Gaza damage
People look at a crater on the ground and damaged buildings that witnesses said was caused by an Israeli air strike in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City August 8, 2014. Reuters

Palestinian militants fired 54 rockets at Israel as a 72-hour cease-fire ended Friday without an agreement to extend a halt in hostilities between Hamas and the Jewish state. Hamas earlier vowed to hit Israel if the cease-fire expired. Meanwhile, Israel responded to the rocket fire with at least 10 airstrikes in Gaza, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told NBC News. "We will continue to strike Hamas, its infrastructure, its operatives and restore security,” he said.

Israel didn’t rule out the possibility of continuing its ground operation in Gaza, which halted Tuesday as the cease-fire took effect. Yuval Steinitz, minister of strategic affairs for Israel, told Army Radio that Israel is considering “taking control of the Gaza Strip in order to topple the Hamas regime.”

Palestinian officials said a 10-year-old boy was killed in one of the strikes. The backyard of a mosque was also struck.

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