Sharjah 24 – AFP: Israel and Gaza militants traded heavy fire Friday as hopes faded of securing a truce to end days of fighting that have killed dozens, all but one of them Palestinian.
The violence has been met with international calls for de-escalation, with the European Union pushing Thursday for an "immediate comprehensive ceasefire".
Israel announced it was "striking Islamic Jihad targets" in the densely populated Palestinian territory, while AFP journalists saw air strikes hit Gaza City.
Sirens warning of incoming fire meanwhile rang out in Israeli communities close to the border with the Gaza Strip, as well as blaring in an Israeli settlement near Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank.
Violence broke out Tuesday when Israel killed three top members of the Islamic Jihad militant group, while subsequent strikes have killed two other senior figures.
Islamic Jihad said the latest rocket fire, seen by AFP journalists, was a "response to the assassinations and the continued aggression against the Palestinian people".
It came hours after a rocket killed one civilian in the central Israeli city of Rehovot on Thursday evening.
At least 31 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza's health ministry, including militants and several civilians as well as children.
Daily life in the coastal territory has largely come to a standstill, while Israel has told its citizens near Gaza to stay close to bomb shelters.
The decision to renew air strikes on Gaza this week was authorised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who returned to power in December alongside extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies.
The violence has left more than 90 people wounded in Gaza, according to the latest health ministry toll.
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