TEMPO.CO, Gaza - Israeli warplanes have pounded Gaza, killing seven - including five Palestinians from the same family - as Hamas said it would support a Palestinian effort to investigate war crimes in the conflict.
The deadliest Israeli air strike on Saturday leveled a home in Al-Zawayda in central Gaza, killing a couple, their sons aged three and four, and a 45-year-old aunt, medics said.
Another seven Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli strike that struck a house in Zeitoun, east of Gaza City, medics said.
Witnesses and Palestinian officials said two mosques were destroyed in the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza, while a third, in the Shati refugee camp, which had already been damaged, was bombed again.
The Israeli military said it had carried out about 20 air strikes over the Gaza Strip early Saturday. Israeli officials said more than 80 rockets were fired from Gaza Friday.
Loud explosions and thick plumes of smoke could be seen over Gaza City Saturday morning as fighting continued between Israel and Hamas, according to the AP news agency.
Earlier, there were conflicting reports regarding the death toll.
Eighty-one Palestinians and a four-year-old Israeli boy have been killed and nine Israeli civilians wounded since Tuesday, when truce talks collapsed ending nine days of calm.
Israel has vowed no let-up until it can guarantee the safety of its civilians, while Hamas insists that Israel must end its eight-year blockade of the territory as part of any truce.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas leader who has been taking part in the Cairo negotiations has confirmed that the group will back any Palestinian bid to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).
According to Moussa Abu Marzouk, Hamas has signed a paper of support requested by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Eighty-one Palestinians and a four-year-old Israeli boy have been killed and nine Israeli civilians wounded since Tuesday, when truce talks collapsed ending nine days of calm.
Israel has vowed no let-up until it can guarantee the safety of its civilians, while Hamas insists that Israel must end its eight-year blockade of the territory as part of any truce.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas leader who has been taking part in the Cairo negotiations has confirmed that the group will back any Palestinian bid to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).
AL JAZEERA | NATALIA SANTI
