The government authorized the IDF to send ground troops back into central Gaza Tuesday, following an early morning roadside bomb explosion and a rocket-propelled grenade attack that killed one soldier and wounded three others, one seriously. Hamas warned that it has not agreed to a "calm" and that its previous ceasefire announcement is dependent on Israel's re-opening Gaza crossings to all commercial traffic.

Troops reached Khan Yunis in central Gaza. Local residents reported tank fire and Israel Air Force jets over the area. Arab sources also reported that the Air Force struck a terrorist target, killing or wounding three people, but the IDF has not confirmed the counterterrorist action.

Hamas responded with mortar fire on the Eshkol region, causing no damages or injuries but returned the area to the status quo of the days before the Cast Lead operation against the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.