Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered Israel's military to intensify its attacks against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after the Islamic group launched 72 rockets aimed at several Israeli cities on Wednesday.

According to reports, there were about 40 Palestinian casualties who have died in the recent clash between Israel and Hamas, half of which were civilians comprised of women and children.

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In a BBC report, the Israeli officials said that its Iron Dome, the country's missile defense system, caught 14 of the 72 rockets Hamas launched. Three of the 14 rockets were intercepted just above Tel Aviv, three above Ashdod and another three over Ashkelon.

Since early Wednesday, Israel's military confirmed it has launched a total of 129 airstrikes of its own in Gaza. The military has bombarded Hama's rocket launchers, tunnels and several command centers.

The Israeli military strategy, tagged Operation Protective Edge, has attacked 550 Hamas sites in Gaza.

A spokesman for Netanyahu confirmed earlier that the government's strategy is one of escalation aimed at dismantling Hamas capability to strike.

"We don't want to have some sort of band-aid solution whereby we have a quick fix, a ceasefire, and then we only have rockets on Israeli citizens next week," spokesman Mark Regev told in a BBC interview.

In Gaza, the death toll is also beginning to increase. Ashraf al Kedra, a Gaza health official, told AFP news agency in an interview that the airstrikes Israeli launched on Wednesday resulted in the deaths eight Palestinians. There were six people who died in the attacks from Zeitun and Shejaiya, places that are close to Gaza City, while two more dead casualties reported in Beit Hanoun.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to Israel to stop the raids immediately to avoid further casualties.

Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas, condemned Israel and said it violated the truce between the two that brokered in Egypt and led to the secession of hostilities back in 2012.

Obeida said that the action of Israel affirmed its Zionist enemy should not dream of finding calm and stability in the coming days.

Last week, the relations between Israel and Palestine was intense after the murder of three young Israelis in the West Bank and another Palestinian teenager killed in Jerusalem.

Israel accused Hamas of abducting and murdering the Israeli youth, but Hamas denied it.

TagsIsrael, Gaza Strip, Airstrikes, Israel-Palestine relations, three Israeli teenagers