Update | At least 97 Palestinians killed in Israeli offensive as thousands flee Gaza homes
Deadliest single day in the coastal enclave in the past five years takes Palestinian death toll past 400; a third of victims are women and children
At least 97 Gazan Palestinians and 13 soldiers were killed yesterday as Israel ramped up its military offensive in the bloodiest single day in the enclave in five years.
As regional leaders met in Doha for urgent talks on a ceasefire, the Palestinian death toll soared to 435, with the emergency services saying more than a third of the victims were women and children.
Watch: Gaza: Shejaiya residents flee after 60 dead in Israeli offensive
The Israeli army said 13 soldiers from the same brigade had been killed in a series of attacks inside Gaza on the third day of a major ground operation.
"Over the course of the day, 13 soldiers from the IDF's Golani Brigade were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip," the army said.
Their deaths raised to 18 the number of soldiers killed since Israel's ground operation began late on Thursday - the most Israeli soldiers killed in combat since the 2006 Lebanon war.