GAZA CITY, Palestine

An Israeli airstrike left the Gaza City office of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in ruins on Monday.

According to witnesses, Haniyeh's office, located in Gaza City's western Al-Rimal district, was “completely destroyed” by the strike.

The Israeli army has since confirmed that its warplanes had targeted Haniyeh's office, which, it claimed in a statement, had been used to hold “military-related meetings”.

In a separate statement, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said warplanes had targeted Hamas positions across the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Earlier Monday, rocket-fire emanating from Gaza reportedly left seven Israelis injured.

In response, the Israeli army deployed missile-defense batteries in several locations across the country, according to local media reports.

It also deployed two more infantry brigades along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone while calling up fresh reservists from its air-defense units.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat