Israeli official warns of longer Gaza rocket range

Only one Israeli was lightly wounded in the barrage of 19 rockets and three mortars by nightfall. But after a weekend of heavy rocket attacks--and two Israeli airstrikes in response--Israel's government threatened to strike back hard.

One rocket exploded in Ashkelon, a city of about 120,000 on the Mediterranean coast 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Gaza. In the past, Israel has responded harshly to attacks on Ashkelon.

Yuval Diskin, the head of the Shin Bet security service, warned Israel's Cabinet that Gaza's Hamas rulers now have rockets that can reach the larger city of Ashdod farther north on the Mediterranean coast and even the outskirts of Beersheba, 30 miles (50 kilometers) to the east. Such attacks would increase the likelihood of an Israeli invasion of Gaza.

"The scenarios are clear, the plans are clear, the determination is clear, and so are the ramifications of each of the steps," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at his Cabinet's weekly meeting. "A responsible government is not happy to go to war, but does not evade it."

The government has been under heavy pressure to react to the rocket fire, but the military has so far been wary of doing so for fear of casualties. In the past, large operations have not succeeded in stopping the rockets.

A truce between Israel and Hamas expired on Friday after six months. The truce had frayed since early November, and rocket fire at Israeli towns has been increasing steadily in recent days.

"The Hamas government in Gaza must be toppled, the means to do this must be military, economic and diplomatic," said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is in the running to become prime minister in elections Feb. 10. "Whenever they shoot at Israel, Israel must respond."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned the Cabinet that broad military action is increasingly likely. "In order to return to a calm like six months ago, we will probably need a wide-scale operation," he said, according to a meeting participant who spoke on condition of anonymity under government guidelines.

Israeli officials said diplomats are already trying to build international support for an offensive in Gaza. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks are not public, said the goal was to avert hostile declarations and U.N. resolutions if Israel invades Gaza. No further details, including which countries have been contacted, were immediately available.