23 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip.
In the worst attack, the Israeli Air Force dropped a 1 ton bomb on a home of a Hamas activist in Gaza City before dawn Wednesday, killing nine people and likely injuring Hamas military chief Mohammed Def.
A mother and four children were among the victims and at least 24 people were injured, medics said.
Meanwhile, occupation troops moved into central Gaza for the first time after midnight, cutting the Strip in half.
In Gaza City, Palestinians said a high-level meeting of Hamas commanders was in progress in the house, which belonged to Dr. Nabil al-Salmiah, just before the Israeli raid. The attack destroyed a two-story house in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.
From the force of the blast, the two-story structure collapsed, burying people under the rubble. Hamas activists said additional victims might be buried in the basement.
Among the wounded was Abu Anas al-Ghandour, commander of Hamas' military wing in northern Gaza Strip.
Israel said it attacked the house because it was a "meeting place for terrorists" who were planning attacks and rocket launching. Hamas official Ismail Radwan pledged to hit back at Israel. "It was a terrible, bloody massacre, and the Zionists will pay a heavy price for it," he said.
Five more Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air raid on Wednesday afternoon. Another Palestinian died Wednesday afternoon of wounds he sustained Wednesday morning when Israeli tank shelled a car in the Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah, medical sources said.
The victim Tareq Nassar 19, died at hospital due to serious wounds when an Israeli tank stationed at Abu Holi juncture, north of Khan Younis city opened fire on the civil car, wounding Nassar and Hamza al-Jourani 20.
Earlier, at least five Palestinians were killed in two separate Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip, local sources said. Sources at Ministry of Health reported that five were instantly killed and several others wounded during the Israeli attacks.
Tamir Moharib, Fadi Qdaih, Joma Salim and Mohammed Masri were killed during the airstrike south of Gaza City.
In the village of al-Qarara, a policeman was instantly killed when an Israeli jet shot a missile close to a police station in the village, security sources said. The sources reported that Salama Bashiti 20, was killed and several others wounded during the attack.
