Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to continue "massive strikes" in response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, after violence continued to escalate for a second straight day.
"I instructed (the army) this morning to continue its massive strikes against terrorist elements in the Gaza Strip and ordered (it) to reinforce troops around the Gaza Strip with tanks, artillery and infantry," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting, France Press reported. .
The Israeli leader also assessed that Hamas, which rules Gaza, is paying a "high price" for rocket attacks on Israel.
He stated that Hamas is responsible not only for its military actions, but also for the actions of Islamic Jihad, a smaller extremist organization in Gaza that has the support of Iran, AP reported.
Ministry in Gaza: Two Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack
In the Israeli attack on Gaza, two Palestinians were killed, said today the head of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, while Israel continues to attack the Palestinian enclave in response to rocket attacks on Israeli territory.
The spokesman stated that two Palestinians, Bilal al-Bana and Abdullah Abu al-Ata, were killed during an Israeli attack in the east of the Gaza Strip.
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.
The exchange of fire followed weeks of relative calm between Gaza and Israel under an unofficial ceasefire that collapsed when attacks from Gaza resumed.
Bonus video:
