Palestinian mother of baby killed in Israeli strike also dies
The 37-year-old was pregnant and died of the wounds she suffered in the attack
Gaza City: The pregnant mother of a one-year-old baby killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday has also died from her wounds, the health ministry in the strip said.
The ministry said in a statement Falestine Abu Arar, 37, had died from the "Israeli targeting east of Gaza".
A ministry spokesman told AFP she was the mother of the baby who died in the same incident earlier as Israel carried out strikes in response to some 200 rockets fired from Gaza.
Israel said it had no information on the incident. The regime said earlier it was only targeting military sites in its response.
The Gaza health ministry reported a 22-year-old man as well as a 14-month-old baby and her pregnant mother killed, with 17 others wounded.
An Israeli spokeswoman said the military did not have any information on the incident involving the baby. The army said earlier it was targeting only military sites.
As the exchange of fire continued, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with security chiefs.
A statement from Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for at least some of the rocket fire and said it was prepared for more if necessary.
Its armed wing distributed a video showing militants handling rockets and threatening key Israeli sites, including Ben-Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv.
A source in the group said Egypt was engaged in discussions to calm the situation, as it has done repeatedly in the past.
The European Union called for an immediate halt to rocket fire from Gaza.
Israel said it was closing its people and goods crossings with Gaza as well as the zone it allows for fishermen off the enclave until further notice due to the rocket fire.
"Over the coming hours we will continue and we will broaden our offensive efforts, air force efforts, inside the Gaza Strip, again focusing only on military targets," Conricus said.