Israeli fatalities from Palestinian rocket fire have risen to four, after the strike on an Ashkelon factory claimed one life and a man died when his car was struck near the border town of Sderot.
Father of four Moshe Agadi, 58, died earlier today when his home in his Ashkelon was struck by a missile from Gaza.
A 22-year-old man died in the direct hit on the factory in the same city, which injured a number of otherse.
Rescue services found another man unconscious in his car near the border town of Sderot, but he was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.
On Sunday afternoon, a 35-year-old man from Ashdod was reported by Israeli TV to have succumbed to his injuries
A hospital in Ashkelon was hit by a rocket but there were no injuries.
According to Al Jazeera, nine Palestinians have lost their lives in the violence over the weekend.
The violence continued on Sunday evening as the IDF reported "another heavy barrage of rockets" being fired from Gaza.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have launched 600 rockets into Israel, while Israeli planes have attacked targets in Gaza and an armoured brigade has been deployed along the border.
"We are preparing for several days like this," IDF spokesman Brigadier General Ronen Manelis said.
Armed Palestinian groups threatened a "more painful" response if Israel extended its operations.
The IDF said Palestinian groups were using places of worship for military purposes and it had destroyed an Islamic Jihad command and control centre located in a mosque in the densely populated area of Al Shati last night.
Hamas operatives killed in the airstrikes included Hamed Ahmed Abed Khudari, said by the IDF to be responsible for transferring Iranian money to Gaza.
We just targeted Hamed Ahmed Khudari, a Gazan terrorist responsible for transferring Iranian funds to Hamas & PIJ in Gaza, helping fund their rocket fire at Israelis.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 5, 2019
Transferring Iranian money to Hamas & the PIJ doesn’t make you a businessman. It makes you a terrorist. pic.twitter.com/WvGEB16r4h
“Khudari's financial activity, which served as Iran's spearhead in the Gaza Strip, contributed significantly to the promotion of terror activities and the military buildup of terror organizations in the Gaza Strip," an IDF spokesman said.
Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations' Middle East peace co-ordinator, said he was "deeply concerned by yet another dangerous escalation in Gaza and the tragic loss of life".
