A least eight Palestinians were killed Saturday morning in new Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip, bringing to 38 the number of Palestinians killed since the start of Israel's military offensive Wednesday, according to emergency services in Gaza.
Four Palestinians were killed in the district of Zouhour in Rafah, in the southern part of the Palestinian enclave, said Adham Abu Selmiya, a spokesman for the emergency services.
Previously, three members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, were killed in the Maghazi refugee camp (central area), according to medical sources.
A fourth fighter of al-Qassam Brigades was subsequently killed in the neighborhood of Tel al-Sultan in Rafah, said Abu Selmiya.
Some 345 Palestinians were wounded in the attack, according to medical sources in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Egypt Saturday for a visit aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries. However, it will be dominated by the conflict in Gaza.
Egypt and Turkey are under pressure from the United States to bring Hamas to stop firing rockets into Israel, but the two countries have in turn strongly condemned Israel for its attacks on the Palestinian enclave.
"In fact, it was Israel that violated the cease-fire , "Erdogan said in Ankara before leaving for Egypt. "This is an Israeli tactic of pointing the finger at Hamas in order to attack Gaza," Erdogan said Friday night.
The Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Friday denounced the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip as a "flagrant aggression against humanity ", promising that his country" will not abandon Gaza."
