(GAZA CITY, PALESTINE) — Israeli air strikes continued to rain down on Saturday, killing 30 people, including two severely handicapped women in a care facility.
The violence brought the toll on the fifth day of the conflict to 135, with nearly 950 people wounded, according to Gaza emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra.
Earlier, Qudra announced the deaths of eight other Palestinians in raids that hit targets including a bank, two mosques and the houses of Hamas officials.
Israel’s military said at least one of the mosques was being used to store weapons.
Israel began Operation Protective Edge Tuesday in an attempt to halt cross-border rocket fire by militant groups.
Gaza militants have fired approximately 525 mortar rounds and rockets that struck Israel, while another 138 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, the army said Saturday.
It is the deadliest violence since November 2012, with a growing number of rockets fired at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and even as far north as Hadera, 116 kilometers away.
No Israelis have been killed. Israel has authorized the call-up of 40,000 reservist troops, and threatened to escalate to a ground operation.