Israel air strikes hit Hamas HQ in Gaza crisis

Israeli air strikes have targeted the headquarters of Gaza's Hamas leaders causing extensive damage to the building.

The attack came after an overnight lull, with international reporters broadcasting that the area was quiet except for the buzzing of drones overhead.

The lull was broken shortly after 03:00 local time (01:00 GMT) on Saturday by a string of large explosions.

There was another series of strikes in and around the city shortly after 05:00 local time, with several targeting Hamas' cabinet buildings, which reports suggest were likely to be empty.

BBC correspondents in Gaza sources report that bodies were trapped under rubble at a house hit in Jabalia, north of Gaza City. Casualty figures remain unclear.

Three members of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, are said to have been among those killed overnight.

As well as Hamas buildings, Israeli aircraft targeted electricity transformers and the network of tunnels used to smuggle goods and weapons from Egypt into Gaza, according to international reports.

After the attack, Israeli military spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said a total of 200 targets had been hit overnight, including 120 rocket launchers and 20 smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza.

Israeli officials say no decision has been made regarding an invasion, despite pervasive and persist rumours of an impending ground advance.

Israel blocked access to three major routes leading into Gaza on Friday; call-up papers have already been sent to 16,000 Israeli reservists, with officials authorising the mobilisation of another 75,000.

Militants and civilians, including at least seven children, have been among the Palestinians killed during Israeli strikes in recent days, Hamas says.

The group's military leader Ahmed Jabari was killed on Wednesday. A senior commander was killed on Friday, officials said.

Two Israeli women and a man died when a rocket hit a building in the southern town of Kiryat Malachi on Thursday, officials said.

At least 34 Palestinians and three Israelis have died since Israel killed Hamas's military chief on Wednesday.

Israel earlier put 75,000 reservists on stand-by amid speculation of a ground invasion.

Militants in Gaza have continued to fire rockets into Israel, aiming at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Friday.