Operation Protective Edge: At Least 12 Palestinians Killed In Israeli Airstrikes

UPDATE 3:07 p.m. EDT: Multiple air rid sirens have gone off throughout Israel, according to the IDF. @PzFeed reported three explosions in Jerusalem. The Iron Dome intercepted some of the rockets.

UPDATE 2:51 p.m. EDT: Air raid sirens have gone off again in Tel Aviv, @PzFeed reports. The Twitter account said two rockets were intercepted over the city.

UPDATE 2:07 p.m. EDT: Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the rocket aimed at Tel Aviv, claiming the missile was aimed at Ben Gurion Airport, according to the breaking news Twitter account @PzFeed.

UPDATE 12:11 p.m. EDT: Air raid sirens have gone off in Tel Aviv, signaling a potential rocket attack, the AP tweeted. Meanwhile, the Breaking 911 Twitter account reported a Hamas rocket headed for Tel Aviv was intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome.

UPDATE 11:09 a.m. EDT: The death toll has risen to 12 Palestinians killed from Israeli airstrikes, according to the BBC.

Original story:

At least five Palestinians were killed in Israeli-launched airstrikes on Tuesday targeting militants in the Gaza Strip as part of “Operation Protective Edge.”

More than 50 targets were struck by Israel Defense Forces in the operation, according to the Haaretz newspaper. The sites include a terror command center “embedded within civilian infrastructure,” according to the IDF Twitter account.

Meanwhile, the IDF claimed Hamas has fired more than 100 rockets at Israel since Monday night. The military said some of the rockets were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome system.

In the deadliest attack, four Palestinians were killed on Tuesday during a joint IDF-Shin Bet (Israel’s security agency) airstrike on a vehicle in Gaza, Haaretz reported, citing Palestinians. The strike reportedly targeted 24-year-old Mohammed Shaaban, a commander of Hamas naval forces.

Another Hamas militant was killed in an airstrike in the central Gaza Strip. He was identified as Rashad Yassin, a member of Hamas military arm. He was in the refugee camp of Nuseirat when he was killed, according to Haaretz. There may have been other casualties in rubble caused by the attack.

Islamic Jihad, another militant group, claimed it has fired more than 60 rockets toward Israel since Monday morning, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Operation Protective Edge was launched a week after the discovery of the bodies of three missing Israeli teenagers, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed on Hamas. The group denied involvement in the incident, and warned it would strike Israel if the Jewish state attacked Gaza. The operation is an offensive aimed at stopping rocket attacks from Gaza.

Operation Protective Edge also comes as Netanyahu weighs an escalation in Israel’s attacks, including positioning ground troops closer to Gaza.