Three killed, 18 injured in air strikes near Gaza strip

UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) has raised concerns over the dangerous escalation in the Gaza Strip, noting that three people have been killed and at least 18 others sustained injuries in an exchange of airstrikes between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli military registered 50 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, of which 20 were intercepted. It came soon after one of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's leaders, Baha Abu Al Ata, was killed in an Israeli strike.

"MAP is gravely concerned by the escalation in #Gaza & is monitoring the situation closely. Three Palestinians have been killed and at least 18 injured since the morning. Airstrikes from Israel and rocket fire from Gaza are ongoing," MAP wrote on Twitter.

At the same time, the enclave's health authorities reported about four people killed and 25 injured.

"An ambulance delivered the body of a 25-year-old Palestinian killed in the ongoing Israeli airstrikes to Al Anduzini hospital in the north of the enclave. A total of four Palestinians were killed and 25 were injured as a result of Israeli aggression starting from the morning," the spokeswoman for the enclave's Health Ministry, Wafaa Yagi, told Sputnik.

MAP went on to say that schools, universities, ministries, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East centres were closed in Gaza.

As of now, the charity said it was in touch with partners on the ground and was ready to respond if the situation continued to deteriorate.