GAZA CITY: Israel carried out a wave of strikes across Gaza on Thursday killing three Palestinians including a toddler in another severe flare-up of violence.
It was the third major escalation since July and came despite attempts by UN officials and Egypt to secure a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas.
Beginning on Wednesday night and into Thursday, fireballs and explosions shook the Gaza Strip while plumes of smoke rose from the enclave.
Those killed in the Gaza Strip included Enas Khammash, 23, and her 18-month-old daughter Bayan, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled enclave.
They were killed in an air strike in Jafarawi in central Gaza, the ministry said, while her husband was injured.
The ministry said Khammash was also pregnant.
A gunman was also killed in the strikes and at least 12 others injured, the health ministry said.
Rockets and mortars targeting Israel continued sporadically on Thursday morning as did Israeli strikes in parts of the Gaza Strip.
“I rented this house to civilians and I’m surprised that this house was bombed,” said Abdul al Hakeem Abu Amra, the owner of the house where the woman and child were killed.
In Sderot, the Israeli city near the Gaza Strip, a gaping hole could be seen in front of a small, three-storey building.
A car parked nearby was smashed.
“I will never leave, never,” said Hagit Shetreet, 45, who had to run to a shelter due to the rocket fire.
Israel’s army said it targeted more than 150 Hamas military locations, including a compounds and weapons manufacturing sites.
The three flare-ups since July, which follow months of tensions due to protests and clashes along the Gaza border, have raised fears of a fourth war between the two sides since 2008.
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN envoy for the Middle East conflict who has been seeking to negotiate a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas, said he was “deeply alarmed.”
“For months I have been warning that the humanitarian, security and political crisis in Gaza risks a devastating conflict that nobody wants,” he said in a statement.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called on the international community to “immediately and urgently intervene.”
The escalation comes after the Hamas leadership convened for a rare meeting in Gaza on Friday, raising hopes for a lasting truce with Israel with the backing of Egypt and the United Nations.
At least 165 Palestinians have killed by Israeli fire since March 30. — AFP
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