Israel ready to launch ground offensive

Israel briefly deployed ground troops inside the Gaza Strip for the first time today as its military warned Gazans to evacuate as part of a widening offensive that has killed more than 160 Palestinians.

Neither Israel nor Palestinian militants show signs of agreeing to a ceasefire, despite calls by the United Nations Security Council and others to end the increasingly bloody six-day offensive. With Israel massing tanks and soldiers at Gaza’s borders, some fear that could signal a wider ground offensive.