From Gaza City to Tel Aviv, rockets kept flying, people kept dying and fear and anger on both sides kept growing.
For all the bloodshed thus far -- including at least 30 killed in Gaza since Wednesday, according to a Palestinian government website, and Israel reporting three deaths in Kiryat Malachi -- there has been little indication the situation will calm any time soon.
In fact, fears are rising that the opposite will hold true. Israel's Cabinet on Friday approved the activation of up to 75,000 reservists, prime minister's spokesman Mark Regev said. Also, the Israel Defense Forces reported earlier in the day that it is "mobilizing forces" in preparation for a "possible ground invasion of the Gaza Strip."
Q&A: Gaza strikes could be beginning of ground attack
The violence "seems that it's beyond control," said Daniel Ben Simon, a Knesset member not aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition.
The violence continued Saturday morning, with several loud explosions from apparent Israeli strikes rattling Gaza City. From northern Gaza, Mohammed Sulaiman said he could hear bombs intermittently falling from Israeli warplanes as well as, from the other side, rockets periodically whistling toward Israel.
"The situation is totally dangerous here, and it is not safe to be out in the street," Sulaiman said.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces, which has accused Hamas of turning Gaza into "a frontal base for Iran," said 97 rockets launched from Gaza had hit Israel since midweek, while another 99 were intercepted by a missile defense system.
The former category included rockets that landed near Israel's two most populous cities Friday. No damage was reported, but Israelis consider the attacks on its major population centers to be an escalation, said Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren.
Two struck an open area south of Jerusalem, with Hamas militants confirming they had fired rockets toward that city.
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