However, Hamas said the military had struck two mosques in a series of 'barbaric' airstrikes which would hopefully galvanise support in the Muslim world.
'The bombing of two mosques in Gaza overnight shows how barbaric this enemy is and how much is it hostile to Islam,' said Husam Badran, a Hamas spokesman in Doha, Qatar.
'This terrorism gives us the right to broaden our response to deter this occupier.'
Military spokesman General Moti Almoz said he expected the air campaign to continue at least throughout today and tomorrow, as there were still 'many targets to attack'.
'In parallel, we are preparing the next parts of the operation, readying the forces to enter on the ground,' he told public radio this morning.
It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press on with his country's military campaign, saying there is 'still more to go'.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Netanyahu defended the attacks by his Israeli forces, saying they are part of a determined effort to halt rocket fire by militants.
He added that Hamas was to blame for the high number of civilian casualties for hiding in residential areas and targeting Israeli population centers.
Mr Netanyahu's comments came amid growing pressure from a number of international leaders to cease the military campaign - with the number of casualties growing every day.
But the politician said he had been in touch with numerous world leaders, including President Barack Obama and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Canada, and had told them that no other country would tolerate repeated fire on its citizens.
'No international pressure will prevent us from acting with all power,' he added.
Dismissing a question about possible cease-fire efforts he said: 'I will end it when our goals are realized. And the overriding goal is to restore the peace and quiet.'
He also said he would not rule out the possibility of expanding the campaign of mostly aerial attacks into a ground war in Gaza, answering when asked whether such a move was possible that 'we are weighing all possibilities and preparing for all possibilities.'
