The Gaza Health Ministry says the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza has climbed to 43, including 13 children and three woman.
It says nearly 300 Palestinians in the territory have been wounded in the strikes, which began Monday as Palestinians launched a barrage of rockets into Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to expand the offensive, while Gaza militants unleashed a fierce late-night barrage of rockets that set off air-raid sirens and explosions throughout the densely populated Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
On Wednesday, Israel declared a state of emergency in the central city of Lod and dispatched border police battalions to the area for reinforcements, according to the Government Press Office. The mixed Jewish-Arab city has seen protests escalate into riots this week.
The rocket fire came after Hamas, which rules Gaza, issued an ultimatum demanding Israel stand down its security forces from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem after days of violence against Palestinians.
Israeli police stormed the compound on Monday for a third consecutive day, firing rubber-coated steel rounds, stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinian worshippers inside the mosque in the final days of the holy month of Ramadan.
More than 700 Palestinians were hurt in Jerusalem and across the occupied West Bank in recent days.
It was the heaviest fighting between the bitter enemies since 2014, and it showed no signs of slowing.
