Gaza rockets and clashes in Arab-majority areas put Israel on edge
Ongoing rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip and confrontations between Arab Israelis and security forces had Israel on edge on Saturday as the conflict showed no signs of abating.
Rockets fired by militant Palestinians continued to rain on Israeli cities: Warning sirens sounded in the desert city of Beersheba in southern Israel and in border areas near Gaza, the Israeli army said.
The Israeli army attacked further targets in the Palestinian territory. The air force shelled several rocket launchers and two combat units belonging to the Hamas movement, it said in a statement.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Saturday that a house had been hit in the Shati refugee camp in western Gaza, killing at least seven members of a Palestinian family, including children.
Civilians were also killed in Beit Lahi in the north of Gaza and in other locations, Wafa reported.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said they were investigating the reports.
According to Wafa, 136 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since fighting escalated on Monday.
In Beersheba, police said a house was hit by rocket fragments and that the property was damaged, but no one was injured.
The Israeli coastal towns of Ashkelon and Ashdod also faced further rocket attacks.
Eight Israelis killed
Israel's army said eight people have been killed in the country as a result of rocket fire in recent days.
Palestinian militants have been continuously firing rockets at Israel since Monday. More than 2,000 have been fired, according to Israel's army, which has responded with airstrikes and artillery shelling.
Civil unrest was meanwhile mounting between Israel's Arab and Jewish citizens, with protests and riots reported in communities in which a high proportion of Arab Israelis live.
In Lod, south-east of Tel Aviv, confrontations broke out again despite a curfew. Police said a suspect was shot in the leg and arrested after they were pelted with two petrol bombs.
Israeli broadcasters pointed to the use of Ruger-type rifles in Israel's heartland as a sign of further escalation, as the weapon is otherwise considered an "extreme means of breaking up riots" in the Palestinian Territories.
There was also unrest reported in East Jerusalem and majority Arab areas in northern Israel on Friday night, according to police. Dozens of suspects have already been arrested since the incidents began.
Arab Israelis have been the subject of attacks by Jewish Israelis in recent days: In Jaffa, a primarily Arab district of Tel Aviv, Jewish perpetrators are believed to be behind the throwing of a petrol bomb into an Arab family's home, leaving a 12-year-old with face injuries.