<p>Israel's military warned Saturday deadly air strikes against Palestinian militants in Gaza could last a week, as cross-border fire reverberated for a second day in the worst escalation since last year's war.</p>.<p>Israel has said it was forced to launch a "pre-emptive" operation against Islamic Jihad, saying the group was planning an imminent attack following days of tensions along the border with Gaza.</p>.<p>Health authorities in the Palestinian enclave, which is controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, said a five-year-old girl was among 15 people killed in the Israeli bombardment, adding that more than 120 others have been wounded.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/what-is-driving-the-current-israel-gaza-violence-1133751.html" target="_blank">What is driving the current Israel-Gaza violence?</a></strong></p>.<p>In Jabalia, in the north of Gaza, Fouad Farajallah was on Saturday surveying what remained of his home, hit by an Israeli strike the day before.</p>.<p>"I was sitting here on the sofa, with my wife and children, and suddenly it all fell on us," he said, surrounded by debris from a partially collapsed roof in a strike he said wounded his wife and son.</p>.<p>Israel's ongoing strikes are being met with barrages of rockets from the Palestinian side, stoking fears of a repeat of an 11-day conflict that devastated Gaza in May 2021.</p>.<p>Daily life in the enclave has come to a standstill, while the electricity distributor said the sole power station shut down due to a lack of fuel after Israel closed its border crossings.</p>.<p>Civilians on the Israeli side meanwhile took refuge in air raid shelters, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.</p>.<p>In Kibbutz Nahal Oz, an Israeli community beside the Gaza border, resident Nadav Peretz said he has been "in the bomb shelter or around it" since Friday.</p>.<p>"We recognise that on the other side too there is an uninvolved civilian population, and on both sides children deserve to enjoy their summer vacation," the 40-year-old said.</p>.<p>An Israeli military spokesman said its forces were "preparing for the operation to last a week," and told AFP that the army is "not currently holding ceasefire negotiations".</p>.<p>Sources within Islamic Jihad ruled out a ceasefire soon, with one saying: "for the movement, the focus is on the battlefield".</p>.<p>Israel and Islamic Jihad confirmed the killing of Taysir al-Jabari, a key commander of the militant group, in a Friday strike.</p>.<p>The Israeli bombardment has been condemned by Islamic Jihad's top backer Iran.</p>.<p>Israel has "once again showed its occupying and aggressive nature to the world," said a statement from President Ebrahim Raisi's office.</p>.<p>Jamal al-Fadi, a political science professor at Gaza's Al-Azhar University, said he expected the violence to end "within days".</p>.<p>"Islamic Jihad is reacting in a limited manner and by doing so is preventing the occupation (Israeli military) from intensifying its air strikes," he told AFP.</p>.<p>Islamic Jihad is aligned with Hamas, but often acts independently. Both are blacklisted as terrorist organisations by much of the West.</p>.<p>Hamas has fought four wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, including the conflict last May.</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 conflict.</p>.<p>Hamas's moves now could prove crucial.</p>.<p>Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, said Hamas currently has an interest in staying on the sidelines as it has recently won more economic aid for Gazans.</p>.<p>"But if more civilians are killed, then it will feel obligated to respond," she told AFP.</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>The Gaza strikes 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 in the West Bank it said were members of the group.</p>.<p>Israel has conducted a wave of often deadly raids inside West Bank towns and cities since mid-March in response to lethal attacks on Israelis.</p>
<p>Israel's military warned Saturday deadly air strikes against Palestinian militants in Gaza could last a week, as cross-border fire reverberated for a second day in the worst escalation since last year's war.</p>.<p>Israel has said it was forced to launch a "pre-emptive" operation against Islamic Jihad, saying the group was planning an imminent attack following days of tensions along the border with Gaza.</p>.<p>Health authorities in the Palestinian enclave, which is controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, said a five-year-old girl was among 15 people killed in the Israeli bombardment, adding that more than 120 others have been wounded.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/what-is-driving-the-current-israel-gaza-violence-1133751.html" target="_blank">What is driving the current Israel-Gaza violence?</a></strong></p>.<p>In Jabalia, in the north of Gaza, Fouad Farajallah was on Saturday surveying what remained of his home, hit by an Israeli strike the day before.</p>.<p>"I was sitting here on the sofa, with my wife and children, and suddenly it all fell on us," he said, surrounded by debris from a partially collapsed roof in a strike he said wounded his wife and son.</p>.<p>Israel's ongoing strikes are being met with barrages of rockets from the Palestinian side, stoking fears of a repeat of an 11-day conflict that devastated Gaza in May 2021.</p>.<p>Daily life in the enclave has come to a standstill, while the electricity distributor said the sole power station shut down due to a lack of fuel after Israel closed its border crossings.</p>.<p>Civilians on the Israeli side meanwhile took refuge in air raid shelters, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.</p>.<p>In Kibbutz Nahal Oz, an Israeli community beside the Gaza border, resident Nadav Peretz said he has been "in the bomb shelter or around it" since Friday.</p>.<p>"We recognise that on the other side too there is an uninvolved civilian population, and on both sides children deserve to enjoy their summer vacation," the 40-year-old said.</p>.<p>An Israeli military spokesman said its forces were "preparing for the operation to last a week," and told AFP that the army is "not currently holding ceasefire negotiations".</p>.<p>Sources within Islamic Jihad ruled out a ceasefire soon, with one saying: "for the movement, the focus is on the battlefield".</p>.<p>Israel and Islamic Jihad confirmed the killing of Taysir al-Jabari, a key commander of the militant group, in a Friday strike.</p>.<p>The Israeli bombardment has been condemned by Islamic Jihad's top backer Iran.</p>.<p>Israel has "once again showed its occupying and aggressive nature to the world," said a statement from President Ebrahim Raisi's office.</p>.<p>Jamal al-Fadi, a political science professor at Gaza's Al-Azhar University, said he expected the violence to end "within days".</p>.<p>"Islamic Jihad is reacting in a limited manner and by doing so is preventing the occupation (Israeli military) from intensifying its air strikes," he told AFP.</p>.<p>Islamic Jihad is aligned with Hamas, but often acts independently. Both are blacklisted as terrorist organisations by much of the West.</p>.<p>Hamas has fought four wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, including the conflict last May.</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 conflict.</p>.<p>Hamas's moves now could prove crucial.</p>.<p>Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, said Hamas currently has an interest in staying on the sidelines as it has recently won more economic aid for Gazans.</p>.<p>"But if more civilians are killed, then it will feel obligated to respond," she told AFP.</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>The Gaza strikes 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 in the West Bank it said were members of the group.</p>.<p>Israel has conducted a wave of often deadly raids inside West Bank towns and cities since mid-March in response to lethal attacks on Israelis.</p>