Deaths mount in Gaza incursions
Israeli air strikes have killed eight Palestinians, including civilians, in northern Gaza, medical sources say.
The violence comes as Israeli troops move further into Palestinian territory following Palestinian rocket attacks on the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
Earlier, two Palestinians were killed in an air strike in southern Gaza and a third was killed by machine-gun fire from an Israeli tank in the north.
Reports say an Israeli soldier has been critically injured in northern Gaza.
The Israeli Army has not confirmed reports on Arabic TV channel al-Jazeera that he later died from his wounds.
Israel has been building up military pressure on Gaza since the capture of one of its soldiers by Palestinian militants on 25 June.
UN criticism
Palestinian medical sources say seven people died in a single air strike in northern Gaza, while another Palestinian was killed in a second strike nearby.
Palestinian rocket threat
Focus on the Gaza Strip
UN urges Israeli halt
The reports came as Israeli troops consolidated their hold on territory seized overnight, advancing to the fringes of population centres where they have clashed with Palestinian gunmen.
Tanks moved into an area of abandoned Jewish settlements in northern Gaza at dawn - in the start of what correspondents say is an attempt to establish a buffer zone and deny militant rocket crews access to the area.
In nearby Beit Lahiya, a Palestinian civilian was killed by machine-gun fire from an Israeli tank.
In the south, two Palestinians were killed and seven wounded in an air strike in the town of Abassan.
Israeli officials said aircraft fired at a group of Palestinian militants in the town near Khan Younis, after they fired anti-tank missiles at troops searching for tunnels used to move weapons.
Full source/:news.bbc.co.uk
