UPDATE - Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue for 5th day

UPDATES WITH 3 ISRAELIS INJURED

By Mucahit Aydemir

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

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

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

There has been no statement on the casualties of fresh attacks yet from Palestinian authorities.

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

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

According to the emergency service, two Israelis were hospitalized with serious injuries, while another one 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 that 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 have been unsuccessful thus far.

The Israeli army has 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 since the start of this year. At least 20 Israelis have also been killed in separate attacks during the same period.

*Contribution by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara