Buildings turned to rubble. Body bags in the streets. Wailing sirens and shrieking rockets.

As generations of Israeli-Palestinian conflict bubbled into a fifth day of war, there were scenes of both an expanding offensive and the conflict's sorrowful results.

Flag-draped coffins were carried by mourners as funeral processions snaked through the region. Scenes of devastation, from windows shattered by bullets to neighbourhoods levelled by blasts, grew along with the death toll.

The battle's first four days have brought more than 2,100 deaths on both sides. As fear grows of what might come next, one thing seems clear: That number will grow.