From The Telegraph and ABC

At least a dozen trucks carrying tanks and armoured vehicles were seen moving toward the border area, while buses ferried soldiers, as Israeli forces moved closer to a ground war against the radical Islamist group Hamas.

Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, also approved the call-up of 30,000 reservists as the confrontation intensified.

The two rockets fell just short of Tel Aviv, the furthest they have ever reached inside Israel. One hit the town of Rishon Lezion, seven miles away, while a second, an Iranian Fajr-5 missile, fell into the sea off the coast of Jaffa, just to the south of the city.

Both were claimed by Islamic Jihad, a more radical group separate from Hamas, which has political control over Gaza. But Israeli leaders gave no sign of recognising that distinction, regarding any attack on its territory as a legitimate cause for retaliation.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was buoyed by support from Western leaders including President Barack Obama and the foreign secretary, William Hague.

He also spoke to an "extremely concerned" David Cameron by telephone on Thursday night.