Israel has declared a “state of war” as its army continues to face off against Palestinian fighters in several areas across southern Israel.
This comes a day after a surprise attack by al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said it launched mortar attacks into the occupied Shebaa Farms in solidarity with Hamas; Israel said it responded with artillery.
The escalation comes as expectations grow that Israel will launch a ground invasion of Gaza after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to turn the besieged Palestinian enclave into a “deserted island”.
The latest death toll stands at 370 Palestinians, according to health officials; and at least 600 Israelis, according to media reports.
Hamas said it launched its large-scale operation in response to continued brutality by Israel and its occupation administration against Palestinians.
This includes standing by as Israeli settlers launch violent attacks on Palestinian villages and neighbourhoods; attacking worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and killing an alarming number of Palestinians this year.
Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from Ashkelon in southern Israel. [Amir Cohen/Reuters]
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Israelis inspect the rubble of a building a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel. [Oded Balilty/AP Photo]People stand outside a mosque destroyed in an Israeli air attack in Khan Younis. [Yousef Masoud/AP Photo]Israeli soldiers look at the remains of a police station which was the site of a battle following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel. [Ronen Zvulun/Reuters]A convoy of Israeli military vehicles on a road near Lebanon in northern Israel. [Gil Eliyahu/Reuters]Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli air attack, in Gaza City. [Fatima Shbair/AP Photo]
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Palestinians fleeing Israeli air attacks take refuge in a school run by the United Nations in Gaza City. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]A boy carrying bread walks by the rubble of a building, in Gaza City. [Fatima Shbair/AP Photo]Mourners pray by the bodies of family of Salem Abu Quta family, a Hamas fighter, during a funeral after they were killed in an Israeli attack on their house in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip. [Hatem Ali/AP Photo]
