Four rockets have hit the Israeli city of Ashdod this morning, after Israel carried out nearly 200 airstrikes on Gaza overnight.

There have been no reports of causalities in the rocket attack, which was confirmed by the Israel Defence Forces.

The military said on Twitter: “4 rockets fired from #Gaza struck Ashdod: 1 on a house, 1 on a car, 1 near a kindergarten & 1 in an open area.”

The latest airstrikes on Gaza City hit targets in the territory including the Hamas Prime Minister’s office, a police compound and a vast network of smuggling tunnels.

Israeli aircraft also kept pounding their original targets, the militants’ weapons storage facilities and underground rocket launching sites.

Rocket fire by Palestinian militants into Israel resumed after dawn following a relative lull overnight.

Medics told news agency AFP that eight people died in central and southern Gaza and 30 were injured in the latest strikes.

The latest deaths raised the overall death toll in Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to 38, as both sides continued to hurl missiles at each other.

Three Israelis have been killed in the recent violence. Four soldiers were also hurt in rocket fire along the southern flank of Israel’s border with Gaza, the army said on Saturday.

Israel stepped up its air assault in retaliation to an unprecedented rocket strike aimed at Jerusalem.

Israel’s military also called up 75,000 reservists, raising speculation of a ground invasion.

Despite the violence, Tunisia’s foreign minister arrived in the coastal enclave early Saturday in a show of Arab solidarity, heading to a hospital to visit the wounded.

Since the start of its operation, Israel’s army says militants have fired more than 580 rockets over the border, 367 of which hit southern Israel, and 222 of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

Israeli leaders have threatened to widen Operation Pillar of Defence if the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip does not halt.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said options included the possible assassination of Hamas’ Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and other top leaders.

“Every time that Hamas fires there will be a more and more severe response,” he told Israel’s Channel 2 TV.

US President Barack Obama has reiterated his country’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks from militants in the Gaza Strip.

In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Obama also expressed his regret over the loss of Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives, the White House said.

Mr Obama also spoke to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and praised his country’s efforts to ease tensions in the region.

On Friday morning, Gaza’s Hamas Prime Minister and a slew of other government officials lined up in front of the cabinet building to welcome Egypt’s Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, on a brief trip.

A ceasefire had been declared during Mr Kandil’s visit – officially to show solidarity with the Palestinian people – but lasted just three hours.

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