JERUSALEM, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel carried out early on Monday new heavy airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, claiming that they destroyed militant tunnels and homes of nine Hamas officials.
An Israeli spokesperson said in a statement that the overnight air raids targeted the Hamas "Metro" tunnel system in the northern Gaza Strip. In the attack, 54 Israeli warplanes struck some 35 alleged terror targets and 15 km of the tunnel system.
"This strike is part of the IDF's (Israel Defense Forces) significant operation against the underground terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip," the statement said.
In a separate overnight round of airstrikes, Israeli warplanes and aircraft bombed nine homes of senior Hamas commander, according to the army. "The residences that were struck were used as terror infrastructure. Some of the residences were used to store weapons," the army said.
The bombing came a day after Israel struck the home of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and at least four other Hamas officials in Gaza.
The attacks followed a televised address on Sunday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said the offensive will continue "with full force" and will take "as long as necessary," despite international efforts to broker a truce to quell the deadly flare-up.
According to a military notice on Monday, since the beginning of the offensive, dubbed by the army as "Guardians of the Walls," some 3,150 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip towards the Israeli territory. About 460 of these rockets failed to reach Israel and fell within the Gaza Strip. Israel's Iron Dome Air Defense System has intercepted about 90 percent of the rockets, the army said.
At least 188 people in the besieged Palestinian enclave were killed, including 55 children and 33 women. Meanwhile, rockets fired by militant groups in Gaza killed 10 people, including a five-year-old boy, a soldier, and two women. Enditem
