Hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups continuing since Friday escalated on Sunday, raising the death toll in two days to 29 in the occupied territory, with Israel carrying out multiple air strikes in Gaza.

The health ministry also said that 253 people in Gaza had been wounded since the hostilities with Israel broke out on Friday.

The violence is the worst in Gaza since a war last year that devastated the impoverished territory home to some 2.3 million Palestinians and forced countless Israelis to seek shelter from rockets.

Israel has said it was necessary to launch a “preemptive” operation against Islamic Jihad, as the group had been planning an imminent attack following days of tensions along the border with Gaza.

Header image: Shahir, one of four disabled Palestinian siblings from Shamalakh family, is assisted near the rubble of their home after it was destroyed in an Israeli air strike, amid Israel-Gaza fighting, in Gaza City on Saturday. — Reuters