Israeli forces have stepped up their offensive overnight in Gaza, with reports of 15 Palestinians killed in two incidents. The death toll in Gaza is now 314 since Israeli attacks began. One of those killed overnight was a 6 year old child.

2 Israelis have been killed in the conflict, including 1 soldier killed in the ground offensive on Gaza.

Approximately 2,250 Palestinians have been injured and the number of Gaza residents seeking shelter is now over 50,000. UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has said the number of displaced Gazans has more than doubled in the last 24 hours.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will arrive in the Middle East later today, “to help mediate the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas”, according to a UN official.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said the aim of the operation is to disarm Hamas militants and has told the Israeli army that the ground operation, which began on Thursday, could be significantly widened.

US President Barack Obama told Netanyahu on Friday he was “deeply concerned” about civilian casualties.