Israeli army says its bombing of Gaza Strip 'could last a week' as civilians killed

Israel's bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip could last for a week or even longer, a military spokesman said Saturday after Israeli forces pounded the Palestinian enclave with air strikes.

Gaza's health ministry said at least ten people were killed and scores injured in the air strikes on Friday night and Saturday morning. Among those killed was a five-year-old girl.

Israel said it conducted the bombings to prevent attacks by Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group that sounded full alert among its fighters after Israel arrested one of its leaders and killed a teenage member in a raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday.

"We are preparing for long days of military operations, about a week, and if necessary it will be longer," Israeli media reported army spokesperson Ran Kochav as saying in a press release.

A senior member of Islamic Jihad, Taysir al-Jabari, was among those killed in Friday night's air strikes on Gaza. Islamic Jihad fired a barrage of rockets in retaliation.

After Monday's arrest and killing, Israel blocked entry to and exit from Gaza at crossings. The blockade stopped goods and aid from entering the enclave, which has already been under Israeli siege for 15 years.

Israel's last major bombing of Gaza took place in May 2021. It killed more than 250 Palestinians and devastated much of Gaza's infrastructure.