Israel says the Gaza operation will go on for "as long as necessary", rejecting international calls for an end to the Israeli strikes.
"The operation will go on and be intensified as long as necessary," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said at a televised news conference on Saturday.
He made the remarks after Israeli F16 bombers and apache helicopters pounded at least 30 separate targets across the Gaza Strip earlier in the day.
The air raids have left at least 210 people dead and 300 others wounded. The death toll is expected to go up "because of new Israeli raids", according to AFP.
"There is a time for cease-fires and a time to fight, and now is the time to fight," Barak said. "For months the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and security forces have been preparing for the operation that began today."
Gaza residents told Press TV that the Israeli gunboats have approached the coastal strip and the helicopters are still seen flying over the coastal region.
Tel Aviv had long threatened to launch a major attack on the strip, claiming that the punitive measures brought against the populated area would be aimed at halting Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.
The regime placed the Gaza Strip under a blockade after the democratically-elected Palestinian government, Hamas, took control of the coastal area in mid-June 2007.
The Saturday onslaught came after a six-month truce between Israel and the Hamas movement expired on December 19.
Palestinian groups say they would consider a longer ceasefire if Israel met Hamas demands, cease all military attacks on Gaza, and lifts the embargo on the strip.
SB/MD