Israeli jets stage heavy airstrikes in Gaza city
Israeli warplanes unleashed a new series of heavy airstrikes at several locations in Gaza City early monday, hours after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled the fourth war with Gaza's Hamas rulers would rage on. Explosions rocked the city from north to south for 10 minutes in an attack that was heavier, on a wider area and lasted longer than a series of air raids 24 hours earlier in which 42 Palestinians were killed.
The Israeli military said it attacked the homes of nine Hamas commanders across Gaza. There were no immediate reports of injuries, and in the predawn darkness there was little information on the extent of damage inflicted early Monday. In a televised address on sunday, Netanyahu said Israel's attacks were continuing at “full-force” and would “take time.“ israel “wants to levy a heavy price” on the Hamas militant group, he said, flanked by his defense minister and political rival, Benny Gantz, in a show of unity.
“I have not seen this level of destruction through my 14 years of work,” said Samir al-Khatib, an emergency rescue official in Gaza. “Not even in the 2014 war.” Meanwhile, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders asked the international criminal court on sunday to investigate Israel’s bombing of the ap building and others housing media organizations as a possible war crime.