Children among 47 killed as Israel pounds Gaza

Israeli air strikes shook Gaza every few minutes yesterday, and militants kept up rocket fire at Israel’s heartland in intensifying warfare that Palestinian officials said has killed at least 47 people in the Hamas-dominated enclave.

Missiles from Israel’s Iron Dome defence system shot into the sky to intercept rockets launched, for the second straight day, at Tel Aviv, the country’s commercial capital. Some were also aimed at Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant, 80km from Gaza, but were either shot down or landed in open country.

With cries of “Allahu akbar” (God is great), Palestinians in the Gaza Strip cheered as rockets streaked overhead toward Israel, in attacks that could provide a popularity boost for Islamist Hamas, whose rift with neighbouring Egypt’s military-backed government has deepened economic hardship.