Israeli warplanes strike building in Gaza amid outbreak of fighting

Israeli airstrikes pounded militant targets in Gaza on Saturday (6 August), as rocket barrages into southern Israel persisted, raising fears of further escalation.

The fighting began with Israel’s killing of a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in a strike Friday, which also killed a five-year-old girl.

Shortly before midday on Saturday, Israeli warplanes stepped up airstrikes.

After warning residents in phone calls, fighter jets dropped two bombs on the house of an Islamic Jihad member in a residential area of Gaza City, flattening the two-story structure and badly damaging surrounding buildings.

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