The Israeli occupation forces, with their various air, land and sea weapons, launched a series of raids and bombardments today at dawn on separate areas of the Gaza Strip, targeting a number of government and private buildings, in addition to residential apartments and agricultural lands. In return, the resistance responded with a batch of rockets that targeted a number of Israeli cities, towns and settlements.
Local sources said that the Israeli occupation army fighter jets launched more than 70 air strikes on areas in the northern Gaza Strip since the early morning hours of this day, and the army also confirmed that it had begun carrying out attacks targeting the Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City.
Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that an Israeli raid targeted, on Tuesday morning, a site of the Palestinian factions east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, and an apartment in a building near the UNRWA headquarters and the university campuses in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli warplanes also launched violent raids targeting the Ansar government compound in the al-Katibah neighborhood in the west of the Strip at dawn today, and Israeli warplanes bombed the upper floors of an apartment building in the Al-Nasr neighborhood in Gaza.
The wave of Israeli bombardment that began at dawn today caused great material damage to the targeted areas, as a number of buildings were leveled to the ground as a result of their shelling with missiles.
Al-Jazeera correspondent said that about 60 aircraft have fired more than 110 missiles at nearly 65 targets in the Gaza Strip since dawn today.
The continuous Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip resulted in the death of 220 Palestinians, including 61 children and 36 women, while about 1,400 were wounded.
Resistance response
On the other hand, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced that it bombed the settlement of Netivot with a rocket boost, in an initial response to the Israeli aggression at dawn today.
The brigades also launched a batch of rockets during the night towards Israeli cities and towns and Israeli army positions, and said in a statement that this batch was dedicated to the martyr Shaher Abu Khadija, who said that he carried out the trampling operation of the Israeli occupation soldiers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood two days ago.
Israeli media also broadcast pictures of a fire in a building in the center of the city of Beersheba, as a result of a missile fired from the Gaza Strip.
Earlier, the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that an Israeli soldier was wounded by a mortar shell that landed at one of the sites in the vicinity of Gaza.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, published a video clip, Monday evening, showing the firing of mortar shells at crowds of occupation soldiers in the Gaza envelope.
For his part, the Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, said that the Palestinian factions would continue fighting, explaining - in a speech he gave in Beirut - that the Israeli army was unable to fight a ground battle.
Targeting relief and health institutions
Meanwhile, the Government Information Office in Gaza said that the Israeli occupation army had warned international institutions of its intention to bomb the Al-Buraq and Al-Aqsa schools in the Gaza Strip, explaining that these two schools are intended to house families, and that their coordinates are available to the international authorities.
For its part, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said that more than 38,000 people have sought refuge in UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip to escape the Israeli bombardment.
The UNRWA spokesperson told Al-Jazeera that the agency’s centers can accommodate 50,000 people, but the numbers may exceed that.
On the medical level, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Kidwa, said that the ministry is facing a real crisis in relation to medicines, medical consumables and ambulances, and is in immediate need of international relief aid.
He added that the Israeli violations and targeting have so far affected 21 health institutions, hindering the work of these institutions and impeding the access of ambulances to the targeted areas.
The Palestinian areas and towns on both sides of the Green Line witness a general and comprehensive strike (French)
An all-out strike
Meanwhile, the Palestinian areas and towns on both sides of the Green Line are witnessing a general and comprehensive strike, denouncing the Israeli war on Gaza and the attacks in Jerusalem and the racist mobilization against Arab citizens within the Green Line.
This strike comes in response to the call made by the High Follow-up Committee for Palestinian Arab Affairs within the Green Line for all citizens in cities, villages and towns to enter into a comprehensive strike today.
The Fatah movement and the national and Islamic forces in the West Bank also called on the Palestinians to go out in protest rallies.
For its part, the Israeli occupation forces continued to tighten security measures in all areas in anticipation of clashes at contact points in the West Bank and inside the Green Line areas.