Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to end its hail of rockets on Israel as Israeli leaders signaled they were preparing to invade the Gaza Strip to stop the barrages.

Abbas spoke today as the Palestinian death toll from three days of intensified Israeli air strikes in Hamas-controlled Gaza neared 90. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address today that there would be “additional phases” to the military operation and that a “difficult, complex” battle lies ahead.

“What are you trying to achieve by sending rockets?” Abbas asked on Palestine TV, without explicitly naming Hamas, which recently lent its backing to his government after a seven-year rift. “We prefer to fight with wisdom and politics.”
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It was the first time Abbas has openly criticized militants for firing hundreds of rockets into Israel over the past month. The public nature of his critique may further strain his political alliance with Hamas, which has already developed cracks over finances and his denunciation of the abduction of three Israeli teenagers, whose killing Israel has blamed on the militant group.

Israeli aircraft stepped up weeks of strikes on the territory earlier this week after the rocket fire grew heavier, reaching farther into Israel than ever before. United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon warned the Security Council of the “risk of an all-out escalation in Israel and Gaza, with the threat of a ground offensive still palpable.”

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