Israel ignored global calls for calm and continued airstrikes on Gaza Strip and stepped up troops deployment raising fears of ground offensive as the death toll in airstrikes has risen to 113.
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli troops started massing up after midnight, but contrary to several news reports, there is no ground offensive taking place.
In a separate statement, the Israeli army also denied that the ground offensive has started.
Meanwhile, the local authorities said the bodies of a woman and her three sons, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, have been retrieved in the northern part of Gaza. The latest fatalities bring to 113 the official death toll, including at least 31 children.
Palestinians marked the first day of the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday on Thursday under relentless aerial bombardment. More than 580 others have been wounded.
At least six Israelis and one Indian national have also been killed. The Israeli army said hundreds of rockets have been fired from Gaza towards various locations in Israel and they have added reinforcements near the enclave’s eastern lands.
There have also been more violent confrontations between Jewish Israelis and Palestinian citizens of Israel in several cities inside Israel.
In another potential escalation, at least three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards Israel.
Safa Press agency reported more Israeli shelling and aerial bombardments in Gaza on Friday morning.
It said “violent” artillery shelling hit east of Deir al-Balah governorate just south of Gaza City.
Shells also reportedly hit the homes of civilians east of Maghazi, also in Deir al-Balah area.
There are also reports that Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians. A video posted on social media by New Press publication showed several Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian homes in the city of Hebron in the West Bank early on Friday.
Clashes have erupted in recent days between Israeli settlers and Palestinian citizens both in the West Bank as well as in Israel.
In renewed airstrikes on Gaza, Israeli warplanes struck a six-storey residential building that it said belonged to Hamas, the group that controls the Palestinian enclave. Netanyahu said Israel has struck close to 1,000 targets in Gaza in total.
Worried that the region’s worst hostilities in years could spiral out of control, the United States is sending an envoy, Hady Amr, to the region. Truce efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations have so far offered no sign of progress.
