The IDF widened its counterterrorist offensive late in the afternoon on the Sabbath with artillery fire on northern Gaza as Israel showed determination to continue military operations until Hamas stops trying to attack Israel. It was the first time in three years the IDF has turned artillery guns on Gaza, aiming mostly at open areas.
Aerial strikes earlier in the day hit more than 40 terrorist targets throughout Gaza, killing at least two senior Hamas terrorists. Israeli planes struck an underground tunnel, a training base and site that terrorists used to launch rockets at Ashdod.
Fourteen people were killed in a terrorist-infested mosque in northern Gaza, and it is not clear if it was hit by aerial strikes or artillery fire, as Gaza sources claimed.
In the north, the IDF hit a large gas storage facility, setting off a buge blaze. One college, called the American International School but with no connection with the United States, was destroyed in aerial bombing.
Fatah terrorists in Gaza claimed it shelled an Israeli intelligence building in Kisufim in response to "Israeli massacres against Palestinians in Gaza," but other media sources did not confirm the allegation.
Syrian-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal warned Israel that a "black destiny" awaits IDF soldiers if Israel orders ground troops into Gaza. Iran threatened that Hizbullah will attack Israel if ground troops join the counterterrorist offensive.