alfie surreal: Hamas' military wing, Al Qassam Brigades, tweets it will hold press conference over situation in Gaza

View more photos from the Israel-Hamas conflict in RT's gallery.

?Nov. 18,00:15 GMT: Israeli warplanes have conducted a series of air strikes across the Gaza Strip, causing numerous casualties, the military wing of Hamas reports.? Meanwhile IDF confirms that it has targeted two smuggling tunnels belonging to ?terrorist groups" in Gaza.

?Nov. 17, 23:30 GMT: Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza rises to 45, according to Maan news agency.

?Nov. 17, 22:05 GMT: The Al Qassam Brigade, the military wing of Hamas, has given a press conference claiming more successful attacks against Israel and vowing they ?have a lot of surprises.?? "We shot down a warplane over the Gaza sea, which Israel is hiding. We have targeted a sensitive military site in Rishon Lezion near Tel El Rabee city,? the group has claimed.

Nov. 17, 21:50 GMT: Israeli PM Netanyahu tells foreign leaders he would agree to a ceasefire with Hamas if it agrees to halt rocket fire from Gaza.

Nov. 17, 21:21 GMT: Benjamin Netanyahu's office denies reports an emissary from Israel has been dispatched to Cairo for ceasefire talks.

Nov. 17, 21:17 GMT: RT's correspondent in Tel Aviv Paula Slier says some Arab sources report an Israeli emmisary is en route to Cairo to review a draft agreement for a ceasefire that begins tonight.?

Nov. 17, 20:59 GMT: Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi told reporters his government was in touch with both Israelis and Palestinians and there were indications they could "soon" reach a truce.

Nov. 17, 20:50 GMT: Israeli police plan to ?sweep for Palestinians illegally residing in Israel? on Sunday due to security concerns, Haaretz reports.

Nov. 17, 20:38 GMT: Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai on the operation in Gaza: "The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages. Only then will Israel be calm for forty years"?? Haaretz

?Nov. 17, 19:58 GMT: The IDF has agreed to open the Kerem Shalom Crossing on Sunday to permit deliveries of food and humanitarian supplies to Gaza.

?Nov. 17, 19:51 GMT: Hamas' military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, have tweeted that they will hold an important press conference concerning the situation in the Gaza Strip. Some are speculating that the press conference may be used to announce the outcome of the talks in Cairo.

Nov. 17, 19:34 GMT: An Israeli strike on southern Gaza kills two more Palestinians, according to locals and emergency services.

Nov. 17, 18:39 GMT: Israeli PM Netanyahu lobbies international community on Gaza operation, informing leaders of Germany, Greece, Italy and the Czech Republic that his country "will not allow a situation where its civilian population is under constant rocket threat."

Nov. 17, 18:35 GMT: King of Jordan calls for "urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nov. 17, 18:09 GMT: Qatar will give $10 million to Egypt to help treat Palestinians wounded in Israeli strikes, according to state media.

Nov. 17, 17:48 GMT:

Head of Iran's Parliament's National Security Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi has denied his counrty supplied Fajr 5 rockets to Hamas.

Nov. 17, 17:21 GMT: Arab League to send delegation to Gaza on Sunday, November 18.

?Nov. 17, 16:49 GMT: Arab League chief Nabil el-Arabi: Israel is committing war crimes against the Palestinian people; massacres must not go unpunished.?

Nov. 17, 16: 41 GMT: Mansour says Israelis must be prosecuted in international courts for committing war crimes and the Arab states should freeze their ties with Israel.

Nov. 17, 16:37 GMT: Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour tells Arab League the Palestinian people are demanding the Arabs to courageously stand against the assault.

Nov. 17, 16:35 GMT:

Arab League's Foreign Ministers gather for emergency meeting in Cairo to discuss Israeli strikes on Gaza.

?Nov. 17, 15:58 GMT: Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has expressed readiness to visit the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid, Press TV reports.

Nov. 17, 15:38 GMT: White House reports: US believes Israelis have the right to self defense and to make their own military decisions. President Obama called Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan about bringing an end to violence in Israel.

Nov. 17, 14:57 GMT: Air raid sirens being heard in Be'er Sheva, Israel.

