At least 30 dead, hundreds wounded as Israel pounds Gaza overnight: Hamas govt

At least 30 people have been killed and hundreds wounded as Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with hundreds of air strikes overnight, a Hamas government official said Wednesday. Dozens of residential buildings, factories, mosques and shops were hit, the head of the government’s media office, Salama Marouf, told AFP. The Israeli military confirmed it had hit several Hamas targets during the night. It said fighter jets destroyed “advanced detection systems” that Hamas used to spot military aircraft. They also hit 80 Hamas targets in the Beit Hanoun area of the northeastern Gaza Strip, including two bank branches used by the Islamist group to “fund terrorism” in the enclave, the military said. Air strikes also hit a weapons storage facility, and an operational command centre used by the Islamic Jihad militant group, it added. Israel has stopped entry of food, fuel and medicine into Gaza, and the sole remaining access from Egypt shut down Tuesday after airstrikes hit near the border crossing, reported The Associated Press. The war, which has claimed at least 2,100 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate. Israel appears determined to crush Hamas’ hold on Gaza, following an unprecedented attack in which militants gunned down civilians in their homes, on streets and at a mass outdoor music festival, while dragging men, women and children into captivity. Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza hold about 150 soldiers and civilians hostage, according to Israel. Israel stepped up its offensive on Tuesday, expanding the mobilization of reservists to 360,000. Israel’s military said it had regained effective control over areas Hamas attacked in its south and of the Gaza border. With inputs from agencies