GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft pounded the Gaza Strip for a second day, increasing the death toll to nearly 300, as Israeli troops and tanks massed yesterday along the border and the government said that it had called up reserves for a possible ground operation.
The continued airstrikes, which Israel said were being conducted in retaliation for sustained rocket fire from Gaza into its territory, unleashed a furious reaction across the Arab world, raising fears of greater instability in the region.
Much of the anger was also directed at Egypt, seen by Hamas and some nearby governments as having acceded to Israel's military action by sealing its border with Gaza and forcing back at gunpoint many Palestinians who were trying to escape the destruction.
Witnesses at the Rafah border crossing described a chaotic scene as young men tried to force their way into Egypt amid sporadic exchanges of gunfire between Hamas and Egyptian forces. Egyptian state television reported that one Egyptian border guard was killed by a Hamas gunman. A Palestinian was killed by an Egyptian guard near Rafah, Reuters reported.
Medical services in Gaza, stretched to the breaking point after 18 months of Israeli sanctions, were on the verge of collapse, officials said.
Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Gaza Health Ministry said more than 290 people had been killed and more than 800 wounded in two days of fighting.
At Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, women wailed as they searched for relatives among bodies laid out on the floor. Given the dearth of medical facilities, not much could be done for the seriously wounded and it was "better to be brought in dead," a doctor said.
The International Committee for the Red Cross appealed yesterday for urgent humanitarian assistance, including medical supplies, to be allowed to enter Gaza. Israeli officials said that some aid had been allowed in through one of the crossings. On Saturday, Egypt had temporarily opened the Rafah crossing to allow the wounded to be taken to Egyptian hospitals.
Israel made a strong push to justify the attacks, saying that it had been forced into military action to defend its citizens. At the same time, heated statements from the supreme leader of Iran and the leader of Hezbollah expressed strong support for Hamas.
