At least one person has been killed and 30 others injured in an Israeli air strike on the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry headquarters in Gaza. The building, which was empty at the time, was destroyed. The blast comes amid an upsurge of violence in the region that has left of dozens of Palestinians dead.

It was the first Israeli strike against a government building since Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in June. The Israeli army says its operations are targeting Palestinian militants who, in the last three days alone, have fired more than 110 rockets into Israel.

No one has been killed but the attacks have spread terror across parts of southern Israel. All Gaza’s border crossings have been closed and only limited humanitarian aid is getting in. The bloodshed is threatening to derail fragile peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.

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