LONDON

Argentina's Foreign Ministry expressed concern about violence in Israel and Palestine while denouncing the "disproportionate use of force" by Israeli security forces.

"The Argentine Republic expresses its deep concern over the dramatic worsening of the situation in Israel and Palestine, the disproportionate use of force by Israeli security units in the face of protests over possible evictions of Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhoods and Silwan, as well as for the response through the launching of missiles and incendiary devices from the Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement late Tuesday.

It encouraged all actors to respect “obligations in accordance with international law” and said it supports “international efforts to establish an immediate and lasting ceasefire.”

Heavy bombardment in the Gaza Strip continued early Wednesday as Israeli forces carried out raids at various locations.

The Gaza's Ministry of Health reported the current death toll at 56, including 14 children and more than 330 wounded.

The Israeli army said 1,500 rockets have been fired from Gaza toward locations in Israel while six Israelis have been killed.

The latest incursion by Israel on the Gaza Strip was prompted by Palestinian protests against possible forced evictions of families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and a raid by Israeli forces of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Hamas gave Israel a deadline to stop raids at the holy site. When that was ignored, the Palestinian resistance group began attacking Tel Aviv with rocket fire.

The attacks on Gaza are the largest since a seven-week war erupted in 2014.