Although Israel has delayed its ground offensive amid global calls for a ceasefire, the military continued its airstrikes, killing six people today.
The Israeli military said that it shot down the drone spotted along the Israeli coastline, near the city of Ashdod.
Hamas' military wing said in a statement that it has sent a number of drones on missions inside Israel and would provide more details in due course.
Israeli warplanes bombarded the vacated area, hitting alleged launch sites and homes of members of extremist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The assault was carried out mostly by air, but the Israeli navy also reportedly fired shells from the sea.
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Despite the concentrated attack, militants continued to fire rockets at a broad swath of Israel. A teenager became the second Israeli civilian to be severely wounded. No Israelis have been killed by the rocket strikes.
By this morning, the death toll from nearly a week of Israeli airstrikes reached 177 -- all of them Palestinians -- with more than 1,280 wounded, according to Palestinian health authorities.
While the Israeli attacks have killed some militants, around 70 per cent of the fatalities were civilians, according to the United Nations. Of the dead, more than 30 are children, the UN reported.
Israel has massed thousands of troops on the border with Gaza amid warnings it is prepared to launch a ground invasion. Israeli commandos carried out their first reported ground incursion yesterday, attacking a suspected rocket launch site.
Defending Israel's actions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "We're sorry for any accidental civilian deaths but it's the Hamas that bears complete responsibility for such civilian casualties.