This night, Israel carried out strikes in the northern part of the outskirts of Gaza and targets of the group "Hezbollah" in Lebanon, reported Reuters and BTA.
Four months after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew from northern Gaza, Israeli tanks have again advanced west of Beit Hanoun, although they have so far not entered the city. According to local residents, the Israelis shelled schools where displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
The shelling that started last night was particularly intense east of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia and continued this morning in areas such as Zeytoun – one of the oldest suburbs of Gaza City. Local residents said at least 10 shots were fired on the main road within seconds.
Medics, as well as Hamas media, reported that a mosque was hit in Beit Lahiya, west of Beit Hanoun. Several people were injured in the attack. People who had gathered on the coastal road to receive airdropped humanitarian aid were also injured. Reuters notes that it has not been able to confirm these reports through another source.
The Israeli army said rockets were fired from northern Gaza overnight and that it retaliated, killing several Islamist fighters.
According to Israeli media, IDF air defense systems intercepted four rockets, and a warehouse in the border town of Sderot was hit by debris, causing a fire. There are no reports of casualties, DPA adds.
The IDF described the retaliatory attacks as "targeted and precise".
"During the past day, IDF fighter jets and other warplanes struck about 25 terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip, including military infrastructure, observation posts, terrorists and launchers,'' the Israeli military said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned the strikes on Gaza and indicated that the victims were mainly women and children.
Strike Lebanon
The Israeli army announced today that it had carried out airstrikes on targets of "Hezbollah" in Lebanon and that it killed two fighters of the Shiite group.
"Hezbollah" confirmed the death of one of its members, Hussein Azkul, but did not provide further details. Two security sources close to the group told Reuters that Azkul was an engineer in Hezbollah's air defense units. and that he was actively involved in the field operations of the Shiite movement.
In another Israeli strike that night, a fighter from the "Radwan Forces" - an elite unit of "Hezbollah", the IDF said. "Hezbollah" did not confirm his death.
Shortly after the Israeli military released information about the latest operations against Hezbollah, air raid sirens went off in northern Israel, Reuters notes.
Meanwhile "Hezbollah" released a statement claiming it had struck Israeli military bases north of the city of Accra with a drone. Until now, "Hezbollah" had not attacked an object located so far inside Israeli territory.
Yesterday more than 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Israel. A day earlier "Hezbollah" said it shot down an Israeli drone that was on a combat mission in southern Lebanon.