Israel and Gaza militants traded more heavy fire early Thursday, the third day of the worst escalation of violence since the middle of last year over the Palestinian coastal enclave.
Air strikes and missiles from Israel have killed 25 Palestinians since Tuesday, said Gaza officials -– among them fighters and civilians, including several children.
Early Thursday, shops in Gaza were shuttered and the streets were largely abandoned as Israeli military aircraft circled over the territory where several buildings lay in ruins.
Of these, 368 made it over the border and 154 were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system, while 110 fell inside Gaza, it said.
The Islamic Jihad militant group told AFP that rockets were fired again at Israel around 9:00 am (0600 GMT).
Islamic Jihad confirmed it has lost four military leaders in strikes in recent days, the most recent being Ali Ghali, commander of a rocket launch unit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a TV address late Wednesday that "we are still in the midst of the campaign" and "fiercly attacking the Gaza Strip".
"We say to the terrorists and the ones sending them: we see you everywhere, you cannot hide, and we choose the place and the time to hit you."
- 'Wave of escalation' -
"Israel assassinated a leader in (Islamic) Jihad at dawn today because it does not want calm."
Across southern Israel, sirens wailed intermittently through the night and Thursday morning.
"All the shrapnel is in the room, the house was shaken very powerfully, the glasses fell, the walls were damaged," she told AFP.
"Luckily I have a safe room and I entered it immediately and closed the door.
"This isn't the first time the house was hit but I'm not afraid, neither was I yesterday. You're shocked for a moment but it's not about fear. It's more unpleasant, very unpleasant."
- Ceasefire efforts -
Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou said Wednesday that "the strikes of the unified resistance are part of the process of responding to the massacre committed by (Israel)".
The Arab League has condemned the "barbaric Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip, which targeted civilians, children and women in residential neighbourhoods".
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reaffirmed Washington's "ironclad support for Israel's security".
Both Hamas, which rules Gaza, and Islamic Jihad are considered terrorist groups by Israel and the United States.
This week's Gaza clashes are the worst since a three-day escalation in August killed 49 Palestinians, with no Israeli fatalities.
Violence has also flared in the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli army has staged repeated raids against militants which have often flared into street clashes or gun battles.
Israel has also been shaken by its biggest domestic political crisis in decades as mass protests have flared against plans to reform the justice system, spearheaded by Netanyahu who is also battling corruption charges in court.
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© Agence France-Presse
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