United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has appealed for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants and called on the international community to do everything to halt escalating violence in Gaza, Radio New Zealand reports.
Ban urged both sides to exercise restraint, saying the Middle East could not afford “another full-blown war”.
Palestinian officials say more than 80 Gazans have been killed since Israel's operation began on Tuesday in response to a surge in rocket-fire from Palestinian areas. The hundreds of rockets have caused no fatalities or serious injuries.
Israel says militants have fired more than 365 rockets from Gaza since Tuesday - many of which have been intercepted by the Iron Dome system - and that it has attacked about 780 targets over the same time.
Israel launched its operation after an increase in rocket-fire amid a crackdown on Hamas members in the West Bank last month, as Israel hunted for the abductors of three Israeli teenagers, the BBC reports.
The teenagers were found murdered, and tensions were raised further with the killing of a Palestinian teenager in a suspected revenge attack days later.