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Israel-Gaza: Palestinian casualty rises as Israel targets militants
According to Palestinian health ministry 24 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip where the Israeli military is targeting members of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad. Among the dead as 6 children and several PIJ fighters.
An Israeli official said that since Friday around 300 Palestinian rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel. Israel says it launched the operations due to "immediate threat" from PIJ.
This is the most serious conflict between Israel and Gaza since the 11-day-conflict between them in May 2021. The Israeli Ministry said that this operation could last for a week.
Gaza’s health ministry blamed "Israeli aggression" for the deaths of Palestinians, and for the 203 people wounded. But so far Hamas, the biggest militant group in the area - which has similar ideology to Islamic Jihad and often coordinates its actions with it - does not seem to be firing from its large rocket arsenal.
The Israeli Defence Forces said its attacks targeted sites linked to PIJ, including the high-rise Palestine Tower in Gaza City which was hit on Friday. This conflict closely follows Israel's arrest of Bassem Saadi, reported to be the head of PIJ in the West Bank, on Monday night.