Watch | Israel unleashes wave of airstrikes in Gaza, killing 8 people

The report stated that the latest wave of strikes risk igniting yet another war in the territory, which is ruled by the Islamic militant group Hamas and is home to about 2 million Palestinians, adding that the assassination of a senior militant would likely be met by rocket fire from Gaza, pushing the region closer to all-out war. Meanwhile, a Twitter user shared a video as Israel began aggression on Gaza today.

According to the AP report, a blast could be heard in Gaza City, where smoke poured out of the seventh floor of a tall building on Friday. The Palestinian Health Ministry said seven people were killed, including a 5-year-old girl, and at least 40 were wounded. Islamic Jihad said a Gaza commander, Taiseer al-Jabari, was among those killed, the report said.

Notably, Israel had closed roads around Gaza earlier this week and sent reinforcements to the border as it braced for a revenge attack after the arrest of the Islamic Jihad leader in the occupied West Bank on Monday. A teenage member of the group was killed in a gunbattle between the Israeli troops and Palestinian militants, the report said.

Israel and the Hamas fought four wars and several smaller skirmishes in the 15 years since the militant group seized power in the coastal strip from rival Palestinian forces. The most recent war was in May 2021, and tensions again soared earlier this year following a wave of attacks inside Israel, near-daily military operations in the West Bank and tensions at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, according to the AP report.

(With inputs from AP)

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