A Houthi missile struck Ben-Gurion airport Sunday for the first time since the war began, briefly closing it just as Israel voted to expand Gaza operations.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip and expand the military operation has alarmed many in the region. Palestinians are exhausted and hopeless, pummeled by 19 months of heavy bombing. Families of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are terrified that the possibility of a ceasefire is slipping further away.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an expanded offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas would be "intensive" after his security cabinet approved plans that may include seizing the Gaza Strip and controlling aid.

The new bloodshed comes days after Israel approved a plan to intensify its operations in the Palestinian enclave.

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) -Israeli strikes on a school housing displaced families in northern Gaza killed 15 Palestinians on Wednesday, local health authorities said, as Israeli forces continued to demolish homes and buildings in Rafah in the south of the enclave.

Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 16 people as its more than two-month blockade of the besieged and bombarded enclave has caused acute food shortages, accelerating starvation of the Palestinian population.