Israel's army said Sunday it was expanding its ground offensive against the Gaza Strip, as the bloodiest conflict since 2009 entered its 13th day with a death toll of over 360.

"This evening, the ground phase of Operation Protective Edge expands, as additional forces join the effort to combat terror in the Gaza Strip and establish a reality in which Israeli residents can live in safety and security," the army said in a statement.

The army began the ground offensive late Thursday, after 10 days of aerial and naval bombardment of the besieged Palestinian territory, in a bid to stamp out rocket fire from Gaza militants.

Army Chief-of-Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz warned Friday that as Israel expanded the ground operation there would be "moments of hardship," alluding to the possibility of further Israeli casualties.

Shortly after the military's announcement, an army statement said two more soldiers had been killed late Saturday, naming them as Bar Rahav, 21, and Bnaya Rubel, 20.

Since the ground operation began, five Israeli soldiers have been killed, including two in a firefight with Hamas militants inside Israeli territory.

The operation has so far killed 357 Palestinians and seven Israelis.

Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said that 70 militants had been killed since the ground operation began.

The army says 190 rockets have hit Israel since the ground phase began, out of a total of 1,333 since July 8. Of those, 63 and 360 have been intercepted, respectively.

Toll in Gaza hits 343 on day 12 of Israel campaign
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) July 19, 2014 - The Gaza death toll hit 343 on Saturday as Israeli warplanes intensified their bombardment and troops pressed a ground assault on the 12th day of a major confrontation with Hamas.

And the overall Israeli death toll rose to five following violence in which two soldiers and a civilian were killed, the army and police said.

The last incident reported before midnight (2100 GMT) was a man killed by tank fire in the southern city of Khan Yunis, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.

It brought the number of Palestinians killed on Saturday to 47.

Shortly beforehand, one man was killed in an air strike on the northern town of Jabaliya shortly after two were killed in a strike near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Qudra said.

And another two people were killed in Zeitun, east of Gaza City.

In southern Israel, two soldiers were killed when a group of Gaza militants got under the border fence and fired machineguns and an anti-tank missile at an army patrol.

Troops returned fire killing one of the militants in an attack claimed by Hamas.

Also in the south, an Israeli Bedouin man was killed and four family members wounded, two of them children, when a rocket hit their desert encampment not far from Israel's nuclear reactor in Dimona, police said.

Their deaths raised to five the number of Israelis killed since the conflict began on July 8, including a soldier who was reportedly killed by friendly fire.

Among those killed in Gaza were five members of the same family, including a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old, who died in a strike on a house in the northern town of Beit Hanun, Qudra said.

Earlier, Qudra also reported five bodies had been pulled from a home hit by an Israeli air strike in Khan Yunis.

So far, more than 2,385 Palestinians have been wounded in the biggest confrontation in and around Gaza since Operation Cast Lead, a bloody 22-day offensive which ended in January 2009.

Israeli troops began a ground offensive in parts of Gaza late on Thursday, starting a new phase in the operation which it said was aimed at destroying tunnels used by the territory's dominant power, Islamist movement Hamas.

UN chief to fly to Mideast in Gaza peace push
United Nations, United States (AFP) July 18, 2014 - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will fly to the Middle East in an effort to broker and end to the violence in Gaza, an official told an emergency session of the Security Council on Friday.

Under secretary general for political affairs Jeffrey Feltman said a two-state solution was the only way to break the "seemingly endless cycle" of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

"The secretary general is prepared to do his part. He will leave for the region tomorrow to express solidarity with the Israelis and Palestinians," Feltman told emergency talks at the Council.

The UN chief will "help" Israelis and Palestinians "in coordination with regional and international actors, end the violence and find a way forward," Feltman said.

Israel warned Friday it could broaden a Gaza ground assault aimed at smashing Hamas's network of cross-border tunnels, as intensifying tank fire raised the Palestinian death toll to 285.

Two Israelis have also been killed, one soldier and one civilian.

The United Nations has demanded an immediate ceasefire between Israel, conducting air strikes and ground incursions into Gaza, and Hamas, bombarding Israeli cities with rocket attacks.

"Unless we address the root causes of the current escalation this dreadful violence will occur again and again. We cannot return to the status quo," Feltman said.

"Once calm is restored it is imperative to immediately tackle the underlying causes," he added.

Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor and his Palestinian counterpart Riyad Mansour traded accusations of blame for the latest violence.

Prosor said the Jewish state was "forced to wage war against a terrorist group committed to our destruction."

For 10 days five million Israelis have had seconds to run to a bomb shelter as rockets have targeted the country's largest cities, he said.

"There is no country in the world that would tolerate such an assault on its citizens and Israel should not be expected to either," he said.

Prosor lashed out at international support for the Palestinian unity government, saying it provided cover for Hamas to weave incitement, violence and terror against Israelis.

Mansour, who read out the names of Palestinian dead and at one point appeared close to tears, accused Israel of inflicting "yet another disaster" on the densely-populated, narrow Gaza Strip.

If the council cannot protect Palestinians, they would "turn to the judicial bodies of the United Nations and the international system," he said, referring to the International Criminal Court.

"This savage Israeli aggression cannot be justified by any means. It is not 'self-defense' -- it is a vengeful military aggression intentionally planned and perpetrated," he said.

He said the overwhelmingly majority of casualties are Palestinian civilians, including 62 children, 24 women and 17 elderly, reading out the names of those killed in the last week.

He demanded that the council adopt a resolution condemning Israel's military operation, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the lifting of the Israeli blockade.

US ambassador Samantha Power said Hamas rocket attacks were unacceptable and that Israel had a right to defend its citizens, but called on all parties to protect civilians.

Chinese ambassador Liu Jieyi issued a stern rebuke to Israel, saying: "Whatever the excuse is, any action which causes heavy casualties among innocent civilians is unacceptable."

Beijing was ready to work to ease the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and towards peace in the Middle East, he said.