Hamas said the lack of response included no reaction from members of the Arab world.

The latest round of fighting erupted Wednesday, when the IDF killed five Gaza militants responsible for ongoing rocket fire on southern Israel, which triggered a massive rocket barrage.

 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Saturday for the United Nations Security Council to convene over events in Gaza, Israel Radio reported.

Hazem Abu Shanab, a senior member of Abbas's Fatah faction in Gaza, called the IDF incursion a "real massacre against all of us."

Senior Palestinian negotiator and former prime minister Ahmed Qureia condemned what he called IDF "massacres" in Gaza, Israel Radio reported, quoting him as saying that the raid is designed to derail peace talks

Meanwhile, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, who Friday warned of a "shoah" in Gaza if the rocket fire does not end, was quoted Saturday by Army Radio as saying that while events in Gaza escalate, so do the chances of Israel using greater force. The word "shoah," Hebrew for "holocaust," is used primarily to describe the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis.

An Israeli man was killed Wednesday when a Qassam rocket struck his car on the outskirts of the Negev town of Sderot. Dozens of rockets have struck the south of Israel, some hitting as far north as Ashkelon, some 15 kilometers from Gaza.

Defense Minster Ehud Barak on Friday blamed Hamas for the escalating violence, and said the extremist group would bear the consequences.

"Hamas is directly responsible for the current situation and will be the one to bear the cost of our response", Barak said during a visit to Ashkelon, adding that "an Israeli response is necessary and will be carried out."

Abbas, who remains hostile to Hamas in particular since the group's violent takeover of Gaza last June, called Israel's threats
and preparations to target the Strip "dangerous."

The Quartet's Middle East envoy Tony Blair on Friday called on Jerusalem to avoid harming innocent Palestinians when combating rocket fire, while also issuing a harsh condemnation of Gaza militants' Qassam attacks on Israel.

"The loss of civilian life including children is absolutely tragic. The rocket attacks which resulted in the death of an innocent Israeli and injuries to many more must cease, and are utterly to be condemned," said Blair in a statement.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit called Friday on both sides to "exercise restraint and refrain from acts that lead to the military confrontation continuing."

Abul Gheit said the IDF's "military operations against the Palestinians in Gaza are an excessive use of force."

The United States has urged Israel to "consider the consequences" of any action ahead of next week's visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Rice's visit is aimed at prodding Israel and moderate Palestinians forward in their bid to reach a peace accord by the end of the year. The two sides declared that goal at the U.S.-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November.

Senior European diplomat Javier Solana will also visit the region beginning Sunday, to encourage Israeli and Palestinian leaders to keep the peace process on track, his office said in a statement.