Israelis stand on a hill at the Israeli town of Sderot, overlooking the Gaza Strip, as they watch smoke rising following an Israeli strike on Gaza, Saturday, July 12, 2014.
Ignoring international appeals for a cease-fire, Israel widened its range of Gaza bombing targets to civilian institutions with suspected Hamas ties and deployed ground troops inside Gaza for the first time early Sunday to raid a rocket launching site in the Palestinian territory. More than 156 Palestinians have been killed.
Four Israeli soldiers were hurt in clashes during the brief incursion to destroy a rocket launching site in northern Gaza, the military said. It said the troops later returned to Israeli territory.It was the first time that Israeli ground troops are known to have entered Gaza in the current offensive. More pics after cut...
But the operation was carried out by special forces and did not appear to be the beginning of a broad ground offensive.Israeli airstrikes pounded targets in Gaza, with one hitting a center for the disabled and killing two patients and wounding four people, Palestinians.
In a second attack Saturday night, an Israeli warplane flattened the home of Gaza police chief Taysir al-Batsh and damaged a nearby mosque as evening prayers ended, killing at least 18 people and wounding 50, officials said.
In New York, the United Nations Security Council called unanimously for a cease-fire, but so far, neither Israel nor Gaza's Hamas rulers have signaled willingness to stop.
Palestinians carry the body of Islamic Jihad militant Mohammed Sowelim, who was killed in an Israeli air strike, during his funeral in Jabaliya refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 12, 2014. Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas in Gaza hit a mosque and a center for the disabled where two women were killed Saturday, raising the Palestinian death toll from the offensive to more than 120, Palestinian officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Palestinians mourn their relatives in the morgue of the Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Saturday, July 12, 2014. Over a dozen Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on a house, hospital officials said. Ignoring international appeals for a cease-fire, Israel on Saturday widened its range of Gaza bombing targets to civilian institutions with suspected Hamas ties and announced it would hit northern Gaza "with great force" to prevent rocket attacks from there on Israel. More than 150 Palestinians have been killed in five days of bombardment. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
An Israeli hugs his child outside a shelter as a siren warning of incoming rockets is heard around the southern city of Beersheba, Israel, Saturday, July 12, 2014. Israeli airstrikes overnight targeting Hamas in Gaza hit a mosque its military says concealed the militant group's weapons, in an offensive that showed no signs of slowing down. Israel launched its campaign five days ago to stop relentless rocket fire on its citizens. While there have been no fatalities in Israel, Palestinian officials said overnight attacks raised the death toll there to over 120, with more than 920 wounded. (AP Photo/Tsafrir
Israeli soldiers gathering next to their mobile artillery unit begin their day at a position on Israel Gaza border, Saturday, July 12, 2014. Israeli airstrikes overnight targeting Hamas in Gaza hit a mosque its military says concealed the militant group's weapons, in an offensive that showed no signs of slowing down. Israel launched its campaign five days ago to stop relentless rocket fire on its citizens. While there have been no fatalities in Israel, Palestinian officials said overnight attacks raised the death toll there to over 120, with more than 920 wounded. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Israeli soldiers on a mobile artillery unit fire a shell towards Gaza at a position on the Israel-Gaza border, Saturday, July 12, 2014. Israeli airstrikes overnight targeting Hamas in Gaza hit a mosque its military says concealed the militant group's weapons, in an offensive that showed no signs of slowing down. Israel launched its campaign five days ago to stop relentless rocket fire on its citizens. While there have been no fatalities in Israel, Palestinian officials said overnight attacks raised the death toll there to over 120, with more than 920 wounded. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Columns of smoke rise following Israeli strikes on Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 12, 2014. Israeli airstrikes on Gaza hit a mosque and a center for the disabled where a few women were killed Saturday, raising the Palestinian death toll from the offensive to more than 130, Palestinian officials said, in an offensive that showed no signs of slowing down. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a cargo terminal at Karni Crossing between Israel and Gaza after it was shelled by Israeli tanks, according to terminal's employees, Saturday, July 12, 2014. Palestinian officials said Israeli airstrike hit a group of people sitting in front of a closed shop killing several, raising the Palestinian death toll to more than 120 during an Israeli offensive that showed no signs of slowing down. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
Palestinian medics place an injured man on a stretcher in the Shifa hospital after an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City on Saturday, July 12, 2014. Palestinian officials said Israeli airstrike hit a group of people sitting in front of a closed shop killing several, raising the Palestinian death toll to more than 120 during an Israeli offensive that showed no signs of slowing down. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
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