A mother and her four young children were among the seven new Palestinian victims killed by the Israeli military in the Gaza area.

The family was killed by a missile fired at their house in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, just as they were preparing to have breakfast.

Two others, a militant and an unidentified man were also killed today during fights in the same Gaza border town. According to the Israeli military, the offence started after several gunmen attacked a border patrol.

An Israeli military spokeswoman was quoted by BBC saying that the air force and army had attacked gunmen who opened fire on its troops during an operation in the area launched to "ensure that rocket crews, snipers and tunnel diggers are kept away from the border fence."

The victims’ bodies were taken to the local hospital morgue. The rest of the family was still in shock.

According to the Agence France Press, more than 430 people, most of them Palestinian civilians, have been killed so far since the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians were restarted in Annapolis in November. The large number of deaths has alerted the international authorities but so far the solution has not been found.

Last week Hamas announced that it was ready for a six-month truce but the offer was dismissed immediately by Israel, on the count that it was just a diversion in order to regroup after the heavy losses sustained in recent clashes.

The negotiations are expected to reach a solid peace deal by the end of the year, but in order for this to happen, efforts need to be bigger than ever.