Israel has not yet decided whether to send its army into the Gaza Strip for a ground operation against Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups, a military spokesperson said Saturday, the fourth day of the latest large-scale Israel-Gaza conflict.

"At present, there is no decision regarding a ground operation. We have this option, as well as other options. Every couple of hours we reassess the situation, the intelligence and the targets that were achieved, then we proceed to the next phase," Israeli army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich told Xinhua in an interview.

Speculations have been running high that the Israeli government would send troops into Gaza after days of fierce aerial and maritime bombardment on hundreds of targets in the coastal enclave failed to bring Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups to knees.

Leibovich, however, insisted that the current Israeli bombing campaign should not be considered as a failure. "We already severely damaged the Fajr-5 (long-range rockets) arsenal (in Gaza), " she said.

When asked whether Israeli troops will enter Gaza in the coming days, Leibovich said, "Possibly. It's still an option. We have forces deployed in order to be ready when the order (to enter Gaza) is given, if it will be given. It's a possibility that we're still considering."

The objectives of Israel's current military operation against Gaza are "to defend 3 million Israelis that are currently under immediate danger from rocket fire" and "to cripple the capabilities of numerous terror organizations inside Gaza headed by Hamas," she said.

Ground forces, if employed, "will have to attain the objective of stripping the different terror organizations from their capabilities, which means that they would look for launching sites, arms caches, things inside houses, underground," the spokesman explained.

Leibovich stressed that the ongoing Israeli operation is not aiming to replace the Hamas leadership in Gaza, which has ruled the tiny territory since 2007.

Hinting that a truce could be reached once Gaza armed groups stop rocket attacks on Israel, she said, "Our expectation is that the terror organizations will refrain from firing and we will be able to grant 3 million Israelis peace and quiet and a normal life. .. We intend to continue this operation until the goals are met."

According to the latest figures released by the Israeli military, Palestinians have fired more than 700 rockets at Israel since the latter on Wednesday commenced "Operation Pillar of Defense" with the targeted killing of Hamas military chief Ahmed al-Jaabari. A number of rockets have been fired into central Israel in recent days, targeting Tel Aviv for the first time in decades.

Israeli warplanes, naval ships and artillery batteries have thus far struck around 950 militant targets. Thousands of army reservists have been drafted while tanks and infantry are massed along the Israeli side of the border ahead of a possible ground incursion into the coastal territory.

Israel said the conflict has left 35 Palestinians and three Israelis dead, while health ministry of the Hamas authority in the Gaza Strip said Saturday night that Israel has killed 45 Palestinians and wounded some 500 others since Wednesday afternoon.