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15 Pictures Of Gaza Under Attack As Israel Responds To Militant Rockets (LIVE UPDATES)

15 Pictures Of Gaza Under Attack As Israel Responds To Militant Rockets
Paul Vale
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UPDATE: 26 Images Of Gaza In Ruins As Israeli Military 'Makes Hamas Pay' For Rocket Strikes

Israel has continued its devastating offensive against the Gaza Strip, killing at least 14 people, according to AP, as it targets Hamas sites, which the IDF claim is responsible for firing rockets into Israel. The fighting, the most intensive since late 2012, saw Hamas militants fire rockets into Israel, acts that have led to a mobilisation of thousands along the Gaza border as Israel prepares for a ground invasion of Palestine.

Reported by AP, Israel has attacked more than 400 sites in Gaza in the past two days, leading to at least 32 deaths. Hamas militants have fired around 160 rockets into Israeli territory, one reaching the city of Hadera more than 60 miles from Gaza. Air raid sirens have sounded in Tel Aviv, with the IDF claiming inbound missiles were destroyed before they reached the city.

"The organisation is going to pay for its aggression," said Israeli spokesperson Peter Lerner, "It is literally holding us hostage with its rockets." He added that the offensive was designed to take a "substantial toll" of Hamas and that "the country is not willing for this situation to continue".

Speaking on Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said: "I have been in contact with the regional and international parties in the last few days, particularly Hamas leaders in Gaza, and everyone I've talked to expressed his willingness to restore the truce and stop the escalation," adding that the Israeli actions against Gaza was "orchestrated and brutal aggression."

On Wednesday, the BBC found itself in the middle of an information war after it ran a video claiming images shared across social media purportedly showing death and destruction caused by Israel in Gaza were fake. The broadcaster was subsequently accused of conspiring with the Jewish state to underplay the damage its military is inflicting.

Gaza Israel Airstrikes
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Smoke rises after an airstrike by Israeli forces in the south of Gaza City, 09 July 2014. (credit:EPA)
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An Israeli missile hits smuggling tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Smoke rises after an airstrike by Israeli forces in the south of Gaza City, 09 July 2014. (credit:EPA)
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Israeli missiles hit smuggling tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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An Israeli missile hits smuggling tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Smoke trails are seen after missiles were fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City towards southern Israel, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Smoke and debris rise after an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip seen from the Israeli side of the Israel Gaza Border, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. Since the Gaza offensive began Tuesday, Israel has attacked more than 400 sites in Gaza, killing at least 32 people in a military operation it says is aimed at quenching rocket fire against Israel. Only four rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel overnight, the army said. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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An Israeli missile hits an area in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. The Israeli army on Wednesday intensified its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, striking Hamas sites and killing more than a dozen of people on the second day of a military operation it says is aimed at quenching rocket fire against Israel. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A Palestinian salvages what he can from a house after it was hit by an Israeli missile strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Palestinian children walk in the rubble of a destroyed house a day after an Israeli strike, in the town of Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A Palestinian boy plays in the rubble of a destroyed house the day after an Israeli strike in the town of Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. The Israeli army on Wednesday intensified its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, striking Hamas sites and killing more than a dozen people on the second day of a military operation it says is aimed at quenching rocket fire against Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Palestinians check a destroyed house a day after an Israeli strike late Tuesday, in the town of Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. The Israeli army on Wednesday intensified its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, striking Hamas sites and killing more than a dozen people on the second day of a military operation it says is aimed at quenching rocket fire against Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A fireball rises following an Israeli missile strike on the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza Strip, early Wednesday, July 9, 2014. The Israeli army on Wednesday intensified its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, striking Hamas sites and killing at least 11 people on the second day of a military operation it says is aimed at quenching rocket fire against Israel. Only four rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel overnight, the army said. (AP Photo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A Palestinian removes rubble near a damaged building belonging to a senior Hamas official following an Israeli missile strike in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. The Israeli army on Wednesday intensified its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, striking Hamas sites and killing at least 11 people on the second day of a military operation it says is aimed at quenching rocket fire against Israel. Only four rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel overnight, the army said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Palestinian mourners carry bodies of the five members of the Hamad family who were killed in an Israeli missile strike late Tuesday, in town of Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. The Israeli army on Wednesday intensified its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, striking Hamas sites and killing more than a dozen of people on the second day of a military operation it says is aimed at quenching rocket fire against Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)

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