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Israel today intensified its air assault on Gaza to counter rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, taking the death toll to 133 as the Jewish state targeted over 1,100 Hamas positions in five days of offensive.
Two nephews of Hamas ex-PM Ismail Haniyeh were among 28 people killed today, as Gaza was hit by multiple strikes, Palestinian officials said.
At least 133 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its operation, Palestinian sources say.
Israel today said that it has carried out 1,160 strikes since Tuesday while asserting that Hamas fired 689 rockets.
A mosque in the central Gaza Strip was also bombed overnight. A Hamas spokesman reportedly said a pair of mosques was struck in the first attack of its kind since Israel began its offensive.
The Israeli military said the building had been used to store weapons.
Hamas meanwhile said it fired four rockets at the Israeli city of Ashdod.
A large fire broke out in a UN humanitarian relief compound in the east of Gaza City. Israel said it was caused by Hamas rockets falling short, though this has not been confirmed.
Israel hit a residential home for disabled people in Beit Lahiya, Palestinian officials said.
In addition to those killed, at least 950 people — mainly civilians — have been injured, they said.
The Israeli military says it is targeting militants and militant facilities, including the homes of senior operatives.
It says “dozens of terrorists” are among those killed.
There is no sign of both sides agreeing on a ceasefire, despite intense diplomacy at the United Nations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that his country will resist foreign pressure to halt its operations.
“The objective is to restore quiet to the cities of Israel, and I intend to achieve this objective,” he said, according to the BBC.
Haniya, the most senior Hamas official, also ruled out any halt to hostilities.
“Israel is the one that started this aggression and it must stop, because we are only defending ourselves,” he said.
The UN has calculated that 77 per cent of the people killed in Gaza so far have been civilians.
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