Israel air raids kill 8, destroy Hamas HQ in Gaza

Beirut, Nov 17: Israeli strikes on Gaza killed eight Palestinians and destroyed the Hamas government headquarters on Saturday as Israel called up thousands more reservists for a possible ground war.

After Palestinian militants fired rockets at the heart of Israel on Friday, around 180 air strikes were carried out overnight, according to Israeli television.

Palestinian medics said 38 Gazans have been killed and 345 wounded since Israel launched the aerial campaign on the Palestinian enclave on Wednesday, with at least four militants among the eight people killed in the latest raids.

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.

In the same period, three Israelis have been killed and 13 injured, including 10 soldiers.

Today, a rocket lightly wounded four Israeli soldiers, as police spokeswoman Luba Samri said rocket fire was down on previous days, with 16 counted in the morning.

The military said it had sealed off all main roads around Gaza and declared a closed military zone, in the latest sign it was poised to launch a first ground offensive on the Palestinian territory since December 2008-January 2009.

Amid Israel-Gaza violence, UN Chief to visit region soon

Amid intensified fighting between Gaza and Israel, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is planning to visit the region soon and has urged Israel to exercise maximum restraint while cautioning that further bloodshed will hamper possibility of any negotiations over a two-state solution.

Ban said he is "extremely concerned" about the continued violence in Gaza and Israel and deeply worried by the rising cost in terms of civilian lives, his spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters on Friday.

"The Secretary-General has continued to speak with international and regional leaders and officials by telephone and in person as part of his efforts to call for restraint and push for an end to violence.

"As part of those efforts, he plans to visit the region shortly," his spokesperson added.