The Israel Defense Forces said that it carried out its first joint attack of air and ground forces, using more than 160 fighter jets along with infantry, artillery and armored forces, and attacking about 150 targets in the Gaza Strip.
According to the spokesman of the Israeli military, the shelling campaign took about 40 minutes, dropping some 450 missiles on Gaza's tunnel network.
Local residents said they had experienced the worst night of terror since the fighting began on Monday as they were forced to stay homes under the ongoing attacks.
The Shejaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza city, has also been attacked by the Israeli artillery and aircraft from Thursday night to Friday morning.
With the start of the Israeli bombardment of Shejaiya, dozens of Palestinian families were displaced from their homes in anticipation of the army launching a ground offensive similar to the Gaza war of 2014.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian armed groups continue firing rockets into Israeli towns and cities, including the ones in the north.
The spokesman of Hamas's armed wing declared that his movement is ready to bomb the Israeli territories with more sophisticated missiles if the Israeli army continues to attack residential buildings in Gaza.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
