GAZA CITY: Israel carried out waves of retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday after Palestinian rockets hit Israeli cities, in a deadly escalation that has shown no signs of slowing and raised fears of war.

Gazan authorities reported 16 Palestinians killed, including at least six militants, by Israeli strikes in the fighting that began on Saturday with massive rocket fire from the strip.

Israel however disputed their account of the deaths of a pregnant woman and a baby, blaming errant fire from Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the enclave.

Three people were killed in Gaza rocket and missile strikes on southern Israel on Sunday. Two were confirmed as Israeli, the army said.

The flare-up came as Hamas, the movement that rules the blockaded enclave, sought further concessions from Israel under a fragile months-old ceasefire.

The Palestinian dead included a commander for Hamas’s armed wing who Israel alleged was targeted due to his role in transferring money from Iran to militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

It was a rare admission of a targeted killing by Israel’s army.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed the military “to continue its massive strikes on terror elements in the Gaza Strip”. He said he had also ordered “tanks, artillery and infantry forces” to reinforce troops already deployed near Gaza.

Rocket fire and Israeli strikes continued into Sunday evening.

Israel said its strikes were in response to Hamas and Islamic Jihad firing more than 600 rockets or mortars across the border since Saturday, with Israeli air defences intercepting more than 150.

In addition to those killed and injured, the rockets repeatedly set off air raid alarms in southern Israel and sent residents running to shelters while also damaging houses. At least 35 of the rockets fell in urban areas, according to the army.

The army said its tanks and planes hit more than 250 militant targets in Gaza in response.

It targeted militant sites and in some cases militants themselves as well as their homes if they were found to be storing weapons, military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.

Several buildings in Gaza City were destroyed. Israel said one of the buildings included Hamas military intelligence and security offices.

Turkey said its state news agency Anadolu had an office in the building, and strongly denounced the strike.

Israel said another destroyed building housed Hamas and Islamic Jihad offices.

The Gaza health ministry said the dead from the Israeli strikes included a 14-month-old baby and a pregnant woman, 37. It first identified the woman as the baby’s mother, but the family clarified on Sunday that she was the aunt.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2019