More rockets fired from Gaza after night of violence kills four

Israel’s airforce destroyed the Al-Aqsa TV station in Gaza after firing a warning missile to give staff time to evacuate.

The IDF said the station “broadcasts violent propaganda against the state of Israel and its citizens, as well as operational messaging to militants, which include methods for carrying out attacks against civilians and soldiers and way to obtain weapons”.

Hamas’s security headquarters were also hit in the airstrikes.

UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov tweeted last night that the escalation over the past day was “extremely dangerous”.

The clashes follow an Israeli undercover operation in Gaza on Sunday in which an Israeli officer and seven Palestinians, including a Hamas commander, died.

Israel’s security cabinet was due to meet on Tuesday morning as troops are being reinforced along the Gaza border.

Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin, visited residents in the southern town of Netivot today. "we are all under attack, under fire whose aim is to disrupt our daily life," he said. "Your strength give us all strength. I have said in the past and I will continue to say, the area around Gaza is the whole of Israel. When the sirens are screaming here, we hear them in our hearts in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and all over the country.”

Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the Jewish community stood in solidarity with Israel. "The terror group Hamas must immediately cease its hostilities towards innocent civilians. In less than 24 hours, a barrage of more than 400 rockets has hit Southern Israeli towns. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and families of those who have been killed and wounded by Hamas rockets," she said.