Four Israeli hostages and their captors had been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, Hamas has claimed.
‘The bombardment overnight and today on the Gaza Strip led to the killing of four of the enemy’s captives and their captors,’ said Abu Ubaida, spokesperson of Hamas armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.
Militants are continuing to fire barrages of rockets, setting off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
At least three explosions have sounded in Jerusalem, while another at Ben Gurion Airport sent people rushing to shelters.
Fighting continues to rage between Israeli forces and Hamas more than 48 hours after hostilities began.
Israel formally declared war on the terrorist group hours after it began pounding the besieged Gaza Strip, deploying some 100,000 reserve troops to the densely populated territory.
According to Israeli TV, some 300,000 reservists have been called up to arms in the fight against Hamas.
More than 700 people have been killed in Israel, and another 436 casualties were recorded in Palestine.
No one doubts that the death toll on both sides will continue to go up as rockets are still being fired into the two territories.
Thousands have been wounded in the air strikes, overwhelming hospitals, while the number of displaced people in Gaza has surpassed 120,000.
Among the dead are at least 260 people whose bodies were discovered at the site of an Israeli music festival, Supernova.
Follow live coverage of the conflict below.
