Israeli jets on Saturday carried out over 30 airstrikes on Gaza, killing five Palestinians, as Hamas fired several rockets into Israel, vowing to continue its resistance in the month-long conflict that has claimed about 2,000 lives.
The Israeli military said it struck 33 sites, including terror activity sites, command and control centres and weapon storage facilities, even as dozens of rockets hit southern Israel. Five Palestinians were killed, including three whose bodies were pulled from the wreckage of a mosque, Gaza officials said.
Reports said senior Hamas official Moaaz Zaid was also killed in Israeli air strikes on Saturday. Over 1,960 people have died since violence erupted in Gaza in early July. More than 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed. Sixty-seven people have died on the Israeli side, including three civilians. Israel renewed strikes on Gaza soon after the three-day ceasefire lapsed on Friday, saying it was in response to rocket fire by Hamas, which controls Gaza. Residents of southern Israel woke up early morning to the piercing sound of code red rocket alerts, as a barrage of rockets from Gaza targeted their neighborhoods. Hamas vowed on Saturday that there would be no concessions to Israel.
“There will be no going back, the resistance will continue,” Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhum said in a statement. “The occupier’s intransigence will get it nowhere and we will make no concessions on the demands of our people,” he said. Following through on his promise to respond with force against any renewed hostilities by Hamas, Israeli PM ordered the Israli Air Force to strike targets in the Strip, as Operation Protective Edge entered its 33nd day.