Israel Appears Ready to Invade Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli leaders are signaling that a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip could be quickly approaching. Israel's intelligence minister told Israel Radio that his country "will have to take over Gaza temporarily, for a few weeks."

For a second day today, Israel today struck targets in Gaza as part of what Israel says is an effort to stop rocket attacks. Palestinian officials say more than 20 people were killed.

Militants in Gaza, meanwhile, continue to fire rocket salvos deep into Israeli territory.

Israel now has thousands of troops along the Gaza border ahead of a possible ground operation. But despite the tough threats, Israeli security officials are still hesitant about ordering a ground invasion due to the many risks. The invasion could bring heavy civilian casualties on the Palestinian side, while putting Israeli ground forces in danger.

Of the 49 people who Palestinian medics say have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli operation began, medical officials have confirmed at least 15 are civilians and 10 are militants. There's no definitive word on the others. The rocket fire from Gaza, meanwhile, hasn't caused any serious Israeli casualties.

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Arab nations call for emergency UN meeting on Gaza

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Arab nations are calling for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council and immediate action to end what they say is Israel's "outrageous onslaught" against Palestinians, especially in Gaza.

Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour and ambassadors representing Arab, Islamic and non-aligned nations say that they expect an urgent council meeting to be held very soon. They spoke to reporters after meeting the Security Council president.

"We want the Security Council to shoulder its responsibility and stop this aggression against our people," Mansour said.

He urged the council to adopt a presidential statement or a resolution to protect the Palestinian people and hold those responsible for the attacks accountable.

This will likely prove difficult because of deep divisions in the council, including the strong U.S. support for Israel.