Israeli army warplanes, tanks and naval vessels on Tuesday continued, for the eleventh consecutive day, striking on targets, mainly houses, all over the Gaza Strip, witnesses and medics said.
Local radio stations belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations quoted residents of Gaza as saying that the Israeli army warplanes, tanks and naval vessels have destroyed at least 26houses all over the Gaza Strip.
"The destruction of 26 houses has mounted the number of people killed and injured today," said al-Aqsa radio station of Hamas movement, adding "the occupation forces are targeting houses, cars and mosques."
Residents of the Gaza city said that since midnight, the Israeli airstrikes and shelling had not stopped, adding that they were hearing all the time explosions and ambulances all over the city.
Israel has said its ongoing air and ground military offensive on the Gaza Strip since Dec. 27 is against Hamas and other militants who fire rockets at southern Israel and not against the Palestinian people.
But Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a recorded television statement aired by Arab television stations that Israel is carrying out a war against all the Palestinian people, not only on Hamas movement.
Mo'aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance services in the Palestinian Ministry of Health, said 35 Palestinians were killed during Tuesday in a series of airstrikes and tanks shelling.
He added that so far 585 people were killed, 200 of them are children and 60 are women, while 2,600 people were injured.
Residents of the Gaza Strip were quoted by different local radio stations that belong to different factions as saying that Israeli warplanes and tanks carried out a series of intensive strikes on many targets all over the Gaza Strip.
The most difficult airstrike was on the house of al-Dayah family in the outskirts of Gaza City, according to Hassanein, killing at least 12, most of them civilians.
Another woman was killed after her house in Jabalia town in northern Gaza Strip was shelled by tanks, said Hassanein, adding that seven members of her family were injured.
Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli army warplanes, tanks and naval vessels targeted several houses, and the main security compound of al-Saraya in the center of Gaza City, killing altogether 22 people.
Meanwhile, al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas armed wing, said in different SMS statements sent to reporters' mobiles that its militants fired rockets at Israeli towns and carried out more attacks on ground Israeli security forces.
In terms of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian telecommunication warned that connection with the enclave would be cut off in 48 hours if fuel supplies are not allowed into the area.
A large movement of cars traffic as well as individual bystanders were seen in Gaza city streets trying to buy food, bread, vegetables and medicines, as the Israeli army operations still go on.
"We don't know when this war will end, therefore we went out to store more food. Lots of different kinds of food are missing in the markets," said Khamis Abu Aklien, a resident of Gaza.
Source:Xinhua
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