Israel has launched a ground offensive in Gaza with residents reporting heavy shelling in the area.
Palestinian health officials say 27 Palestinians, including a baby, two children and a 70-year-old woman, have been killed since Israel sent ground forces into the densely-populated strip of 1.8 million Palestinians.
Israel has launched a number of airstrikes on the Gaza strip, in what the army is calling an open-ended operation aimed at ending rocket attacks.
Read: Israeli military 'determined to fight Hamas on all fronts'
Israeli forces have mobilised along the border, raising the threat of a ground invasion.
The latest round of strikes is the heaviest between the Israeli military and Hamas since the eight-day battle in November 2012.
Palestinian medics said at least 25 people have been killed, including six people who died after an airstrike flattens an apartment block.
It's been an emotionally exhausting day in Israel and Gaza as hopes for peace were raised then dashed then raised then dashed again.
In the court of international opinion, this is how Israel wins a battle and still manages to lose the war.
Until the Israelis and the Palestinians find a way of resolving the underlining conflict this will not be more than a pause.