Israel kept up its assaults in the Gaza strip on Tuesday, pummeling a wide range of targets, as the conflict entered its 15th day.
Overnight, Israel bombed five mosques, a sports complex and the home of the late Hamas military chief, a Gaza police official said.
There has been no let-up in cross-border rocket fire either, with 116 rockets hitting Israel on Monday, one striking the greater Tel Aviv area, and another 17 shot down.
Artillery, tanks and troops were operating in and around Gaza early Tuesday, with airstrikes setting off huge explosions that turned the night sky over Gaza City orange.
The sound of the blasts mixed with the thud of shelling, often just seconds apart, and the pre-dawn call to prayer from mosque loudspeakers.
The strikes came as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met in Cairo late Monday and early Tuesday to launch the highest-level push yet to end the deadly conflict.
The U.N. has said that the majority of the more than 580 Palestinians killed were civilians, among them nearly 100 children, since the offensive was launched on July 8, Gaza health officials said.
