Fresh airstrikes in Gaza

A series of Israeli airstrikes early on Tuesday killed seven people in Gaza, including five members of the same family, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said. Four of the family members killed were women, he added.

The attacks set off huge explosions around Gaza City as the pre-dawn call to prayer rang out from mosques in the area.

The death toll in Gaza now stands at more than 580 since Israel's military began bombarding the densely populated enclave of 1.7 million people on July 8. Around 30 people have been killed since late Monday, al-Kidra said.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed early Tuesday, according to the military. Twenty-seven Israeli soldiers and two civilians have been killed in total.

Most of the dead in Gaza are civilians, including around 100 children, according to Gaza health officials. The UN says more than 100,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes.

Ceasefire push

Tuesday's violence comes a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Cairo in a bid to forge a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. During a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Kerry called Israel's offensive in Gaza, which began after Gaza rocket fire across the border, "appropriate and legitimate." But he also expressed concern for the safety of civilians in the coastal territory.

Kerry pledged $47 million (34 million euros) in aid for Gaza's besieged civilians. He is scheduled to hold talks with Egyptian leadership, including President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi, later on Tuesday.

Earlier this month Hamas, which governs Gaza, rejected an Egypt-proposed ceasefire that Israel had accepted, saying they had not been consulted on the deal.

Hamas has conditioned a ceasefire agreement on Israel lifting its seven-year blockade of Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinians who were detained during a search for three Israeli teenagers in June.

dr/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)