A baby and her pregnant mother were among three Palestinians killed overnight Wednesday as Israeli warplanes carried out a series of air strikes on the Gaza Strip medical sources reported.
Enas Khammash 23 and her 18-month daughter Bayan were killed in an airstrike in Jafarawi in central Gaza the Palestinian Health Ministry said while her husband was seriously injured.
The ministry said Enas was in her ninth month of pregnancy.
Earlier in the night an Israeli strike targeted a Palestinian car killing a man in his thirties.
The man was later identified as Ali al-Ghandour.
12 Palestinians were also injured in the attacks the ministry said in a statement. Their health condition and identities remain unknown until the moment.
Israeli F16 warplanes and drones carried out a series of air strikes targeting the northern areas of the Gaza Strip the western neighborhoods of Gaza city and Rafah city to the south causing destruction to civilian property.
A number of resistance sites were also targeted during the air raids.
In a separate statement the Israeli army said its fighter jets targeted 12 Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile sirens were sounded in several Israeli areas close to the border with Gaza warning Israelis to seek immediate shelter the Israeli army said.
Hamas’ armed wing Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
The Brigades said it had fired a large number of rockets at “enemy positions in the Gaza envelope.”
The Israeli army earlier on Wednesday said Palestinians fired at least 70 rockets across the border.
“As of now approximately 70 rocket launches were identified from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory. The “Iron Dome” aerial defense system intercepted 11 launches the majority of the rockets hit open areas” the army said on its Twitter account.
The escalation began after Israeli tanks hit a Hamas position in eastern Gaza in response to earlier gunfire from the Strip targeting Israeli construction vehicles.
The Palestinian fire comes after two resistance fighters from the armed wing of Hamas were killed by Israeli shelling on Tuesday.
The resistance warned Israel it would pay for the attack.
