Israel will continue to hit Islamic Jihad with no mercy: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday threatened to continue targeting Palestinian Islamic Jihad as the terrorist group in the Gaza Strip has refused to engage in ceasefire talks.

Netanyahu said that Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza must stop rocket attacks on Israel or "absorb more and more blows".

The confrontation between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip escalated early on Tuesday after Israeli airstrikes killed Baha Abu Al-Ata, a top commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, triggering a fierce response.

"They understand we will continue to hit them with no mercy. We are determined to fight and protect ourselves. If they thought the barrages or hits would weaken us, they are wrong. They have one choice, either stop these attacks or suffer more and more blows. It's their choice."

"We are continuing to hit Islamic Jihad after eliminating its senior commander in the Strip," Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu as saying in a special cabinet meeting.

The death toll from Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip has grown to 18, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Wednesday

The Israeli military claimed that terrorists had fired more than 250 rockets at Israel. The IDF said Baha Abu al-Ata was responsible for most of the terror attacks and suspected him of planning to carry out more attacks in the next few days.