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Jerusalem (CNN) -- A new wave of Israeli airstrikes battered areas of Gaza early Thursday, continuing the deadly onslaught aimed at stopping militant rocket fire into Israel.
The days-long aerial bombardment of Gaza has already killed scores of people, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the offensive would be expanded and continue "until the firing at our communities stops and quiet is restored."
But there was no sign that Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza were backing down as rockets continued to streak over the border into southern Israel.
Some Israeli officials have hinted at the possibility of a ground offensive in Gaza, although questions remain about the government's appetite for such a conflict.
Netanyahu didn't specify what the expansion of the current operation, which began Monday, would entail, but he said Israel's military "is prepared for all possibilities."
Ground offensive?
President Shimon Peres, whose role is largely ceremonial and is not involved in setting policy, said in an exclusive interview with CNN's Becky Anderson that he believed a ground offensive "may happen quite soon" unless Hamas stops firing rockets at Israel.
"We warned them. We asked them to stop it," Peres told Anderson. "We waited one day, two days, three days and they continued, and they spread their fire on more areas in Israel."
While Peres was speaking on his own and his position may not outline an official government policy, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz earlier told CNN that a ground operation "might become necessary."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, convened an emergency meeting of his cabinet on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.
"This war is not against Hamas or another political party but it is against the Palestinian people," he told the media afterward. "What do you call this crime? What is this crime known under international law? To kill entire families, is this collective punishment?
"This is called collective genocide."
A Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said Israel's threat to launch a "stupid" ground offensive didn't scare anyone, and fighters from Hamas' military wing were ready to face off with Israel's "coward" soldiers in Gaza.
Rising death toll in Gaza
The comments came as the death toll rose in Gaza, where the Israel Defense Forces has struck at hundreds of Hamas targets since launching its offensive Monday. It said it hit 108 different targets between midnight and about 7 a.m. Thursday.
The IDF has said its targets include rocket launchers, tunnels and the homes of senior Hamas leaders, which the IDF describes as "command centers."
At least 61 Palestinians have been killed and more than 550 injured in the airstrikes, according to Palestinian medical sources and Health Ministry officials.
Among the dead were eight women and 11 children, including an 18-month-old baby and an 80-year-old woman, according to a list provided by Palestinian medical sources and Health Ministry officials.
The IDF said it uses phone calls and drops empty shells on roofs -- what it calls "roof knocking" -- to warn civilians that airstrikes are imminent.
The Israeli Cabinet has authorized the military to call up 40,000 troops if needed. That is 10,000 more than were called up during Israel's offensive into Gaza in November 2012. Only about 1,000 have been mobilized so far.
Amid the deepening crisis, the U.N. Security Council is due Thursday to hold its first official session on the violence. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who warned Wednesday that "Gaza is on a knife-edge," has requested the opportunity to speak to the Security Council.
Teens' deaths set off latest crisis
The region has many depressing precedents when it comes to violence. Palestinians revolted twice in the past three decades against Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel conquered and occupied those territories in the June 1967 war. Gaza is now under the control of Hamas.
In late 2008 and early 2009, Israel carried out airstrikes and then a ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza that killed roughly 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. The November 2012 Israeli offensive sparked a bloody eight-day conflict that ended in a cease-fire.
In this case, tensions boiled over after three Israeli teens, including one with dual U.S. citizenship, were kidnapped and killed in the West Bank. Israel blames Hamas for the deaths, but the group has denied any involvement.
Last week, only days after the bodies of the Israelis were discovered, a Palestinian teen was abducted and later found dead in Jerusalem. Israeli police have arrested suspects and say there's "strong indication" it was a revenge killing.
Multiple threats
The IDF said 72 rockets rained down on Israel on Wednesday and eight more were fired early Thursday. Some came down in unpopulated areas, while others were intercepted by the country's Iron Dome defense system over Tel Aviv, Ashkelon and Dimona, the IDF said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza are believed to have about 10,000 rockets of varying ranges, according to the Israeli military. Israel has said some 3.5 million residents live in areas within reach of the rockets.
Israel says it's also facing other threats from Hamas. The IDF said it killed attackers who tried to enter southern Israel by sea on Tuesday.
"Israel has been attacked by Hamas in Gaza from the air, with all of those missiles and rockets, through the sea, those commandos," Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday. "Those terrorists came through the sea through the Mediterranean in boats from Gaza. And we've also had an attempted attack underground -- they've been tunneling under the frontier -- trying to bring in terrorists that way to Israel."
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CNN's Diana Magnay reported from Jerusalem, Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's Michael Pearson, Ed Payne, Larry Register, Kareem Khadder, Ben Wedeman, Tal Heinrich, Amir Tal, Salma Abdelaziz and Talal Abu Rahma contributed to this report.
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