The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) carried out airstrikes in Gaza on the consecutive second day on Wednesday after Israel assassinated an Islamic Jihad leader in an airstrike.
The death toll from Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip has grown to 18, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Wednesday
"The number of killed has risen to 18, including a woman, and 50 others wounded amid the Israeli aggression since Tuesday," the ministry said in a statement.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces' spokesman, Avichay Adraee, wrote on Twitter that a military aircraft had carried out an air raid on Islamic Jihad activists in northern Gaza who were preparing to fire rockets at Israel.
The confrontation between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip escalated early on Tuesday after Israeli airstrikes killed Baha Abu Al-Ata, a top commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, triggering a fierce response.