Gaza City (Palestinian Territories): Gaza militants Saturday fired some 250 rockets at Israel, which responded with strikes as a fragile ceasefire again faltered in an escalation that left four Palestinians dead, including a baby killed in disputed circumstances, officials said here Sunday.
The latest flare-up came with Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, seeking further concessions from Israel under the ceasefire.
Israel said around 250 rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave and its air defences intercepted dozens of them. One woman was seriously injured in a rocket strike on the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Gaza border, police said. A man was also hospitalised in Ashkelon, police said, and spoke of other injuries without providing details. Medics said the woman was 80 and the man was 50.
The Israeli army said its tanks and planes hit some 120 militant targets. They included an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that stretched from southern Gaza into Israeli territory, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.
Two multi-storey buildings in Gaza City were destroyed, residents said. Israel said one of the buildings included Hamas military intelligence and security offices. Turkey said an office for its state news agency Anadolu was located in the building and denounced the strike.
The Gaza health ministry said Israeli strikes killed a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother in addition to two Palestinian men, while 40 were wounded. It was not immediately clear if the two men were affiliated with militant groups.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee on Twitter challenged the account of the mother and her baby being killed, suggesting they may have died from Palestinian fire.
As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs.
A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more.
Egyptian and UN officials were engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as they have done repeatedly in the past, while the European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.
The escalation followed a flare-up in violence along the Gaza border with four Palestinians, including two Hamas militants, killed Friday after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting during weekly protests on the border.
It should be stated here that Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008 and fears remain of a fourth.