Amid the continued offensive, Palestinian militants blew a hole in a wall on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, allowing 2,000 people who had been stranded owing to closures related to the assault to cross into the territory.
Gunmen, believed to be from the armed wing of the governing Palestinian movement Hamas, blew a hole in the wall around 70 metres from the Rafah border terminal, allowing hundreds of travellers into Gaza, witnesses said.
The border crossing, Gaza's sole gateway to the world, has been closed since June 25, when an Israeli soldier was snatched by Palestinian militants not too far away, sparking the worst Israeli-Palestinian crisis in months.
Economy ministry hit
Yesterday, Israeli artillery pounded the north and south of the Palestinian territory throughout the day as part of a campaign to secure the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit.
Israeli aircraft carried out two raids early today that targeted the building of the Palestinian economy ministry in the north of Gaza City and caused severe damage, security sources said.
The raid followed a similar strike on the Gaza building of the foreign ministry of the Hamas-led government on Thursday, which itself came after hits on the seats of the prime minister and interior minister.
At least 76 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have now been killed since Israel stepped up a ground assault on Gaza on July 5.
"Insane war": Haniya
Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya, head of the Hamas-led government, has slammed Israel's "insane war" against Lebanon.
Palestinian militants fired three rockets into the southern Israeli town of Sderot yesterday but caused no damage or any casualties, the military said.
The armed wing of radical movement Islamic Jihad claimed to have fired one rocket on Sderot in response to continued Israeli "aggression".
An army spokeswoman said the only place where Israeli ground forces remain in Gaza is in Dahaniya, in the south, near the former international airport that was destroyed by the army after the second Palestinian uprising erupted.
The pullback came after Israel's chief ally the United States vetoed a UN resolution urging Israel to halt military operations in Gaza, condemning the assault and calling for the immediate withdrawal of its troops.