Nov. 17, 14:51 GMT: Reports of air raid sirens and an explosion in Tel Aviv. The rocket was intercepted by Iron Dome, according to Israeli radio.

Nov. 17, 14:17 GMT: Israeli Minister Avi Dichter says that only a few rockets threaten Tel Aviv, unlike greater danger facing towns in Israel's south, Haaretz reports.

Nov. 17, 13:45 GMT: A Palestinian man has died of wounds sustained on Saturday in Gaza City. This brings the death toll to 40 people since Wednesday.

?Nov. 17, 13:28 GMT:

500 people are marching in a Nazareth parade to protest against the IDF operation in Gaza. The march was organized by Israel's Hadash party.

Nov. 17, 12:55 GMT:

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemns Israel's air strikes on Gaza, a statement from his office says, as Al Jazeera reports.

?Nov. 17, 12:53 GMT: Five rockets have fallen in open spaces in the Eshkol Regional Council. No one wounded.

Nov. 17, 12:31 GMT: Meretz party chairwoman Zahava Gal-On has warned of a ground invasion of Gaza, stating that the Israeli government must instead partake in negotiations with Hamas via Egyptian or international mediators. "This is the correct, effective way to guard the citizens of Israel," she said.

She said the Israeli leadership is "trying to drag us into another war of deception?Experience shows that ground operations are an assurance for a bloody chaos."

?Nov. 17, 12:30 GMT: Hamas head Khaled Meshla and Islamic Jihad leader Ramdan Shalah are meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Qatar?s Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Nov. 17, 12:13 GMT: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is holding a consultation meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and army officials in Tel Aviv, Haaretz reports.

Nov. 17, 11:52 GMT: Hamas is preventing foreign nationals?? including 22 journalists?? from leaving the Gaza Strip, DPA reports.

Nov. 17, 11:41 GMT: Four rockets from Gaza hit Ashdod, Israel; three out of four actually hit targets: a house, car and the third landed near a kindergarten, IDF reported.

Nov 17, 11:03 GMT: Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem during his visit to Gaza tells Israel to halt aggression as it is unacceptable.

Nov 17, 10:39 GMT: Chief of Staff Benny Gantz has ordered the IDF to increase the pace of strikes on Gaza, following an assessment meeting in Tel Aviv?s headquarters, YNet reported.

Nov 17, 10:13 GMT: Unconfirmed reports that the IDF has begun artillery strikes on Gaza from tanks positioned on the border.

Nov 17, 09:54 GMT: The Tunisian Foreign Minister during his visit to Gaza reassured that Tunisia will work together in Arab League, which meets later on Saturday, and UN to stop Israel?s aggression.

Nov. 17, 08:52 GMT: Islamic University in Gaza is targeted by Israeli air attack, Al Arabiya reported.

Nov. 17, 08:05 GMT: One Israeli soldier has been injured after a rocket hit the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, AlJazeera reported.

Nov. 17, 08:03 GMT: Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem has arrived in Gaza along with 10 other ministers.

?Nov. 17, 05:01 GMT: An Israeli airstrike has hit Hamas? cabinet headquarters in Gaza as the Israeli assault enters its fourth day, IDF reported. Reportedly, three Palestinians died in the strike, the HQ was completely destroyed and neighboring houses damaged.

Nov. 17, 05:00 GMT:

Overnight Israel?s military targeted 85 more ?terror sites in Gaza?, the IDF reported.

?Nov. 17, 00:20 GMT: US President Barack Obama has reiterated ?US support for Israel?s right to self-defense.? Obama discussed the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. He also expressed regret over the loss of Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives.

?Nov. 16, 23:54 GMT: Senior Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk has told Maan news agency that he does not expect a ceasefire soon. "There are many calls for a truce but it will not be soon," he said.

?Nov. 16, 23:40 GMT: The hacktivist group, Anonymous, has claimed it has attacked the website of the Israeli government, www.tel-aviv.gov.il. The website was unavailable as of Saturday morning. The group also claimed it deleted a database at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The cyber attacks come as a part of the so called #OpIsrael launched by Anonymous to rally support for the Palestinians.

?Nov. 16, 22:35 GMT: Five more Palestinians killed by IDF, bringing the Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks to 29?? Palestinian medical sources.

