Israeli aircraft and tanks attacked Gaza on Friday and Saturday, killing at least 17 Palestinians, including seven civilians. This came after a Palestinian rocket attack against a school bus on Thursday afternoon.
According to the AP, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack on the school bus "crossed a line" and warned that "whoever tries to harm and murder children will pay with their life."
Early Saturday, an Israeli airstrike against a vehicle traveling near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip killed three Hamas fighters, including a senior commander, the group said. Hamas said 29-year-old Tayser Abu Snima and two of his deputies were killed in the blast.
The early morning attack brought the two-day death toll from Israel's ongoing retaliation to 17 Gazans. The dead Friday included three civilians killed by Israeli tank fire. Later, an Israeli tank shell struck a cemetery east of Gaza City, killing two civilians, including an 11-year-old boy, said Palestinian health official Adham Abu Salmiya.
Gaza gunners fired some 30 and mortar shells at southern Israel on Friday, causing no injuries, the Israeli military said.
