A ground operation in the Gaza Strip has been launched by Tel Aviv following more than a week of Hamas shelling the country and the IDF responding with air strikes. Over 200 Palestinians and one Israeli have died in the violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the military to begin a ground offensive in Gaza, his office said.

"The prime minister and defence minister have instructed the IDF to begin a ground operation tonight in order to hit the terror tunnels from Gaza into Israel," the statement said.

Reports on Twitter indicate intensive shelling of the Gaza Strip, both from land and air.

The Israeli ground forces are to strike Palestinian militant sites throughout Gaza, but the operation does not seek to topple Hamas rule, the Israeli military said.

“We are now continuing with the ground forces to strike terrorist infrastructure, Hamas infrastructure, in multiple areas throughout the Gaza Strip," army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said.

The Israel Defense Forces will open a field hospital on Sunday evening to treat Gazan civilians, an IDF spokesman said.

The move comes as fighting between Israel and Gaza based terror group Hamas escalated overnight, after the IDF entered the coastal enclave late last week.

The center will provide medical aid to those wounded in Gaza fighting, as well as other health services, including pediatric and maternity care. The hospital will be staffed by doctors, nurses and medical technicians. Situated at the Erez crossing, it will be deployed in a rocket-proof building.

The IDF said that Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Benjamin (Benny) Gantz, approved the establishment of the hospital following the recommendation of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Major General Yoav (Poli) Mordechai. The hospital will open its doors at 8:00 pm Israel time.