Israeli forces bombed the Gaza Strip from the air and sea on Saturday, killing a senior Hamas commander, and desperate residents of the Palestinian enclave sheltered in their homes as the offensive entered a second week.
Reuters quoting humanitarian agencies reported that basic foodstuffs in the densely populated zone were running short and fresh water supplies were limited because of the damage.
Hospitals were struggling to cope with the casualties.
But Hamas militants kept up their rocket attacks on southern Israeli towns. Israeli authorities stated that the reason for mounting its ”Operation Cast Lead” was to stop the rockets.
And Israeli tanks and troops were massed on Gaza‘s borders in readiness for a ground invasion that remains an option unless international efforts to arrange a ceasefire gain momentum.
A Hamas leader warned that the Israeli army would be defeated if it invaded Gaza, which the Islamist group runs.
An Israeli air strike killed Abu Zakaria al-Jamal, a senior commander of Hamas‘s armed wing, early on Saturday, the Islamist group said.
On Thursday, another Hamas leader, Nizar Rayyan, was killed and most of Hamas‘s senior officials have gone into hiding to evade assassination attempts by Israel.
At least 20 air strikes targeted Gaza on Saturday morning and naval vessels also shelled the area from the Mediterranean, witnesses said.
War planes hit a private Palestinian college called the American School, killing a guard. The Israeli military said the school was a hiding place for Hamas activists and a base for firing rockets.
At least 433 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive and more than 2,000 wounded, a quarter of them civilians, according to the United Nations.
source:the punch
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