<p>Israel hit Gaza with deadly air strikes on Saturday and a Palestinian militant group retaliated with a barrage of rocket fire, in the territory's worst escalation of violence since a war last year.</p>.<p>Israel has said it was forced to launch a "pre-emptive" operation against Islamic Jihad, insisting the group was planning an imminent attack following days of tensions along the Gaza border.</p>.<p>Health authorities in Gaza, a Palestinian enclave controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, said a five-year-old girl was among 12 people killed by the Israeli bombardment. More than 80 others have been wounded.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/senior-militant-among-more-than-15-dead-as-israel-strikes-gaza-1133458.html">Senior militant among more than 15 dead as Israel strikes Gaza</a></strong></p>.<p>The Israeli military warned Saturday it was "preparing for the operation to last a week," while the sole power station in Gaza ground to a halt due to a lack of fuel after Israel closed border crossings.</p>.<p>Israel and Islamic Jihad have both confirmed the killing of Taysir al-Jabari, a key leader of Islamic Jihad, in a Friday strike on a building in the west of Gaza city.</p>.<p>Islamic Jihad is aligned with Hamas, but often acts independently. It said the initial Israeli bombardment amounted to a "declaration of war" and unleashed a barrage of rockets towards Israel.</p>.<p>Sources within the militant group ruled out a ceasefire soon, with one saying: "for the movement the focus is on the battlefield," while an Israeli military spokesman told AFP that the army is "not currently holding ceasefire negotiations".</p>.<p>The rocket fire and Israeli strikes were continuing on Saturday, risking a repeat of an 11-day conflict in May 2021 that devastated Gaza and forced countless Israelis to rush to bomb shelters.</p>.<p>Daily life in the Palestinian enclave has come to a standstill, with streets largely deserted and most shops closed.</p>.<p>Israel's closure of a key goods crossing four days ago resulted in Gaza's power plant shutting down on Saturday, due to a "fuel shortage," a spokesman for the enclave's electricity distributor said.</p>.<p>Diesel for the plant is usually trucked in from Egypt or Israel, which closed its two border crossings with Gaza on Tuesday citing security concerns.</p>.<p>"Israel isn't interested in a wider conflict in Gaza, but will not shy away from one either," Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a nationally televised address on Friday.</p>.<p>Air raid sirens sounded across southern Israel on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.</p>.<p>Officials in border areas urged people to stay close to shelters, which have also been opened in the coastal city of Tel Aviv.</p>.<p>Hamas has fought four wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, including the conflict last May.</p>.<p>Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad are considered terrorist organisations by much of the West.</p>.<p>A flare up with Islamic Jihad came in 2019, following Israel's killing of Baha Abu al-Ata, Jabari's predecessor. Hamas did not join the fray in that episode.</p>.<p>Hamas's moves now could prove crucial, with the group facing pressure from some to restore calm in order to improve economic conditions in Gaza.</p>.<p>Mohammed Abu Salameh, the director of Shifa, Gaza City's main hospital, said medics are facing "acute shortages of medical supplies".</p>.<p>On Friday, the health ministry reported "a five-year-old girl, targeted by the Israeli occupation" was among those killed.</p>.<p>The girl, Alaa Kaddum, had a pink bow in her hair and a wound on her forehead, as her body was carried by her father at her funeral.</p>.<p>Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht said Friday "we are assuming about 15 killed in action" in Gaza, referring to Palestinian combatants.</p>.<p>Israeli tanks were lined up along the border, after the military said Thursday it was reinforcing its troops.</p>.<p>The measures followed the arrest in the occupied West Bank of two senior members of Islamic Jihad, including Bassem al-Saadi, who Israel accuses of orchestrating recent attacks.</p>.<p>Israel on Saturday broadened its operation against Islamic Jihad, announcing the arrest of 19 people it said were members of the group in the occupied West Bank.</p>.<p>Israel has conducted a near relentless wave of often deadly raids inside the West Bank since mid-March in response to lethal attacks on Israeli citizens.</p>
