Palestinian child death toll rises to 70 while 50,000 are now homeless as a result of Israel's air and ground offensive

The number of people who have fled fighting has doubled since the start of Israel's offensive, according to the UN

So far 342 people in the region have died, 60 from the ground offensive that began late on Thursday



Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu orders military to prepare for a 'significant expansion' of the ground offensive



Israeli aircraft have struck more than 2,000 targets in Gaza and killed over 300 Palestinians since start of the fighting

Israel lost its first soldier during the offensive after Sgt. Eitan Barak, 20, was killed behind enemy lines



He was a member of Battalion 931 of the Nahal Brigade, one of the IDF’s five major infantry formations


A total of 50,000 people in Gaza have fled their homes as Israel steps up its ground offensive on the Gaza strip.

The refugees are seeking sanctuary in 34 UN shelters in the strife-hit region, relief workers said. At least 60 Palestinians are thought to have been killed since Israel launched the ground offensive in Gaza on Thursday.



Israeli troops battled Hamas militants in Gaza on the second day of the operation as the Palestinian death toll from the 12-day offensive topped 340, according to officials in Gaza. 70 of those killed are children.



Relatives carry the the bodies of children during the funeral of eight members of the Abu Jarad who were killed overnight in an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza strip

Grief: Palestinian relatives mourn as they carry the bodies of two children, who are among the eight members of the same family who were killed overnight in an Israeli strike, during their funeral this morning in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza strip

Israeli strikes seen in the east of Gaza strip along the border between Israel and Gaza City which it says are aimed at ending rocket fire and destroying tunnels leading into Israel A ball of fire explodes during an Israeli shelling in the eastern part of Gaza City. Israel's operation against Hamas saw one of its bloodiest days with 46 Palestinians killed in Gaza and two Israeli soldiers dying in a clash with militants who infiltrated the Jewish state Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said overnight airstrikes killed 12 people while the the death toll from the offensive has gone up to more than 340 Palestinians.

An Israeli soldier was killed after the start of the ground operation, probably by friendly fire, and an Israeli civilian was killed earlier this week. The sound of tank fire and heavy machine guns mixed with the mosques' morning call to prayer along the Gaza-Israel border. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next We'll send in more troops, warns Israel: Netanyahu vows to... CAMERON AND OBAMA DISCUSS GAZA Share this article Share The Israeli military said three soldiers were wounded in overnight fighting, one seriously. Israeli troops were staying close to the border and have yet to enter heavily populated areas. Today Israeli bulldozers demolished more than a dozen tunnels in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian authorities reported intensified airstrikes and shelling. A Palestinian child runs on debris from a destroyed house, following an overnight Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya, in the north of the Gaza strip this morning. 40,000 people have been displaced from their homes by Israeli bombing and a ground offensive Rage: A Palestinian protester kicks a burning tyre during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza, outside Israel's Ofer military prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah

Israeli reservists troops arrive for duty near the Israel-Gaza border near Sderot, Israel

Israeli soldiers uncovered 34 shafts leading into about a dozen underground tunnels, some as deep as 30 meters, that could be used to carry out attacks, the military said.

Still, Palestinian gunmen disguised in Israeli uniforms managed to infiltrate Israel from Gaza using another tunnel and today killed two Israeli soldiers and injured several others, the military said. At least one Palestinian was killed in the clash.

Hamas said 12 of its fighters participated in the attack and that the group took some of the soldiers' weapons back to their hideouts.



In two other confrontations, Palestinian gunmen jumped out of tunnels and shot at soldiers who returned fire. Two of the gunmen were killed. Another militant died when the explosive vest he was wearing went off, the military said.



In one instance, the militants were found with tranquilizers and handcuffs, indicating they 'intended to abduct Israelis,' according to the military.



Footage of an Israeli missile strike. Israel has launched more than 2,000 airstrikes in the last 12 days Heartbreaking: Palestinian mourners gather around the body of five-month-old Fares al-Mahmum during his funeral in Rafah

Killed: Sgt. Eitan Barak, 20, (left) was killed overnight at the start of a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. He was the first Israeli casualty among troops. Pictured, right, a Palestinian relative mourns as he holds the body of a baby



Bomb blast: An Israeli rocket is fired into the northern Gaza Strip as hundreds of Israeli troops and tanks rolled into Gaza City last night, backed by a massive air assault that pummeled the Palestinian metropolis

Retaliation: Israeli rockets strike Gaza City as Israel intensified its 11-day campaign against Hamas by sending in tanks and troops late Thursday after becoming increasingly exasperated with unrelenting rocket fire from Gaza on its cities



Battle: Smoke from flares rises in the sky in Gaza City after Israel launched a large-scale ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military announced its first casualty since the start of the ground operation, saying one soldier was killed in the region

Lighting the sky: An Israeli army flare illuminating the sky above the Gaza strip

Tanks: This image made from video released by the Israeli military today shows a tank crossing into the Gaza Strip at the Israel-Gaza border at the beginning of a ground offensive late last night

Troops: The same video showed what it said were Israeli troops crossing the border into Gaza for the offensive

Assault: Hundreds of elite Israeli troops are now in Gaza attacking Hamas targets

He urged the council to adopt a resolution condemning 'the Israeli aggression' against civilians in Gaza and calling for an immediate ceasefire, the lifting of the Israeli 'blockade' on the Gaza Strip, and the protection of the Palestinian people.

The draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, also calls for 'all necessary measures to ensure the protection of civilians, including the immediate cessation of military reprisals, collective punishment and excessive use of force against the Palestinian civilian population'.

It stresses the immediate need for humanitarian aid for the Palestinians and calls for urgent efforts to reach a peace agreement based on a two-state solution. It does not mention Hamas.

Such a resolution would face a difficult time winning approval from the United States, a veto-wielding council member.

The Israeli campaign, Mr Mansour said, is aimed at destroying 'Palestinian unity and collapse of the national consensus government'. Hamas, which controls Gaza, and Mr Abbas' moderate Fatah party recently formed a unity government.

Israel's UN ambassador Ron Prosor said that in the face of terrorist kidnappings, rockets raining down on citizens and jihadists tunnelling under its borders, Israel was left with no choice but to enter Gaza 'to restore a sustained quiet to the people of Israel while degrading Hamas' terror capabilities'.



Iron Dome: A missile is launched by an 'Iron Dome' battery, a missile defence system designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells, in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod

