Aussie minister calls for Palestinian state

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said on Thursday that the only solution to the Middle East conflict is the granting of a state to the Palestinian people and a security guarantee for the Israelis.

Carr was speaking in Sydney after Israel carried out a blistering offensive of more than fifty airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, assassinating Hamas' military commander and targeting the armed group's training facilities and rocket launchers in the most intense attack on the territory in nearly four years.

"The sooner the world can see the two sides, Palestine and Israel, sitting down at a table and negotiations towards what we all know is the inevitable, the inevitable outcome, we know the maps, we know the divisions required, the sooner the world sees that, the sooner the world can breathe easy." Carr said as the bombardment of Gaza continued into Thursday.

"There is only one solution, a two-state solution, a Palestinian state, security guarantees for Israel, and a tragedy like this just draws our attention once again," Carr added.

Israel said the airstrikes, launched in response to days of rocket fire out of Hamas-ruled Gaza, were the beginning of a broader operation against the Islamic militants codenamed "Pillar of Defence."

"These tragedies will continue while the Palestinian people are denied a state of their own and while Israel can't get the sort of security guarantees that will enable it to take something of a risk for peace," Carr said.

Israeli defence officials said a ground operation was a strong possibility in the coming days though they stressed no decisions had been made and much would depend on Hamas' reaction.

There were no immediate signs of extraordinary troop deployments along the border.

The air attacks continued steadily into the early hours of Thursday, targeting the armed group's training facilities and rocket launchers in Israel's most intense attack on the territory since its full-scale war there four years ago.

Ten Palestinians, including two young children and seven militants, were killed on the operation's first day, and more than 93 were wounded.