Houses of top political figures are latest
targets, reports say, as Israeli bombardment
resumes and death toll hits 208.
Israel has intensified its bombing campaign of
the Gaza Strip , targeting the houses of senior
Hamas leaders as the death toll of its nine- day
campaign in the Palestinian enclave hit 208.
Attacks in Gaza killed at least seven
Palestinians in the early hours of Wednesday ,
Gaza health officials told the Reuters news
agency, and destroyed the house of Mahmoud
Zahar, a Hamas political leader .
The AP news agency reported that the the
Gaza interior ministry said Israel targeted 30
houses, including those of senior Hamas
leaders Zahar, Jamila Shanti , Fathi Hamas and
Ismail Ashkar.
Zahar was a key figure in Hamas rise to power
in 2007 , while the other three were members of
the Palestinian parliament elected in
2006 . Many Hamas leaders have gone into
hiding since the beginning of the
Israeli offensive.
Three people from the Abu Daqqa family were
killed and another five injured on Wednesday in
an attack in Khan Younis, said the health
ministry spokesman , Ashraf al-Qedra .
Among the dead was a 10 -year -old boy and a
65 -year -old woman, with witnesses saying the
missile struck a car in Bani Suheila in the
eastern part of the city.
Israel resumed its bombardment on Tuesday ,
hours after agreeing to an Egyptian proposal
for a ceasefire on which Hamas , the group that
controls Gaza , said it was never consulted .
According to Palestinian health officials , the
Israeli bombardment has killed 205 people and
injured 1 , 530 since it began last Tuesday . The
majority of casualties are civilians.
Israel says it is bombing Gaza to stop
Palestinian fighters firing rockets into Israel.
An estimated 700 projectiles fired into Israel
by Palestinian groups. One Israeli has been
killed.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it
had sent warning messages to residents in
northern Gaza to evacuate their homes by 5 am
GMT ahead of renewed attacks.
Israel also called for tens of thousands of
residents in areas close to the Gaza - Israel
border to leave their homes .
Palestinian officials said residents in two Gaza
City neighbourhoods had received the warnings
but the Gaza interior ministry described them
as psychological warfare .
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