An Israeli warplane bombed the office of the Palestinian Foreign ministry early Thursday, destroying part of the building and causing widespread damage in the area, Reuters news agency reported.
The pre-dawn raid destroyed the third and fourth floors of the Foreign Ministry building, damaged nearby houses and vehicles, and wounded more than 13 civilians, including several children.
There were no reports of casualties inside the ministry building, which was empty at the time of the Israeli attack.
The air strike signaled that Israel is expanding its widescale offensive to pressure Palestinian resistance groups to free Cpl Gilad Shalit who was seized at a border post on June 25.
The Israeli army, which accuses Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of having known in advance of the soldier’s capture, confirmed that it carried out an air strike on the Foreign Ministry, saying that it is “led by Hamas”.
Zahar had earlier said that negotiations were the only way to end the crisis.
But correspondents say that Israel responded by attacking his office to prove that the Israeli government won’t negotiate and that the Israeli soldier must be released without conditions.
Speaking after the Israeli attack, Zahar, who has escaped previous assassination attempts, appeared unfazed.
"Everybody here is wanted by Israel, everybody is a target, every house is a target and every tree is a target. This is the destructive system built in what is called Israel," he said.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Foreign Ministry spokesman Taher al-Nunu accused Israel of carrying out "organized terrorism that targets all the Palestinian people and aims to exterminate all government institutions, one after another, to prevent them from carrying out their duties."
In a separate attack, an Israeli air strike killed an Islamic Jihad fighter and wounded another before daybreak Thursday in southern Gaza, where Israeli forces started an incursion a day earlier.
Israel killed more than 24 Palestinian civilians in Gaza on Wednesday, including nine members of one family whose Gaza City house was hit by an Israeli missile.
It was the highest number of Palestinians killed in a single day since Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip on June 28.
Israel also launched an assault on Wednesday on its border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah fighters seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in the heaviest cross-border fighting since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon six years ago.
Dozens of Israeli air strikes struck bridges, roads and suspected Hezbollah posts, killing at least two Lebanese civilians, one Hezbollah fighter, and one soldier.
The pre-dawn raid destroyed the third and fourth floors of the Foreign Ministry building, damaged nearby houses and vehicles, and wounded more than 13 civilians, including several children.
There were no reports of casualties inside the ministry building, which was empty at the time of the Israeli attack.
The air strike signaled that Israel is expanding its widescale offensive to pressure Palestinian resistance groups to free Cpl Gilad Shalit who was seized at a border post on June 25.
The Israeli army, which accuses Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of having known in advance of the soldier’s capture, confirmed that it carried out an air strike on the Foreign Ministry, saying that it is “led by Hamas”.
Zahar had earlier said that negotiations were the only way to end the crisis.
But correspondents say that Israel responded by attacking his office to prove that the Israeli government won’t negotiate and that the Israeli soldier must be released without conditions.
Speaking after the Israeli attack, Zahar, who has escaped previous assassination attempts, appeared unfazed.
"Everybody here is wanted by Israel, everybody is a target, every house is a target and every tree is a target. This is the destructive system built in what is called Israel," he said.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Foreign Ministry spokesman Taher al-Nunu accused Israel of carrying out "organized terrorism that targets all the Palestinian people and aims to exterminate all government institutions, one after another, to prevent them from carrying out their duties."
In a separate attack, an Israeli air strike killed an Islamic Jihad fighter and wounded another before daybreak Thursday in southern Gaza, where Israeli forces started an incursion a day earlier.
Israel killed more than 24 Palestinian civilians in Gaza on Wednesday, including nine members of one family whose Gaza City house was hit by an Israeli missile.
It was the highest number of Palestinians killed in a single day since Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip on June 28.
Israel also launched an assault on Wednesday on its border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah fighters seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in the heaviest cross-border fighting since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon six years ago.
Dozens of Israeli air strikes struck bridges, roads and suspected Hezbollah posts, killing at least two Lebanese civilians, one Hezbollah fighter, and one soldier.
