Israel

At least 10 Palestinians are reported to have died in the West Bank unrest, while hundreds have been injured. Israeli forces used teargas, rubber bullets and live fire, as Palestinians threw petrol bombs, the BBC reported. At least 122 people have also been killed in Gaza and eight have died in Israel since fighting began on Monday.

Army spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said about 40 tanks participated in the 40-minute mission, reports dpa news agency. Conricus said the tunnel system, named Metro, operated as a sort of "city under the city". The extent of the damage to the system was unclear. The tunnel network is vital in the Gaza Strip for shifting goods and people in and out.

Zhang Jun, China's Permanent Representative to the UN, tweeted that the meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency. "China is deeply concerned about the escalation of tensions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. UNSC should act now and send a strong message. Regret a Friday meeting was blocked by one member," said the tweet.

The victims included 27 children and 11 women, while 580 others have been wounded by the Israeli airstrikes and artillery shellings on the Palestinian coastal enclave since Monday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. On Thursday evening, the armed wing of Hamas, known as al-Qassam Brigades, and other less-influential militant groups fired barrages of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, reports Xinhua news agency.

Meanwhile, combat troops have moved along the fence separating between the Gaza Strip and Israel amid "various stages of preparing ground operations", Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman with the Israel Defense Forces, told reporters. "The Chief of Staff is inspecting those preparations and providing guidance," he said.

A statement from Gantz's office on Thursday said that 10 companies of paramilitary Border Police reserves are being called "in the wake of the violent and nationalistic outbreak", reports Xinhua news agency. According to Gantz, "this is a time of emergency that calls for a massive reinforcement of the forces on the ground, which will be sent immediately to impose law and order".

The health ministry in Gaza said in a short text message sent to reporters that since the start of tension on Monday, 83 Palestinians were killed, including 17 children and seven women, adding that 487 were injured. On Thursday, hundreds of Palestinian mourners joined the funeral of nine top militants of the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), who were killed in the Israeli aerial attacks on the enclave

Departures will be redirected to the Ramon Airport, a smaller airport outside the southern resort city of Eilat, the Israel Airports Authority said in a statement. "The decision to reroute the flights is aimed to allow greater freedom of action in protecting the skies of Israel," Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.

Around 400 went down over Gaza, DPA news agency quoted military spokesman Jonathan Conricus as saying. The success rate of Israel's Iron Dome aerial defence system continues to average around 90 per cent at intercepting rockets, he added. Seven people have died in Israel since the rocket launches began on Monday - six civilians and one soldier.

In an interview with the local media on Wednesday, Hamas spokesman in Gaza Fawzi Barhoum also denied reports that a high-ranking Egyptian security delegation was expected to arrive in Gaza as part of the efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and the militant groups in the coastal enclave, reports Xinhua news agency.