Netanyahu warns Israel to prepare for long Gaza conflict, as at least 10 more are killed

Israel will press its air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday, preparing his country for a longer and bloodier campaign and dashing hopes that thethree-week-old conflict would end soon.

Israel’s antagonist, the Islamist militant organization Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, continued to unleash deadly mortar and rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across Israel.

In Gaza City, explosions Monday rocked a neighborhood and left at least 10 people dead, including children playing on a street, as a brief lull on one of Islam’s holiest days gave way to fresh attacks and tragedy.

The latest bloodshed occurred as international efforts to end the devastating war had been intensifying. Early Monday, the U.N. Security Council called for an “immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire.”

The Israeli military made cellphone calls and sent text messages to thousands of Palestinians living in the Shijaiyah, Zeitoun and Jabalya neighborhoods, warning them to evacuate immediately and head for Gaza City. Similar mass messages have preceded large strikes and incursions by Israel recently.

In a telephone conversation, Netanyahu told Ban that the United Nations had ignored Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians and the group’s use of civilians as human shields.

On Sunday, Obama had also urged an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, according to the White House.