Israel strikes positions in Gaza as tensions mount

A Palestinian boy makes his way through the rubble following Israel’s air strikes in Gaza. 13 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

A house destroyed by last night’s Israeli air strike on Gaza. 13 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

A group of Palestinian boys look on at the destruction caused by Israel’s air strike on Gaza on 12 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Roads destroyed in Gaza after Israeli airstrike. 13 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Two men walk through the rubble in the aftermath of Israel’s deadly air strike on 12 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

An elderly Palestinian man leans on a tree destroyed and tangled with debris outside a building on 13 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Residential buildings were amongst those destroyed in the brutal air strike on 12 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Homes were destroyed by Israeli bombs in the air strike. 13 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Buildings were razed to the ground in Israel’s deadly air strike on Gaza. 13 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Israeli fighter jets this evening struck positions across the blockaded Gaza Strip in response to the launch of scores of rockets from Gaza into southern Israel, according to the Israeli army.

Along with the airstrikes, Israeli artillery units shelled positions across the Hamas-run coastal enclave.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least three Palestinians have been killed by the strikes, while the Israel Broadcasting Authority has reported that seven Israelis were injured — one of them seriously — by rocket fire from Gaza.

Artillery units near the Gaza-Israel buffer zone have reportedly targeted concentrations of Palestinian activists in central Gaza, along with resistance positions in the town of Jabalia and the city of Deir al-Balah.

Read: Gaza protester dies of wounds in West Bank hospital

Israeli helicopter gunships, meanwhile, have also reportedly targeted several positions in southern Gaza.

In a joint statement, Palestinian resistance factions announced that they had begun firing rockets into southern Israel in response to an Israeli military incursion into the southern Gaza Strip late last night.

As of 7:00 p.m. Monday evening (local time), the army said it had recorded the launch of at least 80 rockets from Gaza, several of which, it claimed, had been intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defence system.

In a separate statement, the army said it had targeted more than 20 positions inside Gaza affiliated with resistance movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Read: ‘No justice for 50 Palestinian children killed in 2018’, says NGO

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has reportedly convened an urgent meeting with Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Army Chief-of-Staff Gadi Eizenkot to discuss the latest escalations.

Late Sunday night, seven Palestinians were killed — including a senior Hamas commander — when an Israeli military force staged a ground incursion into the southern Gaza Strip.

One Israeli soldier was reportedly killed in the raid and another injured, according to the Israeli army.

The damage left behind after Israel sent air strikes to Gaza on 12 November 2018

The damage left behind after Israel sent air strikes to Gaza on 12 November 2018

The damage left behind after Israel sent air strikes to Gaza on 12 November 2018

Shops are among those destroyed in the deadly strikes 13 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Many have lost all their homes and belongings due to Israel’s air strike. 13 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

The remains of a building smoulders and smokes in the aftermath of Israel’s air strike on Gaza on 12 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Many homes and buildings were completely destroyed by Israeli bombs. 13 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Palestinian men stand amongst rubble and debris created by Israel’s air strike on Gaza. 13 November 2018 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]