The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip rose to 31 on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
A ministry statement indicated that among the victims were six children and four mothers.
The ministry reportedly said that 275 individuals were injured in the Israeli attacks. The ministry had previously estimated 29 fatalities.
Sunday marked the third consecutive day of Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip in response to what the army termed a “imminent danger of attacks” by the Islamic Jihad group.
Tensions were building in the Palestinian territories following the arrest of Bassam al-Saadi, a prominent leader of Islamic Jihad, in an Israeli operation early this week in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
The Israeli military announced on Saturday that the Gaza onslaught might last a week.
On Sunday, however, the chief of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet advocated terminating the ongoing military action in Gaza, stating that the assault achieved its objectives by striking a major blow to the Islamic Jihad organization.
