Israeli military aircraft carried out a series of raids over the past hours hitting targets in the besieged Gaza Strip, security sources said on Wednesday.
The Palestinian sources said at least seven Palestinians died in the latest wave of air attacks on the enclave. Six of the dead were members of a single family whose house, located in Bait Hanoun, was directly hit with rockets. A single member of the family, a baby, survived the attack, though with critical wounds.
One Palestinian was killed and two others were wounded in another air attack east of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Simultaneously, Israeli gunboats fired dozens of shells on targets in northern coastal regions in Gaza.
According to the Palestinian sources, the Israeli air-sea attacks demolished about 40 civilians' houses in the sector.
In Hay Al-Zaitoun, eight members of a single family were wounded in an air attack. Eighteen others were wounded in concentrated bombardment targeting vicinity of Gaza European Hospital. Two Palestinians sustained serious cuts due to another attack from the air as the pair were riding a motorcycle in Bait Hanoun.
Near Ramallah, Palestinian youth burst into the Jewish settlement of Bait Eil, setting an observation post afire while engaging in clashes with Israeli troops.
Tit-for-tat attacks between the Israelis and Palestinians have alarmingly escalated following recent abduction and killing of three Jewish settlers, followed with an identical incident that involved a Palestinian hitchhiker.
Israel has blamed Hamas for killing the Jewish teens and has coupled words with stepped up attacks. And the Palestinians have retaliated with a series of missile attacks, mostly targeting southern Israel.