Violence raged on the streets of Israel late Wednesday, with rival Arab and Jewish mobs carrying out beatings and torching cars in a wave of communal unrest.
As the conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza intensified and the death toll grew to at least 90, political leaders urged an end to the "anarchy" on the streets of Israel's mixed ethnicity towns.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to restore order "with an iron fist if necessary" after nights of violence across the country.
"It doesn't matter to me that your blood is boiling. You can't take the law in your hands," he said.
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At least 83 Palestinians and seven Israelis have been killed as the Israeli military and the militant group Hamas continue to exchange barrages of airstrikes and rocket attacks, officials on either side said.
Israel has prepared combat troops along the Gaza border and was in "various stages of preparing ground operations," a military spokesman said.
"The chief of staff is inspecting those preparations and providing guidance," Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said.
Meanwhile, tensions and clashes that first flared weeks ago in Jerusalem have swept across Israel in a wave of fury as the conflict in Gaza escalated.
Dozens of people were arrested in towns across the country where clashes and rioting broke out.
In Lod, near Tel Aviv, groups of Jewish and Arab people ignored a nighttime curfew and battled on the streets, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.
Two people were shot and killed and one Israeli Jew was stabbed there, police said.
In nearby Bat Yam an Israeli mob dragged an Arab motorist from his car and attacked him, leaving him in a serious condition.
In the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said it thwarted a Palestinian shooting attack that wounded two people, according to The Associated Press. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the suspected gunman was killed. No details were immediately available, the AP said.
The domestic violence was among the worst since the 2000 Palestinian intifada.
While Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin, urged against a "senseless civil war," international figures warned that the conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinians in Gaza risked spiraling toward all-out war.
In a call with Netanyahu on Wednesday, President Joe Biden conveyed his "unwavering support for Israel's security and for Israel's legitimate right to defend itself and its people, while protecting civilians," according to a White House statement.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and "condemned the rocket attacks and emphasized the need to de-escalate tensions and bring the current violence to an end," a statement said.
Washington was sending a senior diplomat to the region in an effort to calm tensions.
The rocket attacks and airstrikes followed unrest in Jerusalem, fomented by clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian worshippers and plans to evict Palestinian families from land claimed by Jewish settlers.
Hamas, the militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, fired volleys of rockets that by Thursday morning numbered more than 1,500, Israeli officials said. Seven Israelis including one soldier have been killed, officials said, with the civilian deaths occurring in in Lod, Ashkleon and Rishon Lezion.
Incoming flights to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main international hub, were diverted as rocket fire again prompted emergency sirens Thursday in the country's largest city.
The flights were diverted to Ramon International Airport, which is in the south of Israel and more than 100 miles from Gaza. But Hamas said Thursday it had also fired at Ramon. Several international airlines have canceled their flights.
Israel has responded by launching airstrikes into Gaza, a tiny, impoverished enclave blockaded by Israel and Egypt that's home to 2 million Palestinians.
At least 83 people, including 17 children, were killed in the Israeli bombardment according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Israel says it has been targeting sites related to Hamas, which it and the U.S. classify as a terrorist organization, and that it was trying to minimize civilian casualties.
At least one top Hamas commander was among the dead, according to the group's military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
Alexander Smith reported from London and Paul Goldman and Lawahez Jabari reported from Tel Aviv.
Paul Goldman, Lawahez Jabari and The Associated Press contributed.
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