Thousands flee northern Gaza after Israeli warnings

Thousands of Palestinians are fleeing northern parts of Gaza after Israel warned it was targeting the area in its campaign to stop rocket attacks.

The UN says 17,000 people have sought refuge in its facilities as Israeli air strikes continue for a sixth day.

Israeli forces have raided a suspected rocket-launching site in Gaza in their first reported ground incursion.

At least 172 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's offensive began, according to health officials in Gaza.

The dead are said to include 17 members of one family who died in an Israeli missile strike on Saturday evening.

Israel says it is targeting Hamas militants and "terror sites", including the homes of senior operatives. However, the United Nations has estimated that 77% of the people killed in Gaza have been civilians.

The UN Security Council called for a ceasefire and peace talks on Saturday.

In the latest developments

- French Prime Minister Manuel Valls spoke out against "importing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" on to French soil after rioters tried to break into two synagogues in Paris following a rally against the Israeli air strikes in Gaza

- A mortar shell or rocket fired from Syria hit the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said

- A rocket fired from Gaza hit electricity infrastructure in Israel that supplied power to Gaza, cutting power to about 70,000 people, the Israeli military said

(BBC)

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