Israel resumes air strikes on Gaza after brief pause

By Ramzi Mahmoud

GAZA, Palestine (AA) - Israeli warplanes on Friday resumed air strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip after a two-hour pause.

In early morning attacks, fighter jets targeted several spots, including an iron workshop located in the Zaitun neighborhood of Gaza.

No statement has yet been made by the Health Ministry in Gaza regarding the attacks.

Ongoing Israeli attacks have killed 109 Palestinians so far, including 28 children and 15 women, according to Palestinian health officials. At least 621 others have been injured in addition to heavy damages to residential buildings across the enclave.

To date, seven Israelis have been killed in the recent violence -- six of them in rocket attacks, in addition to a soldier killed when an anti-tank guided missile struck his jeep.

Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem over the past month as Israeli settlers swarmed in following a court order for the eviction of Palestinian families in the area.

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

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev