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Gaza conflict: Israel 'targets Hamas leader Deif' Gaza conflict: Israel 'targets Hamas leader Deif'
(about 4 hours later)
The wife and child of a Hamas militant leader have reportedly been killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza which have left 11 people dead. Hamas says the wife and child of its military commander, Mohammed Deif, have been killed in an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip.
A Hamas official in Cairo said Israel had been targeting Mohammed Deif, the head of its armed wing. At least 11 Palestinians have been died since hostilities resumed on Tuesday, with both sides blaming each other for the collapse of the Cairo peace talks.
Israel said about 50 rockets had been fired from Gaza on Tuesday and another 20 on Wednesday, although no injuries have been reported. The Israeli military said it had carried out 60 air strikes in response to 80 rockets fired at its territory.
The hostilities resumed hours before a temporary ceasefire was due to expire. Six weeks of fierce fighting have left almost 2,100 people dead.
Talks in Egypt's capital to end the violence broke up without a deal. Israeli delegates said they would return home. Egypt has expressed "profound regret" at the end of the 10-day period of calm and said it will continue trying to secure a lasting truce.
Siren alert Bomb shelters
It was not known whether Mohammed Deif had survived Tuesday night's attack, although Hamas' exiled deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzuk was quoted as saying in Cairo that two of the victims were his wife and daughter. It is believed the air strike on a house in Gaza City late on Tuesday that killed Mohammed Deif's wife and their young son was intended to kill the militant himself, reports the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem.
Mr Deif, accused of ordering suicide bomb attacks in Israel several years ago, has survived a number of assassination attempts, which reportedly left him with severe disabilities. The commander of Hamas' armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has survived a number of previous Israeli assassination attempts believed to have left him with severe disabilities.
Israeli Interior Minister Gideon Saar told army radio that he was a "legitimate target" and that if an opportunity arose to eliminate him, it should be taken. Israeli Interior Minister Gideon Saar said the attack was justified because Mohammed Deif was "personally responsible" for dozens of deaths.
Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said Israel had opened "the gates of hell" and would pay a heavy price. Yaakov Perry, Israel's science minister and former security service chief, said he was "convinced that if there was intelligence that Mohammed Deif was not inside the home, then we would not have bombed it".
Israel's security cabinet was due to discuss the renewed violence later on Wednesday. Initial reports said the body of a third person was pulled from the rubble, but medics later said only two people had died.
Another air strike early on Wednesday killed seven people, including a heavily-pregnant woman and three children, in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told the AFP news agency.
Hamas military commander Mohammed DeifHamas military commander Mohammed Deif
On Wednesday morning, eight people - all believed to be from the same family - were killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza, local medics said. Later, an air strike killed a man north of Gaza City, he added. The IDF said it had targeted two militants responsible for launching rockets.
In all, about 100 people have been wounded since the ceasefire ended, Palestinian officials say. Our correspondent says the apparent attempt to kill Mohammed Deif may explain the intensity of the rocket fire that came after the collapse of the Cairo peace talks.
In Israel, sirens sounded in a number of cities, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Air-raid sirens sounded in many towns and cities in southern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as 50 rockets were launched on Tuesday and 30 on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said it had shot down a number of missiles fired from Gaza. One hit a home in the Hof Ashkelon region, but no injuries were reported.
Officials say that 2,028 Palestinians and 66 Israelis have died since Israel began its offensive on Gaza on 8 July. Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system has shot down a number of incoming rockets, but the Israeli authorities have ordered the re-opening of bomb shelters within 80km (50 miles) of Gaza.
'No progress' 'Gravely disappointed'
Azzam al-Ahmad, the lead Palestinian negotiator and a senior member of the Fatah movement, earlier blamed Israel for the failure to reach a deal in Egypt. The Israeli government accused Hamas of breaking the ceasefire by launching a salvo of rockets about eight hours before it was to have expired, and told its delegation in Cairo to return home shortly afterwards.
"There was an Israeli decision to make the Cairo talks fail," he said in quotes carried by Reuters news agency. Palestinian negotiators blamed Israel for the failure of the indirect talks.
However, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said that rocket fire from Gaza had "made continuation of talks impossible" and "destroyed the premise upon which the talks were based". "Israel thwarted the contacts that could have brought peace," said Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior member of the Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The US has voiced concern about the renewed hostilities, and blamed Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamist group. However, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev rejected the accusation.
The Israeli delegation had walked out of the Cairo meeting just hours before a midnight deadline, leaving the fate of the negotiations in question. "The Cairo process was built on a total and complete cessation of all hostilities and so when rockets were fired from Gaza, not only was it a clear violation of the ceasefire but it also destroyed the premise upon which the talks were based," he told the Reuters news agency.
But even before that Azzam al-Ahmad told Reuters that there had been "no progress on any point", with big gaps remaining between the two sides.
Israel has been seeking guarantees that Hamas and other factions in Gaza would be disarmed, while the Palestinians were demanding an end to the Israeli and Egyptian blockades of Gaza, and the establishment of a seaport and airport.Israel has been seeking guarantees that Hamas and other factions in Gaza would be disarmed, while the Palestinians were demanding an end to the Israeli and Egyptian blockades of Gaza, and the establishment of a seaport and airport.
Hamas insists it will not give up its weapons, while Israel wants to maintain some control over Gaza's crossings to prevent arms smuggling. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "gravely disappointed by the return to hostilities".
Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on 7 July with the aim of ending rocket fire. It also sought to destroy tunnels dug under the frontier with Israel used by militants to launch attacks. Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on 8 July with the aim of ending rocket fire. It also sought to destroy tunnels dug under the frontier with Israel used by militants to launch attack.
Since then, at least 2,029 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The Israeli authorities say 64 Israeli soldiers have been killed, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national.
Are you in Israel or Gaza? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, including your contact details and using the heading 'Israel Gaza'.Are you in Israel or Gaza? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, including your contact details and using the heading 'Israel Gaza'.