?Nov. 16, 22:30 GMT: The United Nations has voiced concern about the number of child casualties resulting from Israel?s bombing of Gaza. At least 4 Palestinian children have been killed and over 60 injured since Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes according to the UN. The organization also believes that 50 Israeli civilians including children have been injured by Hamas rockets fired into Israel.

?Nov. 16, 22:10 GMT: IDF confirms it targeted two senior Hamas operatives: Muhammad Abu-Jalal, Company Commander in central Gaza and Khaled Shah'yer, chief missile operator.

?Nov. 16, 21:16 GMT: Israeli Cabinet approves mobilization of 75,000 reserve soldiers as assault on Gaza is intensifying, Haaretz reports.

Nov. 16, 20:48 GMT: Hamas field commander Ahmed Abu Jalal has been killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza, AFP reports citing security sources.

?Nov. 16, 19:34 GMT: Israel's Channel 10 claims that senior Defense official Amos Gilad is in contact with Egyptian officials in a bid to reach a ceasefire that might be achieved within 24 hours.

Nov. 16, 18:22 GMT: Israeli army announces it's closing three major roads around the Gaza Strip and declaring them closed military zones.

Nov 16, 18:03 GMT: Hamas health ministry says 3 people have been killed this evening, bringing the total number of casualties in Gaza to since at least 27, including 7 children.

Nov. 16, 17:47 GMT: Israeli Defense Minister approves expansion of draft to more than 75,000 army reservists; request was transferred to the approval of the government, reports Channel 2.

Nov. 16, 17:11 GMT: Palestinian President Abbas says Israeli aggression is aimed at preventing an independent Palestinian state.

Nov. 16, 16:49 GMT: Hospitals in Israel have reportedly been given emergency protocols. All who are not in need of urgent care are being sent home.

Nov. 16, 16:17 GMT: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has expanded on the call-up of over 30,000 reserve soldiers.

"The defense minister has this evening ordered the mobilization of new reserve forces," a spokesperson told AFP.

Nov. 16, 14:59 GMT: RT's Tom Barton says local media reports hearing three rocket explosions over Jerusalem.

Nov. 16, 14:57 GMT: Air raid sirens sound over Jerusalem.

?Nov 16., 13:42 GMT: IDF resumes Gaza strikes after halting attacks over Egyptian PM's visit.

Nov. 16, 12:56 GMT: In a telephone conversation with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he supports Egypt?s efforts aimed at normalizing the situation in the Gaza Strip, the Kremlin press service said. The Russian president called on opposing sides of the conflict to stop the use of force which claims the lives of innocent civilians and show restraint. It was agreed between the presidents that Morsi will visit Russia.

Nov. 16, 12:38 GMT: Al-Qassam Brigades says one Palestinian has been killed, another seriously injured in an Israeli air strike on the Al Zaytoon neighborhood east of Gaza City.

Nov. 16, 12:22 GMT: IDF says 500 targets in Gaza have been attacked since 'Operation Pillar of Defense' began.

Nov. 16, 12:17 GMT: British Foreign Secretary William Hague told a BBC radio show, "Israel does have to bear in mind that it is when ground invasions have taken place in previous conflicts that they have lost international support and a great deal of sympathy around the world."

Earlier, Hague stated that Hamas "bears principal responsibility" for the conflict between Gaza and Israel, and should move to cease attacks on Israeli territory. He appealed to Israel to do its utmost to ?avoid the risk of a spiral of violence."

Nov. 16, 12:13 GMT: Al-Qassam brigades say they are shelling occupied Al Majdal with two Grad missiles.

Nov. 16, 12:10 GMT: Al-Qassam brigades say they are bombing occupied Ashdod with seven Grad missiles.

Nov. 16, 12:06 GMT: An IDF spokesperson says a new rocket has not hit Tel Aviv, but that 340 rockets have hit Israel since ?Operation Pillar of Defense? began.

Nov. 16, 12:04 GMT: AFP reports that the power is out in its Gaza office, and that it is running on a backup generator. Employees say they feel the pressure of displaced air pushing through the open windows in the office.

