Israel continued its air attacks on Gaza, which have killed at least 24 Palestinians, including at least five women and five children, as well as several leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.

Israeli forces said they targeted a commander of a rocket unit in an air attack on a building in Gaza’s southern Khan Younis in the early hours of Thursday.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced the death of Ali Ghali, commander of the group’s rocket launch unit, in a pre-dawn strike carried out by Israeli forces in the south of the Gaza Strip.

More than 400 rockets have been fired from Gaza towards Israel with the majority intercepted by Israeli missile defences.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “condemns the civilian loss of life, including that of children and women, which he views as unacceptable and must stop immediately”, his spokesman said in a statement.