<p>Israel hit Gaza with deadly air strikes on Saturday and a Palestinian militant group retaliated with a barrage of rocket fire, in the territory's worst escalation of violence since a war last year.</p>.<p>Israel has said it was forced to launch a "pre-emptive" operation against Islamic Jihad, insisting the group was planning an imminent attack following days of tensions along the Gaza border.</p>.<p>Health authorities in Gaza, a Palestinian enclave controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, said a five-year-old girl was among 12 people killed by the Israeli bombardment. More than 80 others have been wounded.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/senior-militant-among-more-than-15-dead-as-israel-strikes-gaza-1133458.html">Senior militant among more than 15 dead as Israel strikes Gaza</a></strong></p>.<p>The Israeli military warned Saturday it was "preparing for the operation to last a week," while the sole power station in Gaza ground to a halt due to a lack of fuel after Israel closed border crossings.</p>.<p>Israel and Islamic Jihad have both confirmed the killing of Taysir al-Jabari, a key leader of Islamic Jihad, in a Friday strike on a building in the west of Gaza city.</p>.<p>Islamic Jihad is aligned with Hamas, but often acts independently. It said the initial Israeli bombardment amounted to a "declaration of war" and unleashed a barrage of rockets towards Israel.</p>.<p>Sources within the militant group ruled out a ceasefire soon, with one saying: "for the movement the focus is on the battlefield," while an Israeli military spokesman told AFP that the army is "not currently holding ceasefire negotiations".</p>.<p>The rocket fire and Israeli strikes were continuing on Saturday, risking a repeat of an 11-day conflict in May 2021 that devastated Gaza and forced countless Israelis to rush to bomb shelters.</p>.<p>Daily life in the Palestinian enclave has come to a standstill, with streets largely deserted and most shops closed.</p>.<p>Israel's closure of a key goods crossing four days ago resulted in Gaza's power plant shutting down on Saturday, due to a "fuel shortage," a spokesman for the enclave's electricity distributor said.</p>.<p>Diesel for the plant is usually trucked in from Egypt or Israel, which closed its two border crossings with Gaza on Tuesday citing security concerns.</p>.<p>"Israel isn't interested in a wider conflict in Gaza, but will not shy away from one either," Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a nationally televised address on Friday.</p>.<p>Air raid sirens sounded across southern Israel on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.</p>.<p>Officials in border areas urged people to stay close to shelters, which have also been opened in the coastal city of Tel Aviv.</p>.<p>Hamas has fought four wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, including the conflict last May.</p>.<p>Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad are considered terrorist organisations by much of the West.</p>.<p>A flare up with Islamic Jihad came in 2019, following Israel's killing of Baha Abu al-Ata, Jabari's predecessor. Hamas did not join the fray in that episode.</p>.<p>Hamas's moves now could prove crucial, with the group facing pressure from some to restore calm in order to improve economic conditions in Gaza.</p>.<p>Mohammed Abu Salameh, the director of Shifa, Gaza City's main hospital, said medics are facing "acute shortages of medical supplies".</p>.<p>On Friday, the health ministry reported "a five-year-old girl, targeted by the Israeli occupation" was among those killed.</p>.<p>The girl, Alaa Kaddum, had a pink bow in her hair and a wound on her forehead, as her body was carried by her father at her funeral.</p>.<p>Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht said Friday "we are assuming about 15 killed in action" in Gaza, referring to Palestinian combatants.</p>.<p>Israeli tanks were lined up along the border, after the military said Thursday it was reinforcing its troops.</p>.<p>The measures followed the arrest in the occupied West Bank of two senior members of Islamic Jihad, including Bassem al-Saadi, who Israel accuses of orchestrating recent attacks.</p>.<p>Israel on Saturday broadened its operation against Islamic Jihad, announcing the arrest of 19 people it said were members of the group in the occupied West Bank.</p>.<p>Israel has conducted a near relentless wave of often deadly raids inside the West Bank since mid-March in response to lethal attacks on Israeli citizens.</p>