LIVE UPDATES: Israeli strike takes out top Hamas terrorist, Biden calls Netanyahu
An Israeli airstrike killed Hamas militant leader Bassem Issa
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip are engaged in the largest conflict between the two groups since the 2014 war.
An Israeli airstrike Wednesday killed Bassem Issa, Hamas' highest-ranking military figure, and the IDF said it also took out nine other senior commanders.
More than 1,100 rockets had been fired at Israel in the past two days, Lt. Colonel Jonathan Conricus said during a news briefing from Tel Aviv Wednesday evening.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Israeli counteroffensives targeted more than 300 military sites within the Gaza Strip linked to both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad groups, Conricus said.
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE KILLS TOP HAMAS COMMANDER AS NETANYAHU VOWS 'IRON FIST IF NEEDED'
Fast Facts
- President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging deescalation of the conflict but pledging US support for Israel's right to self-defense, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, also calling for a deescalation of the conflict
- An Israeli airstrike took out Hamas' top terror leader in Gaza, prompting militants to fire more rockets
- The IDF reported 6 Israeli civilian deaths and said one of its military members had also been killed
Hamas' rocket barrages have been linked to Iranian equipment, money and expertise, according to Conricus – but the IDF believes Hamas made the decision to go on the offensive on its own due to internal political conflict with the rival Palestinian Authority and other domestic issues.
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Fox News' Kelly Laco contributed to this report.
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