Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least 30 people and wounding hundreds more, a Hamas government official said on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said it targeted several Hamas and Islamic Jihad sites, including detection systems, command centres, weapons storage facilities and bank branches.
The head of the government’s media office in Gaza, Salama Marouf, told AFP that dozens of residential buildings, factories, mosques and shops were hit by the Israeli bombs.
He said that the death toll could rise as rescue workers were still searching for survivors under the rubble.
He also said that the Israeli attacks caused widespread power outages and damaged water and sewage networks in the besieged enclave.
The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out “intensive” air strikes on Gaza in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian militants.
It said fighter jets destroyed “advanced detection systems” that Hamas used to spot military aircraft.
They also hit 80 Hamas targets in the Beit Hanoun area of the northeastern Gaza Strip, including two bank branches used by the Islamist group to “fund terrorism” in the enclave.
Air strikes also hit a weapons storage facility, and an operational command centre used by the Islamic Jihad militant group, it added.
The military said it was prepared for “various scenarios” and would continue to strike Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets as long as they pose a threat to Israel’s security.
The escalation of violence came after weeks of tension over Israel’s plans to evict Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem and its crackdown on protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
The United Nations has called for an immediate end to the hostilities and urged both sides to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians.
