Gaza Strip militants bombarded southern Israel with dozens of rockets, sending Israel closer to escalating its battle against them as it stepped up air strikes and mobilized reserves.
About 80 rockets hit Israel from Hamas-controlled Gaza Monday, reaching as deep as 25 miles (40 km) inside Israeli territory, the military said. The army is reinforcing regular paratrooper and infantry forces on the Gaza border with as many as 1,500 reservists, spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said in a phone briefing.
"While last week the army talked about de-escalation, now we're talking about preparation for possible escalation," Lerner said.