GAZA, Wednesday, March 27, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli warplanes launched early today airstrikes on several sites in the besieged Gaza Strip.

WAFA correspondent said that the Israeli F16 warplanes pounded with three rockets a site located to the east of the city of Rafah, reducing it to rubble and causing damages to neighboring  civilian homes and electricity network.

The warplanes also bombed a site east of the city of Khan Younis, causing substantial damage. No casualties were reported, however.

Israel has carried out dozens of strikes in Gaza, with 66 airstrikes launched over the past two days at 34 targets across Gaza, injuring two Palestinian civilians and forcing dozens to evacuate from their houses in the cold weather at night.

 This came as thousands of Israeli reserve troops were ordered to be amassed at the Gaza frontier, signaling a new large-scale onslaught against the besieged coastal enclave.

The Israeli airstrikes, some of which were in densely-populated areas, have completely destroyed 30 houses and damaged 500 others as confirmed by Public Works Minister Mufeed al-Hasayneh.

Israel claimed that the latest round of airstrikes in the war-battered strip came in retaliation of the launching of a rocket from Gaza on March 25.  

The rocket, which hit a home in Israel and injured seven people, was the first to cause any damage or injuries. However, no faction has claimed responsibility for the firing of the rocket.

K.T./ K.F.