In Israeli airstrikes early this morning, at least six people were killed in Gaza and the house of a large family was destroyed, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The Israeli military said it had expanded strikes on military targets in the south of the Palestinian territories.
Among the dead in Gaza was a journalist from Hamas Al-Aqsa Radio.
Extremist organizations in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of rocket fire into southern and central Israel late last night and early this morning, and Hamas claims it targeted Israeli air bases.
Missile warning sirens were heard in the southern border towns and coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon and as far as Rehovot and Palmahim and at several air bases in between, Israeli media reported.
Israeli military spokesman Hidai Zilberman said the military had no information that rockets hit any of those bases, and that only one missile fell outside the Tel Nof base near Rehovat.
The Israeli side interprets that the public announcement of the attack on the air bases is an attempt by Hamas to reject the criticism of the US and other countries that it randomly targets the Israeli population.
During last night's and morning's strikes, civilian areas were hit and missiles were fired at Israeli cities where there are no bases.
There were no reports of injuries or damage, and the rocket fire started at 20:XNUMX p.m. and lasted until XNUMX:XNUMX a.m., and many missiles were intercepted by the "Iron Dome" anti-missile defense system.
The three-hour break lasted from 2.30:5.30 to XNUMX:XNUMX, as had become customary during the past few nights.
The Israeli army announced that 50 rockets were fired in the direction of Israel last night and this morning, and that 10 fell on Palestinian territory.
Throughout the night, Israeli planes carried out strikes on dozens of targets across the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Media Center reported and published photos and videos of the bombing.
As stated, several Palestinians were killed and several wounded.
Spokesman Zilberman said the Israeli military believed at least ten members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad were killed in the attacks on the southern towns of Khan Yunis and Rafah.
On the network of tunnels in the south of Gaza, 50 fighter jets fired 120 bombs, destroying in 25 minutes 12 kilometers of those underground passages which the army called "metro", the spokesman said.
It was the fifth round of attacks on the tunnels, and a number of targets were also targeted in Gaza City on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, where senior Hamas commanders allegedly live. Places from which rockets and mortar missiles are fired were also targeted.
Meanwhile, efforts to establish a ceasefire are continuing and France has said it has proposed a solution in cooperation with Israel's neighbors Egypt and Jordan.
That could prompt the US administration to use its veto power for the first time if it wants to continue to block such efforts in the UN Security Council, having done so four times already.
Israel's Channel 12 TV reported meanwhile that Egypt's cease-fire initiative had borne fruit and would take effect Thursday morning, officials on both sides denied such reports.
10 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip since the start of the conflict on May 3.700, and Israel's continuous bombardment in retaliation has deepened the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory and displaced around 72.000 Palestinians.
According to Palestinian data, 219 people died in Gaza, including at least 63 children, and 1.300 Palestinians were wounded.
On the Israeli side, 12 people were killed, including two children of two foreign workers and one soldier, and hundreds were wounded.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad have confirmed the deaths of at least 20 of their members, while Israel claims at least 130 have been killed.
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