24 Palestinians martyred in Israeli air strikes on Gaza

GAZA: The death toll in Gaza had risen to 24 on Sunday, including six children, as Israel has extended its bombardment in Palestine.

Palestinian authorities said the victims had been killed since Friday in Israeli strikes that also wounded 215 people.

Israel’s military said its aerial and artillery campaign could last a week, but Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Cairo is talking “around the clock” with both sides to ease the violence.

Civilians meanwhile took refuge in air raid shelters, with AFP journalists hearing sirens warning of incoming fire in the Tel Aviv area on Saturday evening.

In Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, women and children were trapped under rubble following an Israeli strike, the strip’s civil defence unit said.

Daily life in the strip has come to a standstill, while the electricity distributor said the sole power station shut down due to a lack of fuel after Israel closed its border crossings.

Gaza’s health ministry said the next few hours will be “crucial and difficult”, warning it risked suspending vital services within 72 hours as a result of the lack of electricity.