Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire killed at least nine Palestinians on Friday, including six people on a crowded Gaza beach, Palestinian medics said. Among those killed on the shore were three children, including twins.
About 20 Palestinians were injured by the shells, which were fired from Israeli naval ships. The Israeli army said the ships were targeting militants who launched rockets against the Jewish state after Israel's killing of a top militant who also served as a senior security chief appointed by the Hamas-led government.
The rising deathtoll stoked tensions as Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas made a last-minute appeal to President Mahmoud Abbas to abandon a proposed referendum on statehood that would implicitly recognise Israel.
Haniyeh called for Abbas to back down for the sake of Palestinian unity after Israel's killing overnight of Jamal Abu Samhadana, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) militant group.
An Israeli air strike on a car killed three Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza, Palestinian security sources said, minutes after PRC gunmen fired rockets into southern Israel in retaliation for Abu Samhadana's death. Two other cars were hit in Israeli airstrikes. Among those injured was a senior Hamas militant, Palestinian security sources said.