Hamas launches rockets in retaliation as Israel jets attack, kill military leaders

Gaza: Hamas militants launched dozens of rockets at Israel after Israeli air strikes killed senior commanders and felled a multi-storey building in Gaza.

Israeli airstrikes toppled most of a massive high-rise building in central Gaza City on Wednesday, in the latest escalation in Israel-Hamas fighting which has killed at least 48 Palestinians in Gaza, including 14 children and three women. More than 300 people have been wounded, including 86 children and 39 women. The Gaza building collapse was broadcast on Israeli TV channels, with commentators predicting Gaza militants would respond with a rocket barrage. In response to Israeli strikes, Hamas has said it has launched 130 rockets at Israel, reports said.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli military said it has killed several senior Hamas militant commanders in airstrikes in Gaza and Khan Younis. The army released a statement on Wednesday, saying that it carried out a “complex and first-of-its-kind operation.” Those targeted, it said, were “a key part of the Hamas General Staff” and considered close to the head of the group’s military wing.

The fighting erupted after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in East Jerusalem which culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by Muslims and Jews.

Further violence in Israeli areas with mixed Jewish and Arab populations led to the arrests of more than 374 people on Wednesday evening, Israeli police said, and 36 officers being injured.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized power in Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.