Israel's rocket fire from the Gaza Strip continued at dawn today after a three-hour lull and the Israeli army continued to attack what it said were key targets and leaders of the extremist Hamas that rules the Palestinian territory.
About 150 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel from 20 pm on Wednesday until 24 am this morning, including XNUMX that landed in the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli army said.
More than 1.500 missiles have been fired from Gaza since the beginning of the conflict on Monday evening, and a fifth of them did not fly over the border fence, according to Israeli media.
Dozens to hundreds of rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, according to the military, which refuses to give exact figures because extremist organizations are said to be able to find ways to outmaneuver it.
The Israeli army said today that the percentage of interception of rockets and mortar missiles aimed at residential areas is about 90 percent.
On Wednesday night and this morning, the military expanded targets in Gaza to attack institutions that Hamas uses to rule Gaza, banks and the Ministry of Finance, military spokesman Hidai Zilberman said.
In addition, internal security headquarters used for counterintelligence operations were attacked and the house of Ijad Teaeb, the battalion commander in the military wing of Hamas, was destroyed and members of the naval forces of that organization were killed, the spokesman said.
As stated, a Hamas bunker dug under a school near other civilian buildings was destroyed before dawn.
Israel accuses Hamas of indiscriminately placing military targets in densely populated areas to use civilians as human shields.
There are no air raid sirens or shelters in the Mediterranean coastal Gaza Strip of two million people, and Palestinians say they are targeted wherever they go, the Associated Press reported.
In the past three days, Israeli airstrikes destroyed three high-rise buildings that housed Hamas offices and some companies, as the residents were warned to leave.
An Israeli military spokesman said the army also destroyed most of the rocket production facilities and warehouses.
As announced today, around 600 targets in the Gaza Strip were attacked, more than 100 in the last 24 hours.
The operation, dubbed Wall Guardians, consists mainly of airstrikes and shelling from land and sea, but the army said it was preparing for the possibility of a ground offensive, and a plan to do so would be presented to Israel's political leadership today.
In Israel, seven people were killed in attacks from Gaza, among the victims were two children and three women, and the Ministry of Health in Gaza stated that the death toll was almost 70, including 17 minors.
The Israeli military claims that most of those killed were members of extremist organizations and that some died while preparing to fire rockets.
Islamic Jihad confirmed the death of seven of its members, and Hamas killed one of its main commanders along with several others.
The Israeli-Palestinian human rights organization Defense for Children said some civilians were killed by Hamas rockets that fell inside Gaza.
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