Nov. 16, 11:57 GMT: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an will speak on the phone with US President Barak Obama to discuss the ongoing strikes on Gaza by Israel, the Daily Hurriyet reports.

?We stand by our Gazan friends here as the Turkish government,? Erdo?an said. He added that Israel had started striking Gaza and killing innocent people using fictional excuses ahead of elections, as had happened prior to the 2008 election. ?I will have a phone conversation with Obama. I will share these thoughts with him,? he said.

Nov. 16, 11:48 GMT:

Egyptian President Muhamed Morsi has denounced Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip as a "blatant aggression against humanity" and said Cairo "would not leave Gaza on its own," the state news agency MENA reported.

Nov. 16, 11:45 GMT: Two of the six rockets have seemingly been shot down by Iron Dome, @JonDonnison reports.

Nov. 16, 11:43 GMT: A battery of six rockets have reportedly been fired from north of Gaza City towards Israel, according to Twitter user @JonDonnison.

Nov. 16, 11:41 GMT: All public shelters being unlocked in Tel Aviv and being made available, following rocket launches at the city.

Nov. 16, 11:32 GMT: Al-Qassam says it hit a military jeep with an anti-tank guided missile east of al-Bureij.

Nov. 16, 11:29 GMT: Al-Qassam brigades in Gaza say they have fired a long-range missile towards the Israeli parliament. The IDF, however, denies the information.

Nov. 16, 10:28 GMT: Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem is set to visit Gaza on Saturday.

Nov. 16, 10:12 GMT: The Guardian?s journalist Harriet Sherwood tweets that medics at the Gaza City's Shifa hospital say there are no more ICU beds. They are now trying to evacuate patients to Egypt.

?Nov. 16, 09:09 GMT: Egyptian PM Hisham Kandil says, ?What I am witnessing in Gaza is a disaster and I can't keep quiet. The Israeli aggression must stop.?

Nov. 16, 09:04 GMT: Ma?an news agency reports that the bodies of two children, who were killed in the latest Israeli strike, have been brought to the hospital while Egypt?s PM was there.

Nov. 16, 08:41 GMT: The ceasefire, promised during the Egypt?s PM visit, has been broken both by Israel and Gaza, with Tel Aviv bombing the al-Qassam Brigades commander?s house in Gaza. Hamas also says two Gazans have been killed in a strike. It is not yet clear whether those were one or separate incidents.

Nov. 16, 08:40 GMT: According to the schedule of the Egyptian PM?s visit reported by Ma?an news agency, Hisham Kandil is to meet with Gaza?s PM Ismail Haniyeh and visit Gaza's main Shifa hospital.

Nov. 16, 08:16 GMT: Israeli officials say Hamas is not respecting the temporary truce agreed during the Egyptian PM's visit.

Nov. 16, 07:34 GMT: Witnesses report on Twitter that it?s quiet now in Gaza, as the Egyptian PM?s visit starts.

Nov. 16, 07:17 GMT: Egypt?s PM Hisham Kandil has allegedly arrived in Gaza, RT?s Tom Barton tweets.

Nov. 16, 07:14 GMT: The IDF says it is planning to begin recruiting 16,000 reservists as part of the ?Pillar of Defense? operation.

Nov. 16, 06:55 GMT: Palestinian authorities say three more people were killed in Israeli strikes, bringing the total death toll to 19 inside Gaza, RT?s Tom Barton reports via Twitter. He adds that over 85 missiles hit Gaza within 45 minutes Friday morning.

Nov. 16, 06:00 GMT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that all offensives would be halted on Friday, the day of the Egyptian prime minister?s visit to Gaza.

Nov. 16, 05:55 GMT: Israel launched strikes on the Ministry of Interior?s Department of Civil Affairs in Gaza City, with at least 40 bombs hitting overnight, Ma?an news agency reported. The ministry?s officials assured that 90 per cent of citizens? data is stored electronically, and is safe.

Nov. 16, 03:30 GMT: Australian PM Julia Gillard has joined a number of Western leaders in supporting Israel and condemning Hamas for rocket and mortar attacks on Israel, AAP reports. ''Australia supports Israel's right to defend itself against these indiscriminate attacks. Such attacks on Israel's civilian population are utterly unacceptable.''

Nov. 16, 03:05 GMT: IDF claims that more than 420 rockets have been fired from Gaza into southern Israel in the past two days.

Nov. 16, 01:15 GMT: Israeli Defense Force denies Hamas claims that an Israeli drone was downed.

Nov. 16, 00:40 GMT: Death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza has risen to 19, reportedly six of them are children.

Nov. 16, 00:10 GMT: Israeli forces are searching homes in the al-Arroub refugee camp in the south of the West Bank, Maan news agency reports citing witnesses. This comes after Palestinians threw a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli settler bus in the area, injuring one passenger.

Nov. 15, 23:00 GMT: IDF claims that since the start of the operation the Israeli Air Force has targeted 300 ?terror activity sites? in the Gaza Strip.

Nov. 15, 22:30 GMT: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Jerusalem, Cairo and Ramallah on Tuesday, Haaretz says. The UN chief however is not expected to visit the Gaza Strip.

Nov. 15, 20:40 GMT: An Israeli strike killed a UN school teacher in Gaza. Marwan Abu El Qumsan, an Arabic teacher at a UN school, was killed as his car was hit by a bomb on Thursday, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, says on its website.

Nov. 15, 20:35 GMT: During the past hour approximately 70 underground medium-range rocket launching sites in Gaza have been targeted by the IDF, the organization reported on Twitter.

Nov. 15, 19:59 GMT: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah urges US oil embargo over Gaza violence.

Nov. 15, 19:47 GMT: Israeli media reports indicate that an Israeli Navy warship launched a targeted missile strike that hit a Hamas jeep near the home of Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh. No casualties have been reported.

Nov. 15, 19:46 GMT: Palestinian sources in Gaza have reported at least ten attacks on targets throughout the Gaza Strip. The targets were reportedly different positions and strongholds of Hamas' security forces, as well as missile launching sites.

Nov. 15, 19:19 GMT: Witnesses on Twitter say a massive Israeli airstrike is underway in north Gaza, with dozens of explosions being heard. One witness says the Gaza sky is "filled with continuous flashes of explosions from F-16's."

Nov. 15, 19:10 GMT: Power outages reported in Gaza, particularly Gaza City.

Nov. 15, 18:29 GMT: An IDF spokesperson says 30,000 reserve soldiers could be called to participate in Gaza operation, Haaretz reports.

Nov. 15, 18:23 GMT: An IDF source says the air assault on Gaza will be renewed over the coming hours, says the IDF has approved plans for the next stage of the operation, Haaretz reports.

Nov. 15, 18:14 GMT: Israel's defense minister says rocket fire on Tel Aviv is an escalation that will "exact a price."

Nov. 15, 17:54 GMT: 250 sites have been targeted in Gaza since yesterday and 274 rockets have struck Israel in the past two days, according to an IDF spokesperson. There have also been 105 Iron Dome interceptions.

Nov. 15, 17:53 GMT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv at time of rocket attack, went into bomb shelter with staff, Israeli media say.

Nov. 15, 17:21 GMT: Conflicting reports say a rocket has hit near Tel Aviv, landing in the sea off Jaffa Beach. An IDF spokesperson says a rocket "did not strike the area."

Nov. 15, 16:20 GMT: Twitter reportedly suspended the IDF's account earlier on Thursday after it posted updates on the Gaza Strip conflict which Twitter deemed to be "direct, specific threats of violence against others."

Nov. 15, 16:00 GMT: A spokesperson for Hamas says Egypt will send a delegation headed by Prime Minister Hesham Kandil to Gaza on Friday.

Nov. 15, 15:54 GMT: An IDF spokesperson has told RT that journalists have full access to the Erez crossing into Gaza, despite differing claims from reporters earlier on Thursday.?

Nov. 15, 15:28 GMT: Russian President Vladimir Putin discusses Gaza conflict with Netanyahu, urges both sides to avoid escalation of violence.

Nov. 15, 15:26 GMT: The Israeli army says a rocket has struck near the southern Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon LeZion. No injuries have been reported.?

Nov. 15, 14:03 GMT: Hamas health officials in Gaza say a two-year-old Palestinian child was killed by an Israeli strike on Thursday.

