Israeli airstrikes flattened homes in Gaza and Palestinian rocket barrages into southern Israel persisted for a second day, raising fears of another major escalation in the Mideast conflict.
The Palestinian health ministry says Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed four people and wounded another 15. The Islamic Jihad militant group says a senior commander, Taiseer al-Jabari, is among those killed. Israel launched the airstrikes on Friday after days of soaring tensions following the arrest of a senior Islamic Jihad militant in the occupied West Bank. Israel says it is targeting the group, raising fears of another all-out Gaza war.
Israel and Hamas fought a war barely a year ago, one of four major conflicts and several smaller battles over the last 15 years that exacted a staggering toll on the impoverished territory's 2 million Palestinian residents. Whether Hamas continues to stay out of the fight likely depends in part on how much punishment Israel inflicts in Gaza as rocket fire steadily continues.
Israel unleashed a wave of airstrikes in Gaza on Friday that it said targeted the Islamic Jihad militant group amid days of heightened tensions following the arrest of a senior member of the group in the occupied West Bank earlier this week.
It was not immediately clear if anyone had been killed and wounded, but the strikes risk igniting yet another war in the territory, which is ruled by the Islamic militant group Hamas and is home to about 2 million Palestinians.
A blast could be heard in Gaza City, where smoke poured out of the seventh floor of a tall building on Friday afternoon. The assassination of a senior militant would likely be met by rocket fire from Gaza, pushing the region closer to all-out war.
The Israeli military said it was targeting Islamic Jihad in an operation named Breaking Dawn. It also announced a special situation on the home front, with schools closed and limits placed on other activities in communities within 80 kilometers of the border.
