13 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza

At least thirteen people have been killed in Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip in what Israel’s military said was the targeting of members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement.

Three members of the Islamic Jihad movement and at least 10 civilians, including four children, were killed on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said women and children were among the dead, but did not immediately give further details as to the identity of the victims.

Over 20 people have been injured, some of them in serious or critical condition, in the attacks which left buildings ablaze and reduced others to rubble.

The Israeli military said the aerial bombings were directed at the residences of three senior commanders of the PIJ.

PIJ is of the most prominent Palestinian resistance movements and is known to oppose the negotiation approach with Israel.

The movement was established in 1981 by a group of Palestinian students in Egypt with the goal of creating a Palestinian state that includes the West Bank, besieged Gaza, and other regions that are now part of Israel.

Islamic Jihad is one of the two primary Palestinian organisations in Gaza, but it is considerably smaller than the ruling Hamas group.

In a statement, the al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the PIJ, said the wives and children of the three members were also killed in the strikes.

Witnesses said an explosion hit the top floor of an apartment building in Gaza and a house in the southern city of Rafah.

The Israeli army said the aerial bombings, codenamed "Operation Shield and Arrow," targeted Khalil Bahtini, the PIJ commander for northern Gaza; Tareq Izzeldeen, the group's intermediary between its Gaza and the occupied West Bank members; and Jihad Ghannam, the secretary of the PIJ's council.

It added the three were responsible for recent rocket fire toward Israel.

Israeli army spokesman Richard Hecht told journalists the force "achieved what we wanted to achieve" in the overnight strikes, which he said involved 40 aircraft.

Explosions from air strikes, which began a little after 2300 GMT (2am local time), could be heard for nearly two hours, according to AFP journalists.

Military raid

Later Tuesday, Israeli forces raided central Nablus in the occupied West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, sparking clashes as they detained two people.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics treated 145 injuries in Nablus, including a dozen people who were shot with live fire and many more who suffered tear gas inhalation.

Israeli forces shot at people throwing rocks at them, an army statement said, before troops came under live fire as they withdrew from the occupied Palestinian city.

Following the air strikes, Egypt stated its "total rejection of such attacks" which "inflame the situation in a way that could get out of control in the occupied Palestinian territories."

Türkiye also condemned the Israeli attacks in Gaza.

"Such despicable acts are in no way acceptable. We expect these attacks to be ended immediately, without further loss of life and without causing a new spiral of conflict in the region," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also expressed condolences to Palestinians.

'Treacherous operation'

The air strikes come as tension boils between Israel and Palestinians in besieged Gaza, which is governed by Hamas.

Israel and Gaza militants traded cross-border fire following the death in Israeli administrative detention of Khader Adnan, who had been on hunger strike for 87 days following his arrest over ties to PIJ.

Less than one week ago, the PIJ announced a truce around Gaza -- brokered with help from Egypt, the United Nations and Qatar. -- following a fresh flare-up in violence.

On Tuesday, the Palestinian group said Israel had "scorned all the initiatives of mediators" and vowed it would "avenge the leaders" killed in the latest air strikes.

In a statement, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said "assassinating the leadership in a treacherous operation will not bring security to the occupier, but instead greater resistance".

The militant group's spokesman, Hazem Qassem, warned that Israel "bears responsibility for the repercussions of this escalation".

In anticipation of Palestinian rocket attacks in response to the airstrikes, the Israeli military issued instructions advising residents of communities within 40 kilometres of Gaza to stay close to designated bomb shelters.

Israel and Gaza militants have fought multiple wars since Hamas took control of the Palestinian enclave in 2007 .

A three-day conflict last August in Gaza caused 49 Palestinian fatalities and none on the Israeli side.

Tuesday's casualties bring to 120 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and police so far this year.

Nineteen Israelis have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP count based on official sources from the two sides.

Israel says its military raids in the occupied West Bank are meant to dismantle networks of resistance groups and thwart future attacks. The Palestinians see the attacks as further entrenchment of Israel’s 56-year, open-ended illegal occupation of lands they seek for a future independent state.