Live blog: Gaza under attack

Several Israeli citizens were injured when a number of mortar rounds hit the Erez crossing with Gaza.

Up to 11 mortar rounds landed near the border crossing, according to the Times of Israel, which has since been closed. The Israeli daily said three people were injured in the attack by Palestinian factions based in Gaza.

The injured were members of an Israeli-Arab family who had travelled to the crossing in order to collect family members for medical treatment who were hurt in Israel's assault on Gaza.

Israel has reportedly closed the Erez crossing with Gaza after a mortar attack by the Palestinian factions injured four Israelis.

Haaretz report that Israeli authorities closed the border due to the attack that has left three Israelis seriously injured and another moderately wounded.

A Turkish aid official in the blockaded Gaza Strip has done the wildly popular “bucket challenge” but instead of pouring cold water over himself, he used dust in solidarity with Palestinian children.

"This is an alternate to the 'ice bucket challenge' because the children of Gaza get buried under the rubble of their bombed-out homes," said Mehmet Kaya, representative of Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) in Gaza.

"You should take a bucket of dust and pour it over your heads to feel the injustice perpetrated against people of Gaza," he added.

Celebrities around the world, including former US President George Bush, have taken the ice bucket challenge and posted their videos on the internet to help raise money for and awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is a neurodegenerative disease.

Three people have been wounded in south Israel by mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip.

The shells struck Hof Ashkelon Regional Council on Sunday afternoon, seriously injuring two people and moderately hurting another. Israel’s Iron Dome has since intercepted one rocket over Merhavim while two rockets have landed in open areas around Be’er Sheva and Sdot. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the assault on Gaza will continue until their goal of restoring “quiet” to Israel’s citizens is met.

Speaking before the weekly cabinet meeting he said: “I call on the inhabitants of Gaza to vacate immediate every site from which Hamas is carrying out terrorist activity. Every one of these places is a target for us,” he said.

Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said “if the leaders of Hamas think that they can wear us down, they are wrong.”

A slew of Hollywood stars have signed an open letter expressing opposition to a boycott of Israel and called for an end to rocket fire from Gaza.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Minnie Driver, Ziggy Marley and Kelsey Grammar have signed the letter, among others including Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun.

“Hamas cannot be allowed to rain rockets on Israeli cities, nor can it be allowed to hold its own people hostage. Hospitals are for healing, not for hiding weapons. Schools are for learning, not for launching missiles. Children are our hope, not our human shields,” the letter read.

The letter comes amid growing opposition to Israel’s assault on Gaza from other celebrities in the US.

Stars including Rihanna, Penelope Cruz, Russell Brand and Javier Barden have all expressed opposition to the deadly assault on Gaza in recent weeks.

Families made homeless after Israeli forces destroyed a block of 40 apartments in Gaza have been treated at local hospitals.

At least 18 people were injured in the attack, which took place some 10 minutes after Israel had warned residents to leave the building.

The funeral of a four-year-old Israeli boy has taken place on Sunday morning, after he was killed by rocket fire from the Gaza strip two days previous.

Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin spoke at Daniel Targerman’s funeral and said: “The whole nation is with you” to the residents of south Israel. Hundreds attended the funeral in a story that has shocked and angered Israeli society.

Targerman was the first child to be killed in the latest round of violence between Israel and the Palestinian factions in Gaza. The Israeli death toll currently stands at 68, four casualties have been civilians and the rest soldiers.

Israeli forces gave 60 families ten minutes warning to evacuate their homes on Saturday, before destroying a block of 40 flats in Gaza.

At least 18 people were injured in the attack that has left scores of families homeless.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in London on Saturday, to call for an end to the military offensive in Gaza.

It is the latest in a series of protests in the British capital, which have seen huge numbers of people demand an end to Israel's deadly assault on the coastal enclave.