Hamas' armed wing strikes southern Israeli city

By Ali Abo Rezeg and Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - Palestinian resistance group Hamas fired a volley of rockets into southern Israel on Wednesday in response to continued attacks by Israel on the Gaza Strip.

The Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the group’s military wing, said that it targeted the city of Ashkelon in response to Israeli warplanes’ destruction of the 14-story Al-Shorouk Tower in Gaza City.

The death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 56, including 14 children, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

A ministry statement said five women were among the victims, while a total of 335 people were injured.

Tensions have been running high since an Israeli court last week ordered the eviction of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and in 1980 annexed the entire city, in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.