Israeli aircraft launched 13 air strikes inside the Gaza Strip early yesterday, destroying what its army claimed were weapons factories.
More than 40 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel since the start of the year, killing one man.
Ismail Haniya, Hamas's prime minister, called on the international community to intervene to avoid a possible escalation in the region. He said three Palestinian children were hurt by flying glass during the air strikes.
'We are contacting the other Palestinian factions in order to reach an internal consensus as to the measures we may take in order to protect our people and strengthen our unity,' he said.
The violence is the most serious since the end of Israel's assault on Gaza in January last year.
Palestinians and human rights groups say more than 1,400 died in the conflict, while Israel puts the figure at 1,166. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, were killed.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office urged an end to the violence. 'We are concerned by today's strikes and the escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel over the past week,' he said. 'We call on all parties to show restraint.'
However, Silvan Shalom, Israel's deputy prime minister, said its army was prepared for a major assault if Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza did not stop.
Another rocket fired at midday yesterday landed in an open area near the Israeli port city of Ashkelon. No one was hurt in the attack.
Last week, two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen were killed in a firefight as the gunmen attempted to plant explosives near the Gaza border - the most serious incident since last year's war.
Israeli leaders said their patience was wearing thin over the rocket attacks, insisting that incidents have doubled since the same period last year.
Mr Shalom also warned that, if the rockets continued, another military offensive was imminent.
'If this rocket fire against Israel does not stop, it seems we will have to raise the level of our activity and step up our actions against Hamas,' he said.
'We won't allow frightened children to again be raised in bomb shelters and so, in the end, it will force us to launch another military operation.
'I hope we can avoid it, but it is one of the options we have, and if we don't have a choice, we will use it in the near future.'
Israel said that it held Hamas responsible for all fire coming from the besieged enclave, while Hamas insisted it was trying to calm the situation.
Khaled Mashaal, the group's politburo chief, said Hamas wanted to 'continue with the calm, and is uninterested in an escalation of violence'.
He added that it would take 'the proper steps to prevent rocket attacks'.
Air strikes: A Palestinian woman walks among the ruins of an air strike on Gaza City yesterday
Conflict: More of the destruction at what Hamas claims is a cheese factory after the Israeli strike
Restraint: The Foreign Office has expressed its 'concern' after strikes caused damage in the Gaza Strip yesterday, above
Retribution: Two of the three children wounded by flying glass in the Israeli air strike are rushed to hospital
Militants to 'moderators': Who are Hamas?
The news that Hamas is coming under increased pressure from more extreme Islamic groups is worrying.
In Arabic, 'hamas' means 'zeal'. The group has three factions - social, political and military. It is the social arm that has inspired such support for the Palestinian movement in the Gaza Strip - but it is the military arm that has incited the hatred of Israel and condemnation of the group as 'terrorists'.
Hamas grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, gaining a foothold in Gaza and the West Bank with social and charitable work in the 1960s.
It became a formal organisation in 1987 after the first Palestinian intifada. Its first suicide bombing was launched in 1993.
In 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian Authority's general legislative elections, democratically defeating Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas. Since then it has failed to unite around a cohesive programme, largely due to tensions between leaders.
The group's charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In 2009 its overall leader Khaled Meshaal, in exile in Syria, said Hamas was willing to cooperate with the U.S. on an Arab-Israeli solution - including a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.
But the proposal fell apart as Hamas continued to refuse to recognise Israel, a necessary step for it to be included in the peace talks.
Nevertheless, Hamas has pulled back on its militancy, ending rocket attacks in the wake of Operation Cast Lead last year. So the news that other, even more extreme groups are putting pressure on it to fight again is not reassuring.
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