Israel-Gaza conflict continues despite Egyptian efforts to broker cease-fire
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E-mail Xinhua, August 6, 2022
JERUSALEM, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel's army said early Saturday that it will continue to bomb military sites in Gaza as cross-border fighting continued despite Egyptian efforts to broker peace.
The Israeli Air Force continued to carry out several airstrikes in the Gaza Strip throughout the night, targeting a rocket manufacturing site, mortar shell manufacturing workshops and rocket launchers -- all said belonging to the Islamic Jihad, an armed Palestinian group.
"At this time, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will continue to target legitimate terrorist targets belonging to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip," the army said in a statement.
The statement was issued shortly after Egypt's official Ahram news site reported that Egyptian officials were mediating between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza in an effort to end the fight and restore the 2021 cease-fire agreement.
"Egypt is conducting intensive communications with the Palestinian and the Israeli sides to end the ongoing escalation in Gaza," the report said, citing an Egyptian official.
Gaza militants continued to launch more rockets throughout the night, triggering sirens in Israel's southern communities, according to a notice issued by Israel's Homefront Command.
On Friday, Israel launched a series of surprise airstrikes, killing at least 10 people, including a 5-year-old girl and Tayseer al-Jabari, an Islamic Jihad commander, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a broadcast statement that the attack came in response to an "imminent threat" following the recent arrest of a senior Islamic Jihad member in the occupied West Bank.
Hours after the first airstrike, militants in Gaza launched a barrage of rockets at southern and central Israel. Overall, at least 100 rockets were fired, according to a statement by the Islamic Jihad.
Israel's Magen David Adom emergency health service said in a statement that at least five people were injured during the rocket fire. Enditem
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