GAZA CITY: Israeli strikes on Gaza on Tuesday killed 17 people and wounded more than 100, the emergency services said, as the military began an aerial campaign against militants in the Strip.
Meanwhile, in a commando-style raid, four militants from Hamas's armed wing emerged from the sea and attacked an Israeli army base north of Gaza, but were all killed by Israeli forces.
In the worst strike, a missile slammed into a house in the southern city of Khan Yunis after people had reportedly formed a human shield to protect it, killing seven people.
Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP two teenagers were among the dead and that at least another 25 people were wounded. An eight-year-old child wounded in the strike later died of his injuries.
Witnesses said an Israeli drone fired a warning flare, prompting relatives and neighbours to gather at the house as a human shield and that, shortly afterwards, an F-16 warplane fired a missile that levelled the building.
In response, Hamas said "all Israelis" would be potential targets for retaliation. Shortly afterwards, two Palestinians were killed in a strike in Shejaiya, east of Gaza City, Qudra said.
The blast shook buildings in the city, and Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV replayed what it said was a video of the strike, which sent a tall cloud of debris rising into the air.
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