The Israeli army sent an additional tank brigade to the Gaza border today and prepared for continued clashes in the coming days, after 450 rockets and mortar shells were fired into southern Israel from the Palestinian territory in the past 24 hours.
In those attacks, one Israeli was killed and several others were wounded.
In response to the attacks, the Israeli military hit over 220 military targets in Gaza, causing significant damage to what it called "terrorist organizations" in the densely populated Palestinian territory.
Clashes began around 9.30:XNUMX a.m. Saturday and continued this morning after several periods of lull last night.
Both sides have announced that they will step up retaliation if the other side continues its attacks.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said the XNUMXth Armored Brigade was sent to the south "to have a force there in case there is a need", Israeli media reported.
Another military spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonatan Konrikus, said that the military expects the clashes to continue for several more days.
The clashes actually started already on Friday evening when two soldiers were wounded by sniper bullets from Gaza and the army responded with an airstrike on the Hamas position in which two members of the Islamic extremist organization were killed.
The exchange of fire followed weeks of relative calm between Gaza and Israel under an unofficial ceasefire that collapsed when attacks from Gaza resumed.
Extremist organizations said it was revenge for Israel's failure to honor a ceasefire agreement by, among other things, not allowing money to be transferred from Qatar to help the impoverished area.
The Israeli military claims that 70 percent of the more than 450 rockets and missiles fired at Israel landed in open fields.
More than 150 missiles fired at populated areas were intercepted by the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system.
However, several missiles directly hit houses and apartments or exploded nearby, including one that hit the yard of Moshe Agadi's home in Ashkelon.
He succumbed to shrapnel wounds in the hospital early this morning.
Agadi is the first Israeli casualty of rocket fire from Gaza since the 2014 war.
Israel claims that most of the rockets from Gaza were fired by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The army says at least four Palestinians were killed in Israeli counterstrikes and that all were part of units firing rockets.
Authorities in Gaza also accused Israel of killing a pregnant woman and her daughter.
The Israeli army, however, denies responsibility and claims that it was the result of a failed rocket launch.
The Israeli attacks targeted Islamic Jihad tunnels dug under the border, several tunnel openings, an underground Hamas rocket production facility, weapons depots, military bases, observation posts, a cement factory and several high-rise buildings.
Several ships belonging to the naval commando units of Hamas and Islamic Jihad were also attacked.
Civilian buildings were also targeted, including, it is claimed, the homes of extremist leaders where weapons are allegedly kept.
The Israeli army also demolished a building housing the offices of Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency in Gaza City, drawing condemnation from Ankara.
Israel, however, claims that it was the headquarters of the Hamas intelligence service.
The US said it supports Israel's right to self-defense, and the EU's ambassador to Israel strongly criticized the rocket fire from Gaza.
The UN Middle East envoy said the organization was working with Egypt to restore calm and called on both sides to de-escalate the violence and restore the recent understanding.
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