Nov. 15,13:55 GMT:

Unconfirmed reports say that electricity has been shut off in Gaza.

Nov. 15, 13:46 GMT: Twenty foreign journalists were reportedly blocked by the Israeli military before reaching the Erez crossing point to enter Gaza.

Nov. 15, 13:44 GMT: British Ambassador to Israel declares UK's full support for Israel's defensive actions and its right to self defense.

Nov. 15, 13:43 GMT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will "continue to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people."

Nov. 15, 13:00 GMT: Unconfirmed reports from Israeli media say that tanks are moving south towards the Gaza border. Israeli Defense Forces have refused to comment.

Nov. 15, 12:44 GMT: Palestinian President Abbas says Hamas needs to stop its rocket fire on Israel, calls for both sides to end the violence.

Nov. 15, 12:20 GMT: Sources claim Israel is offering a mutual ceasefire option in Gaza via European mediators.

Nov. 15, 12:11 GMT: Hamas reports two more Palestinians killed in Israeli air strike on Gaza.

Nov. 15, 11:50 GMT: UK Foreign Secretary William Hague stated that Hamas "bears principal responsibility" for the conflict between Gaza and Israel, and should move to cease attacks on Israeli territory. He appealed to Israel to do its utmost to ?avoid the risk of a spiral of violence."

?Nov. 15, 11:34 GMT: Gaza prison has been evacuated and prisoners have either been sent home or escorted to other locations, reports RT?s Tom Barton.

?Nov. 15, 11:17 GMT: The wreckage of the apartment block in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi hit by a Hamas rocket. Three people were killed in the explosion because they did not make it to the building?s fortified stairwell. Three children were also injured in the attack.

Nov. 15, 11:05 GMT: 4 children among the 13 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza, reports Hamas Health Ministry.

Nov. 15, 10:54 GMT: Israel?s Foreign Ministry says that 30 per cent of children in the south of Israel suffer from stress disorders in connection with rocket fire from Gaza.

Nov. 15, 10:53 GMT: A Palestinian source says Israel is using drones armed with small missiles to execute their strikes in Gaza, writes RT?s Tom Barton on Twitter.

?Nov. 15, 10:15 GMT: The funeral of Hamas Military Chief Ahmed Jabari, killed in an Israeli strike, has begun and is attracting large crowds of angry protesters, tweets RT?s Tom Barton.

?Nov. 15, 10:08 GMT: An emergency UN Security Council meeting on the crisis in Gaza called by Egypt has begun. It follows a meeting during the night that did not yield any palpable solutions to the conflict.

?Nov. 15, 09:57 GMT: Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr has called on the US to ?immediately intervene? to curb ?Israeli aggression? in Gaza in a telephone conversation with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

?Nov. 15, 09:49 GMT: President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas has cut short his tour of the EU to deal with the escalating crisis with Israel.

?Nov. 15, 09:47 GMT: The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas has announced it is launching ?Operation Shale Stones? in response to the Israeli ?Pillar of Defense?.

Nov. 15, 09:28 GMT: A crater caused by the impact of Israeli missiles in Gaza city, following a barrage of 60 rockets targeting Palestinian territory.

?Nov. 15, 09:12 GMT: BBC correspondent Jihad Masharawi weeps as he cradles his 11-month-old son in his arms after he was burned alive during an Israeli rocket attack.

Nov. 15, 08:23 GMT: Egypt has opened the Rafah border crossing in preparation for possible inflow of injured from Gaza. Hospitals and ambulance service are on standby.

Nov. 15, 08:19 GMT: Angry crowds are gathering in Gaza to participate in the funeral of Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari, killed by an Israeli airstrike.

?Nov. 15, 08:11 GMT: Two women and a man were killed in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi when a rocket hit a building. A one-year old child and another infant were also injured in the strike. Additionally, 10 people suffered panic attacks, according to Israeli publication Ynet.

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07:48 GMT: The Israeli Defense Forces destroy Hamas "infrastructure" in the Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

?Nov. 15, 07:32 GMT: Alarm sirens are going off in a number of southern Israeli cities close to the border with Gaza, including Ashdod, Yavne and Kiryat Malakhi, reports RT?s Paula Slier.