At least fifteen Palestinians have been killed in the early hours of Tuesday morning and throughout the day in a series of Israeli military attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip. More than 40 Israeli warplanes carried out attacks for nearly two hours starting at 2am on Tuesday (23:00 GMT Monday). At least four children and four women have been killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Social media users report among those killed in Gaza was Dr Jamal Khaswan, a well-known dentist and Director of the Al Wafa hospital. He was reportedly killed alongside his wife and son.

Palestinian journalist Dr Ramzy Baroud argues Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza are likely being waged by Israel's political leadership, “to ensure that the political crisis in Israel can be averted” and says the ferocity of the attacks imply Israel “intends to kill as many Palestinians as possible” and that we may well be anticipating "continued Israeli attack on Gaza” in the days to come.