air strikes shook Gaza every few minutes yesterday, and militants kept up rocket fire at Israel’s heartland in intensifying warfare that Palestinian officials said has killed at least 47 people in the Hamas-dominated enclave.

Stevie Wonder is calling off a concert for a group that raises money for the Israeli military.

William Hague has led fresh calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East after the bloodiest day of the Gaza crisis increased growing concerns over the safety of innocent civilians caught up in the conflict.

An Israeli missile killed at least 11 Palestinian civilians including four children in Gaza, medical officials said, apparently an attack on a top militant that brought a three-storey home crashing down.

Israel risks losing international sympathy if it launches a ground invasion in Gaza in a bid to crack down on Hamas militants, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said today.

Israel’s cabinet authorised the mobilisation of up to 75,000 reservists late last night, preparing the ground for a possible Gaza invasion after Palestinians fired a rocket toward Jerusalem for the first time in decades.

THE websites of Israel’s army and intelligence services were down yesterday, two days after a hacker group appeared to threaten the Jewish state over its interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla.

Israel’s military has condemned the publication of the names and photographs of 200 Israeli soldiers by a website that calls the troops “war criminals”.

Israel’s prime minister today claimed its commando raid that left nine dead on an aid flotilla heading for Gaza was justified under international law.

MORE than two dozen Israeli soldiers who fought in the Gaza war say the military forced Palestinians to serve as human shields and used reckless firepower that caused needless deaths, according to a report released yesterday.

Israel’s military used reckless force in Gaza earlier this year, resulting in needless deaths and damage, a group of former Israeli soldiers said in a report today.

US President George W Bush, in his first public reaction to Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza, has said that the Jewish state was justified in protecting itself against Hamas militants.

Hamas militants today released a recorded message from captured Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, the first sign of life from the young serviceman since he was abducted exactly one year ago.

Hamas militants today released a recorded message from captured Israeli soldier Cpl Gilad Shalit, the first sign of life from the young serviceman since he was abducted exactly one year ago.

Lebanese guerrillas used human shields in their recent war with Israel, according to a report from an Israeli think tank.

The international Red Cross tonight called on Israel to pull troops out of Palestinian Red Crescent premises in Nablus.

A US-born Israeli soldier who refused to take part in an army operation to destroy empty buildings in the Gaza Strip before evacuation of the entire territory later this summer has been sentenced to 56 days in jail, the army spokesperson said yesterday.

RESPONDING to growing threats of insubordination, Israel's army chief announced yesterday he'll expel officers and soldiers who refuse to participate in a planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.

THREE Israeli soldiers and three Palestinians were killed during gun battles after militants broke into a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli soldier is expected to be charged with manslaughter following the death of British peace activist Tom Hurndall, who was shot in the Gaza strip, Israeli military sources said today.

TEN Palestinians, including a four-year-old girl, were killed during Israeli swoops in the Gaza Strip yesterday that touched off fierce battles with gunmen, witnesses said.

ISRAEL committed war crimes, including unlawful killings, in Jenin and Nablus during a broad military offensive in the West Bank towns earlier this year, Amnesty International said yesterday.

Israel is insisting that it will hold on to six West Bank towns until its demands are met, despite stiff US criticism of her widest incursion in seven years.