BICOM

Israeli air strikes in Gaza intensified overnight Monday and yesterday after a fierce day of fighting on Monday left 10 Israeli soldiers dead.

Their funerals took place at military cemeteries across Israel yesterday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned on Sunday evening of more painful days ahead. An additional five soldiers were injured yesterday, but there were no Israeli fatalities. Yesterday afternoon, IDF soldiers from the Givati infantry brigade engaged and killed five Hamas terrorists who emerged from a tunnel to launch an attack. The Israeli forces seized a large amount of weapons, including Kalashnikov rifles, bullets and explosives.

There were several hours of respite for Israeli citizens from Gaza rocket attacks overnight. However, sirens sounded in various communities near the Gaza border this morning. In total, 80 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel yesterday. The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted rockets over the Tel Aviv area and Beer Sheva. Late last night, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said that for the third time in two weeks, it had found a cache of rockets in one of its schools in Gaza and condemned those responsible for it.

Meanwhile, Israel launched intense air attacks on targets in Gaza. Reports by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claimed that around 100 Palestinians were killed in air strikes overnight on Monday, with a further 25 reportedly killed last night as Israel’s Air Force hit around 80 targets. Meanwhile, the IDF said this morning that it is looking into an incident in which a shell apparently hit a United Nations school in Gaza, killing several people. Yesterday, a major power plant in Gaza was struck, although the IDF did not provide any explanation over the attack. Also among the targets yesterday were several symbols of Hamas rule, including a television station, the Finance Ministry and the home of Hamas’s political leader in Gaza, Ismael Haniyeh, which was destroyed with no casualties reported.