UPDATE - Israel launches new airstrikes in Gaza amid Hamas attack

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GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Israeli warplanes launched new airstrikes in the Gaza Strip early Sunday amid rising tensions following a surprise Hamas attack into Israeli towns.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the security cabinet took a “series of operation decisions” to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, “in a way that will negate their ability and desire to threaten and harm the citizens of Israel for many years."

A military statement said fighter jets struck two Hamas control rooms in Gaza. Two operational infrastructures inside mosques were also attacked by planes. Another strike targeted a house in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.

The Israeli army urged Gaza residents to evacuate residential areas amid ongoing airstrikes across the Palestinian enclave and declared the area surrounding the Gaza border a closed military zone.

The UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) said at least 20,000 Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza and are taking shelter in dozens of schools and emergency shelters across the strip.

Palestinian factions fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza into southern Israel.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said rocket warning alarms sounded in Ashkelon after rocket fire from Gaza. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said six Israelis were injured in Ashkelon, including one who was in serious condition.

The escalation followed a surprise attack by Hamas early Saturday that involved dozens of fighters who infiltrated Israeli towns near the enclave amid heavy rocket fire.

The Israeli Health Ministry said at least 300 Israelis were killed and more than 1,500 injured in the attack.

More than 250 Palestinians, meanwhile, were killed and over 1,700 injured in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry.

Netanyahu vowed to use all of Israel’s strength to destroy Hamas’ capabilities and “take revenge for this black day.”