Israel steps up offensive, kills 10 Hamas members

Israel on Wednesday pressed ahead with a fierce military offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing as many as 10 senior Hamas military figures and toppling a pair of high-rise towers housing Hamas facilities in a series of airstrikes. The Islamic militant group showed no signs of backing down and fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli cities.

In just three days, this latest round of fighting between the bitter enemies has already begun to resemble a devastating 50-day war in 2014.

The fighting has triggered the worst Jewisharab violence inside Israel in decades. And looming in the background is an international war crimes investigation.

Israel carried out an intense barrage of airstrikes just after sunrise, striking dozens of targets in several minutes that set off bone-rattling explosions across Gaza. Airstrikes continued throughout the day, filling the sky with pillars of smoke.

At nightfall, Gaza City resembled a ghost town as people huddled indoors on the final night of Ramadan. The evening, followed by the Eid al-fitr holiday, is usually a time of vibrant night life, shopping and crowded restaurants.

Gaza militants continued to bombard Israel with nonstop rocket fire throughout the day and into early Thursday. The attacks brought life to a standstill in southern communities near Gaza, but also reached as far north as the Tel Aviv area.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the death toll rose to 67 Palestinians, including 16 children and five women. Islamic Jihad confirmed the deaths of seven militants, while Hamas acknowledged that a top commander and several other members were killed.

A total of seven people have been killed in Israel.

The Israeli military claims the number of militants killed so far is much higher than Hamas has acknowledged.