Summary Fresh violence brought the Palestinian death toll to 348 in the bloodiest conflict for years.
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Israeli bombardments killed at least five people in southern Gaza early Sunday, medics said, as fresh violence brought the Palestinian death toll to 348 in the bloodiest conflict for years.
The first casualty as Israel's operation entered its 13th day was 56-year-old Hosni al-Absi, who was killed in tank fire in the southern city of Rafah, emergency spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.
Shortly afterwards, an air strike in Rafah killed three young men, all brothers, and wounded 10 more people, Qudra said.
The deaths brought the toll from Israel's operation to stamp out rocket fire from the besieged territory to 348 Palestinians.
Gaza's health ministry said in a statement early Sunday that Israeli forces had targeted ambulances trying to evacuate wounded from a heavy artillery shelling in the east of Gaza City.
At least one person was killed in the artillery shelling, Qudra said.
Five Israelis, including two civilians, have been killed by cross-border rocket fire and firefights between Hamas and the army.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon was Saturday headed for the region to bolster intense diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the bloodshed in and around Gaza.
Israel meanwhile warned it was ready to intensify its ground assault aimed at destroying a network of cross-border tunnels.
Despite the blistering offensive, Palestinian commandos in central Gaza managed to use tunnels to infiltrate southern Israel in three separate cases, killing two soldiers in one incident with four of their men killed in the attacks.
Also Saturday, an Israeli Bedouin was killed when a rocket hit his encampment in southern Israel in an attack which also wounded four of his family, among them two young children, police said.
The deaths raised to five the total number of Israelis killed since July 8 -- three soldiers and two civilians -- in the deadliest confrontation between Israel and Hamas militants since 2009.
According to army data, 76 rockets and mortars hit Israel on Saturday with another 14 intercepted, bringing the number of projectiles hitting Israel in the past 12 days to 1,321, with 356 intercepted.
Israel's Chief-of-Staff, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, said the army was "expanding the ground phase of the operation", warning there would be "moments of hardship", alluding to the possibility of further Israeli casualties.
Among Saturday's dead were two six-year-olds and a toddler, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.
The increasing number of children killed in the conflict is causing a growing outcry, with a joint statement from the NGOs War Child and Defence for Children International saying more children had been killed than militants.
Figures provided by the UN children's agency, UNICEF, indicate 73 of the victims were under the age of 18.
"Children should be protected from the violence, and they should not be the victims of a conflict for which they have no responsibility," UNICEF's Catherine Weibel told AFP.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA has opened 44 of its schools to shelter those fleeing the most heavily-bombarded areas.
So far, more than 50,000 Gazans have sought sanctuary at UN institutions, the agency said.
