Israeli warplanes conduct deadly airstrikes on blockaded Gaza Strip

Gaza residents said Israeli jets had targeted three locations throughout the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

Several Gazans had also been wounded in the Israeli strikes, the Gazaalan news website reported.

Separately on Wednesday, Israel closed both border crossings with Gaza amid rising tensions.

The Israeli army claimed in a statement that its fresh air raids came “in response to the rockets fired from Gaza” at the occupied territories overnight.

The claim was, however, rejected in a joint statement by Gaza-based Palestinian resistance groups.

It further said that one of the Gaza rockets had hit the city of Beersheba in the Negev Desert and the second had landed in the sea.
Meanwhile, a medical official told Israel Radio that three people had been taken to hospital with injuries after the alleged rocket attacks from Gaza.

The Israeli military ordered schools to remain closed in Beersheba on Wednesday. Studies were also delayed until 10 a.m. local time in areas near the Gaza Strip.

The Tel Aviv regime carries out regular attacks on the Gaza Strip under the pretext of hitting positions belonging to the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, which runs the Palestinian territory.

The coastal sliver has been under a crippling Israeli siege since 2007 and witnessed three wars since 2008. It has also witnessed a fresh wave of tensions since March 30, which marked the start of “The Great March of Return” protests.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed and some 21,500 others wounded in renewed Gaza clashes, according to the latest figures released by the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel threatens Hamas
On Tuesday, the Israeli minister of military affairs said that the regime must now decide if it is headed toward another war against Gaza.

​ Speaking during a visit to the Israeli army’s Gaza division headquarters, Avigdor Lieberman called on the so-called Israeli security cabinet to order a “strong blow” against Hamas “even at a price of moving to a wide-scale confrontation.”

“We have exhausted all other options in Gaza,” he said. “Now is the time to make decisions.”

“My opinion is very clear. We must land a strong blow against Hamas. That’s the only way to lower the level of violence to zero or close to zero,” he added.

Liberman also claimed “persuasions and international cooperations” have failed to bring about a negotiated armistice in Gaza, leaving only the possibility of military action.