Israeli warplanes Monday bombed the Hamas Interior Ministry, which supervises 13,000 members of the Hamas's security forces, causing no casualties as the building had been evacuated. Also hit was the Islamic University building which was empty. The planes also attacked the homes of two top commanders in Hamas's armed wing. They were not home, but several family members were among the seven dead. The Palestinian toll from the onslaught rose to 335 dead and around 700 wounded, medical officials in Gaza said. The United Nations said at least 57 of the dead were civilians. Rockets fired from Gaza by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group killed three Israelis, two after nightfall in less than an hour, increasing pressure on the Israeli government as the army amassed infantry and armored forces along the border. A total of four Israelis have been killed by rockets since the offensive began on Saturday. Israel declared areas around the Gaza Strip a “closed military zone”, citing the risk from Palestinian rockets, and ordering out journalists observing a buildup of armoured forces preparing for a possible ground invasion of the territory. Excluding the press could help Israel keep under wraps its preparations for a Gaza incursion following three days of air strikes that have caused chaos, turned some buildings to rubble and left hospitals struggling to cope. The executive committee of the Palestinians' umbrella organization, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), called for the deployment of international troops in Gaza to protect it from “Israeli crimes.” Tayeb Abdelrahim, a senior aide to President Mahmud Abbas, told reporters Abbas “is deploying intense efforts within the international community to protect our people and stop the massacres.
