(Xinhua) -- One Palestinian woman was killed and 46 others were injured in a fresh Israeli strike near the abandoned headquarters of the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza City on Friday, the Doha-based al-Jazeera Satellite Channel reported. The footage of al-Jazeera shows that many children who sustained wounds were rushed to hospitals to get treatment. The report said the death toll may rise. The latest Israeli attack came after the Jewish state decided to seal off all border crossings with the Gaza Strip late on Thursday in a bid to stop Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli communities. More than 30 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli ground and air strikes in Gaza Strip and West Bank since Tuesday.
Israel has said that the intensive airstrikes aimed at reining in Gaza militant groups, mainly Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Holy War),which intensified their homemade rockets attacks from Gaza at Israel. Palestinian militants claimed responsibility for firing dozens of homemade rockets and mortar shells at Israeli towns. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed on Thursday to expand its ongoing military operations to stop the intensified Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, local media Yedioth Ahronoth reported.