Israel vows to keep hitting militants as 18 killed in Gaza

Israeli airstrikes killed more Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza on Wednesday as rocket fire toward Israel resumed after a brief overnight lull, raising the death toll in the strip to 18 Palestinians in the heaviest round of fighting in months.

The military said more than 250 rockets have been fired at Israeli communities since the violence erupted following an Israeli airstrike that killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander accused of being the mastermind of recent attacks. Israel stepped up its battle against Iran and its proxies across the region.

The latest fighting brought life in much of Israel to a standstill. Schools remained closed in Israeli communities near the Gaza border and restrictions on public gatherings continued as rockets rained down.

Those attacks came after the early morning strike on Tuesday killed Bahaa Abu el-Atta and his wife as they were sleeping. Rocket fire from Gaza reached as far north as Tel Aviv, and two people were wounded by shrapnel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a special Cabinet meeting that Israel has no interest in sparking a wider confrontation but warned the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad that Israel will keep pounding them until the rockets stop.

"They know we will continue to strike them without mercy," Netanyahu said. "They have one choice: either stop these attacks or absorb more and more blows."
The Islamic Jihad rejected the efforts, with spokesman Musab al-Berim saying the group's priority is to "respond to the crime and confront the Israeli aggression."
"We showed that we can strike terrorists with minimum damage to innocents," Netanyahu said. "Anyone who harms us, we will harm them."