Israel-Gaza news live: Israeli warplanes unleash heavy airstrikes

Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy leader of Hamas, warned on Sunday that if Israel “does not want to stop” its attacks on Gaza City, then “we will not stop”.

The deputy leader made the comments speaking to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, ahead of continued airstrikes from Israel early Monday morning.

As international calls urged a cease-fire, Mr Abu Marzouk said: “If there will be one it will be reached with our conditions, not Israeli conditions.”

“If Israel does not want to stop, we will not stop,” he said.

Meanwhile, Eliezer Toledano, the general in charge of Israel’s Southern Command, told the broadcaster that it was “important” that the country “continue to exhaust the campaign that we have entered and deepen the damage being caused to Hamas”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also vowed to continue the campaign at “full force” for “as long as necessary”.

In the midst of international calls for calm, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the country’s campaign in Gaza at “full force”.

Speaking in a televised address after his security Cabinet met on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu said the campaign would continue “for as long as necessary” until “calm and quiet” can be restored to Israel’s citizens.

“We are acting now, for as long as necessary, to restore calm and quiet to you, Israel’s citizens. It will take time,” he said.

Overnight, the Israeli army launched a fresh assault, raining airstrikes down on Gaza City in what it said was an effort to further target an underground tunnel system used by Hamas militants.

Before the airstrikes, the Gaza Health Ministry had said that at least 197 Palestinians, including 58 children, have been killed in the surge of violence that started last week.

Meanwhile, at least ten people have been killed in Israel, including two children, according to Israeli authorities.

Photos show Gaza City alight with fire early this morning after a major bombardment from Israeli warplanes.

Israel’s army has said it launched the assault in a bid to target an underground tunnel system used by Hamas militants.

Describing the tunnel system as a “city under a city”, the army said it destroyed 15km of the underground network and hit 35 targets.

In the photo below, fire and smoke can be seen rising above buildings in Gaza City, as warplanes take aim at the Palestinian enclave.

The assault began at around 2am, with civilians on the ground describing as many as 50 airstrikes in just 10 minutes.

Israeli warplanes unleashed heavy airstrikes on Gaza City in overnight assault they said was aimed at destroying an underground tunnel system used by Hamas militants.

Dozens of Israeli warplanes launched a heavy bombardment of the blockaded strip just before 2am on Monday, the country’s army has said.

The army said it was once again targeting the “metro” – an underground tunnel system it has said militants are using to navigate without being tracked.

Civilians on the ground described as many as 50 airstrikes in just 10 minutes, while photos showed the night’s sky over Gaza city alight with fire.

The army it hit a total of 35 targets, and 15km of the tunnel system.

Residents of Gaza city have said that several roads leading to the strip’s largest hospital Al-Shifa had been hit in the assault.

Witnesses also said security buildings and militant training camps had been attacked in and around Gaza City.

Militants in Gaza had continued to fire rockets at Israel up until the heavy bombardment.

The Israeli military has said that a total of 3,100 rockets have so far been fired at Israel from Gaza over the last seven days.

That number is just 900 short of the total number of rockets fired during the entirety of the 7-week 2014 Gaza war.

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live blog tracking the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.