Deaths rise as Palestinians flee heavy Israeli fire in Gaza

A Palestinian protester rolls a burning tyre towards Israeli army soldiers during clashes at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Ramallah (Nasser Nasser/AP)

Thousands of Palestinians have fled their homes as Israel barraged the northern Gaza Strip with tank fire and air strikes, killing a family of six in their house and heavily damaging other neighbourhoods in what it said was an operation to clear militant tunnels.

As international efforts at a ceasefire stepped up, Israel appeared to be looking to inflict intensified damage on the Islamic militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.