5 bodies pulled from Gaza home hit in Israeli air strike as toll mounts to 312: Ban Ki-Moon heads to bolster truce efforts

The bodies of five Palestinians were pulled from the rubble of a home destroyed in an overnight Israeli air strike on southern Gaza, medics said on Saturday.

The bodies were recovered from an area east of Khan Yunis, raising the death toll in Gaza from 12 days of violence between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to 312, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon headed to the region to bolster truce efforts.

The new peace push came as Israel's campaign against the besieged Palestinian territory entered day 12 in the bloodiest conflict for several years, and the Jewish state stood poised to intensify a ground operation inside the Strip.

US President Barack Obama has supported Israel's right to defend itself against Gaza rocket fire, but urged it to work harder to avoid innocent deaths in an operation with a high civilian toll, including many women and children.

In the face of Israel's land, sea and air offensive, Islamist movement Hamas, which is the main power in Gaza, has remained defiant as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas travelled to Egypt and Turkey for truce talks.

An early morning air strike outside a mosque in the southern city of Khan Yunis killed seven people on Saturday, including a woman, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. Other raids shortly afterwards killed another four, bringing the total death toll to 307 Palestinians and two Israelis.

Some 2,250 Palestinians and several Israelis have been injured.

The UN said Friday Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would leave for the region Saturday in a bid to end the violence.

Ban would help Israelis and Palestinians "in coordination with regional and international actors, end the violence and find a way forward," under secretary general for political affairs Jeffrey Feltman told emergency talks at the Security Council.