Israeli air bombardment on Gaza Strip continued from Friday, through Saturday and Sunday, after a week of intense violence between the Jewish state and Palestinian militants. The heavy artillery and airstrikes have left more than 200 people dead as international calls for de-escalation.
Further, Israeli conducted overnight air sorties from Sunday to Monday in the space of a few minutes across the crowded coastal Palestinian enclave controlled by Islamist group Hamas, according to media sources.
Flames and smoke rose up in the sky as deadly explosions shook Gaza city. The bombardments caused widespread power cuts and damaged hundreds of buildings, according to local authorities.
The Israeli Defense Forces noted that the overnight operation involved fighter jets and tanks hitting a Hamas tunnel network dug under civilian areas. Several homes in densely populated Gaza were destroyed or heavily damaged, while rockets tore through the skies towards Israel. Since Monday, Palestinian militant groups have reportedly fired more than 1,800 rockets towards Israel, mostly skewed towards southern cities, but also at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
This is the most intense fighting since 2014 between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza which has seen Israeli soldiers massing on the edge of the blockaded territory.
