JERUSALEM , July 8 (UPI) -- Israeli air strikes hit 50 sites in Gaza overnight in what it described Tuesday as an open-ended and escalating offensive.
The strikes against Hamas, the Palestinian military and political organization ruling Gaza, are part of "Operation Protective Edge," in which Israeli troops have been mobilized on the Gaza-Israel border for a possible ground invasion. The airstrikes against 50 targeted sites -- militants' homes, rocket launcher emplacements and other military infrastructure sites -- came after an Israeli military "preparation for escalation" notice and after nearly 300 rockets and mortar shells were fired into Israel from Hamas sites in the past several weeks, 80 alone on Monday, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) said.