A large salvo of missiles was launched on Israeli cities in the south of Israel, including Ashdod and Beersheba, on Wednesday at around 3 p.m.
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The attacks followed a relatively calm morning that had sporadic rocket fire on Gaza-area Israeli towns.
No fatalities or injuries were reported in the latest barrage, although a direct hit was reported in Ashdod. The barrage apparently included concentrated rocket fire on Israeli cities in an apparent effort to inflict as much damage as possible.
Meanwhile, Operation Guardian of the Walls entered its 10th day on Wednesday, with mounting calls for a ceasefire.
In a 25-minute attack overnight, Israel bombarded targets including tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip used by Hamas, the Islamist terrorist group that governs Gaza.
Nearly 450 buildings in densely populated Gaza have been destroyed or badly damaged so far, according to local officials.
France called on Tuesday for a UN Security Council resolution on the violence. Diplomats said the United States told the Council a "public pronouncement right now" would not help calm the crisis.
"Our goal is to get to the end of this conflict. We are going to evaluate day by day what the right approach is. It continues to be that quiet, intensive behind-the-scenes discussions are tactically our approach at this time," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.
Egypt and UN mediators also stepped up diplomatic efforts, and the UN General Assembly will discuss the violence on Thursday.
Since the outbreak of the conflict, Hamas has fired over 3,500 rockets into Israel, claimed the lives of at least 12 Israeli and wounded over 650 people.
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