CORRECTS - UPDATE - Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue for 5th day

CORRECTS DAY IN 1ST PARA; OTHER SMALL EDITS

UPDATES WITH 3 ISRAELIS INJURED

By Mucahit Aydemir

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli airstrikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip continued for a fifth day on Saturday as Palestinian armed groups struck back with rockets fired into Israel.

An Anadolu reporter in Gaza said Israeli warplanes carried out strikes on several residences in various localities of the Gaza Strip early Saturday.

While the airstrikes were leveled at least three residences, some other homes also suffered damage.

As yet there has been no statement from Palestinian authorities on casualties from the fresh attacks.

Meanwhile, Palestinian armed groups launched a barrage of rockets from Gaza, targeting several Israeli locations.

Israel’s national emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, said three Israelis were injured when one of the rockets fired from Gaza landed in the Sdot Negev community near the border with Gaza.

According to the emergency service, two Israelis were hospitalized with serious injuries, while another was moderately injured.

On Friday, Israeli warplanes destroyed a Palestinian home in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

However, in a written statement, the Israeli army claimed Islamic Jihad group targets were hit in the airstrikes.

Some underground rocket positions of the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, were targeted during the airstrike, the statement added.

The Palestinian Health Ministry put the death toll from airstrikes at 33, including six children and three women. At least 93 Palestinians, including 32 children and 17 women, have also been injured, it said.

Regional and international powers have urged an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian factions, but so far have been unsuccessful.

The Israeli army said the airstrikes are part of its Operation Shield and Arrow, an offensive launched after rockets were fired from Gaza following the death of a Palestinian inmate who was on a hunger strike in an Israeli prison.

According to Palestinian figures, more than 160 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces so far this year. At least 20 Israelis have also been killed in separate attacks during the same period.

*Contribution by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara