Gaza death toll hits 194, mostly civilians

The total number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip over the past week has reached 194, according to a Palestinian Health official.

"At least 194 people have been killed and around 1400 injured, many seriously, since the start of the Israeli military operation," Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday morning.

For a week, Israel has waged a crippling air blitz against the Gaza Strip-dubbed "Operation Protective Edge"-with the stated aim of ending rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.

Since last Monday, Israeli warplanes have struck more than a thousand targets across the besieged enclave, which is home to around 1.8 million Palestinians.

Israeli ground troops remain amassed on the strip's borders, meanwhile, in advance of a possible ground assault.