An Israeli soldier was hit by a mortar shrapnel and sustained severe wounds on Tuesday morning, an army source confirmed to Xinhua, as fighting between Israel and Gaza-based militants continue on the seventh day.

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) Spokesperson unit announced that the Israeli air forces attacked 100 militant targets in Gaza overnight, which included missile launchers, smuggling tunnels and weapon warehouses.

More than 40 rockets were launched on Tuesday morning from the Gaza Strip towards Israel's southern communities, with 30 of them falling into the city of Be'er Sheva. No Injuries were reported, but a house in the city was damaged.

As Operation Pillar of Defense enters its seventh day, the Israeli government is under diplomatic pressure to reach a cease- fire agreement with the militant groups in Gaza.

According to reports by local news outlets, a decision on whether to launch a ground invasion to Gaza has been suspended last night by 24 hours in order to give diplomatic efforts a chance.

On Monday night, nine senior Israeli ministers held a meeting to discuss what's in store for the operation. The Dubai-based "Al- Arabiya" TV network reported.

The diplomatic pressure on Israel to avoid a ground operation and agree to a cease fire agreement is mounting and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will arrive in Israel on Tuesday afternoon and meet with the Israeli President Shimon Peres.

On Wednesday, Ban is expected to meet with both Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

Later on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will arrive in Israel and meet with Netanyahu. She is also expected to meet with Abbas.

Efforts to reach a cease fire have been underway for the past two days in Cairo, which is led by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi with the help of Qatar and Turkey.

At least 116 Palestinians have been killed and over 800 have been injured from the Israeli Air Force strikes in the Gaza Strip since Wednesday.

IDF officials said that all options are still on the table and that the army is ready for a ground invasion into the strip.

Tens of thousands of reservists along with regular-service soldiers are currently deployed along the border with the Gaza Strip, on call for a possible military invasion.

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