Israel Gaza War:Hamas keep attack with rockets Israeli citys / Gaza Conflict News

Smoke trails are seen as a rocket is launched from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel November 17, 2012. Palestinian militants fired a rocket at Tel Aviv on Saturday but it was intercepted in mid-air by a newly deployed Israeli anti-missile battery and caused no casualties or damage, police said.

Three rockets have hit the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon, amid calls for a ceasefire as Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continued overnight.

The Israel Defence Forces said a school in the town had been hit.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is on his way to the region to appeal for an end to the violence. He is expected to meet Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi before visiting Israel and Gaza.

Pictures from Gaza City in the early hours of Monday showed buildings in flames and thick, black plumes of smoke rising into the air.

The Israel Defence Forces said a school in the town had been hit.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is on his way to the region to appeal for an end to the violence. He is expected to meet Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi before visiting Israel and Gaza.

Pictures from Gaza City in the early hours of Monday showed buildings in flames and thick, black plumes of smoke rising into the air.

But he said shelling had been taking place some 600 metres from the scene of a funeral procession in Gaza, following the deaths of 11 people in an attack on the home of one family.

That airstrike happened on Sunday, the bloodiest day so far of Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defence, with more than 120 targets hit and 29 Palestinians killed.

Gaza medics say women and children accounted for most of those killed, among them five babies and toddlers.

“This must stop,” said Mr Ban. “I strongly urge the parties to co-operate with all efforts led by Egypt to reach an immediate ceasefire.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned he is ready to expand the operation. The Reuters news agency quoted a senior Israeli official saying the country is ready for a ground invasion but prefers diplomacy.

An Israeli soldier stands on top of his tank at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border, before troop start to prepare their tanks for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip on November 19, 2012. The Israeli cabinet gave its green light for the recruitment of up to 75,000 reservists, Channel 2 television said, amid signs that Israel was gearing up for a ground offensive in Gaza.

The mobilisation of 75,000 army reservists has already been authorised, suggesting a ground invasion could be imminent.

Talks to avert an escalation of violence will continue in Egypt later.

The Turkish Prime Minister and the Emir of Qatar are in the Egyptian capital, along with senior Israeli diplomats and representatives of Hamas.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned Israel that it risks losing international sympathy if it escalates its campaign against Palestinian militants into a ground invasion.

China on Monday called for restraint on both sides.

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