By Joanna Chen

Gaza--Early Saturday morning Israeli Air Force planes sped to Gaza, unleashing a massive military operation designed to quash Hamas security facilities and put an end to the renewed barrage of rocket attacks that have hit towns in southern Israel bordering the Gaza Strip for the past week. Throughout the day, Israel carried out up to fifty air strikes on the Hamas-controlled area, killing more than two hundred Palestinians and injuring an estimated five hundred more.  In response, tens of rockets were launched into Israeli territory, sending thousands of panicked Israeli civilians living within a twenty mile radius of Gaza to the safety of bomb shelters.

It had been only a question of time before the launching of Operation Cast Lead. Israel’s security cabinet had signed off on the attacks earlier in the week, amid growing opposition to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's apparent policy of restraint.  At a press conference late on Saturday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called for patience from Israeli citizens and also sent a message to the Palestinian people. "You are not our enemies", he said, insisting that Israel would make efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid to the 1.4 million citizens living in the besieged Gaza Strip.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and French President Nicholas Sarkozy were quick to condemn Israel's action, calling for an immediate ceasefire, as did Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit.  The White House, however, stressed only that Israel should "avoid civilian casualties" and urged Hamas to give up on terrorist activities.

After a day of heavy losses for the Palestinians and one Israeli fatality, stunned civilians on both sides are wondering what's next. Barak said that "there is a time for calm and a time for fighting, and this is the time for fighting."  A senior military source told NEWSWEEK that "Israel will continue to target Hamas infrastructure relentlessly" until attacks on Israel cease, however long it take. As hundreds of Israeli ground troops began to gather on the southern border with Gaza late into the night, the worst, it seems, is yet to come.