The Israeli military has threatened the leadership of the Palestinian organization Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip, with targeted killing.
Army spokesman Hidai Zilberman told Israeli television on Saturday evening that key Hamas and Islamic Jihad institutions throughout the Gaza Strip would continue to be attacked that night.
This also applies to the highest leadership in Hamas.
A spokesman for the military Hamas arm, however, threatened that his organization would fire rockets again at Tel Aviv from midnight. In a massive attack on a wide Hamas tunnel system, Israel's air force reportedly used around 500 tons of ammunition on Friday night. According to the Israeli army, numerous Hamas fighters could have been hit in the attack on the underground so-called Metro system. "Every terrorist in Gaza knows today that there is nowhere to hide, not above the ground - and after the attack on the metro - not even underground," said Zilberman.
Previously, an Israeli air strike hit a skyscraper in the Gaza Strip used by international media.
In view of the violence in the Middle East, US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Speaking to Netanyahu, the White House said: "The President reiterated his strong support for Israel's right to defend itself against the rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip." Biden expressed concern about the safety of journalists and stressed the need to ensure their protection.
It was Biden's second conversation with Netanyahu since Wednesday.
First phone call with Abbas
The phone call with Abbas was the first since Biden took office on January 20. The White House announced that Biden had informed Abbas about the US diplomatic engagement in the ongoing conflict. Biden also stressed that Hamas must stop firing rockets on Israel. Biden and Abbas have expressed concern about the deaths of innocent civilians. The US President emphasized his commitment to a negotiated two-state solution. That is the best way to find a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
During the conversation with Biden, Netanyahu said on Twitter that he had informed the US president about developments and measures that Israel had taken and still wanted to take.
He also thanked Biden for the "unconditional support" of the US when it comes to Israel's right to self-defense.
Israel's Air Force completely destroyed a 13-story skyscraper on Saturday that housed media companies such as the Associated Press (AP).
According to reports, residents had previously been asked to leave the building by telephone.
A spokesman for the military Hamas arm threatened Tel Aviv with an "answer that will shake the earth".
Iran pledges support for Hamas
Iran promised Hamas its support in the fight against Israel. In a phone call with Hamas chief Ismail Haniya on Saturday, the commander of the Al-Kuds Brigade of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, General Ismaeil Ghani, pledged unreserved support, as reported by the Iranian state media. Haniyah, in turn, thanked Iran for their support and said, according to the Al-Alam news channel, that the fight against Israel is not one of Hamas, but of the entire Islamic world.