Israel resumed its airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday just one day after it conceded with Egypt's proposed ceasefire, and Hamas militants did not hold their rocket attacks.

The Gaza Strip violence left seven Palestinians dead, and the house of Hamas top political leader Mahmoud Zahar destroyed. Israel threatened to beef up its offensive as the Islamist group ignored calls to halt fire on Tuesday, Reuters detailed.

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Hamas militants kept firing rockets into Israel even when the proposed truce was about to start. Egypt, an anti-Hamas neighbor of Gaza, announced that the two involved parties were supposed to begin the 12-hour ceasefire at 9:00 am (0600 GMT).

The Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, rejected the truce and said it would intensify its clash with Israel. However, Cairo-based Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said the group wants to enter a deal that would lift Egyptian and Israeli restrictions at the border, but no decision was made yet.

After Hamas had continued its rocket salvoes, Israel retaliated six hours after the truce supposedly started by resuming its air strikes in Gaza. The military targeted 20 of the hidden rocket launchers, storage facilities and tunnels of Hamas.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained via broadcast that Israel's only choice was to "expand and intensify" its offensive against Hamas. An unnamed Israeli official mentioned that the security cabinet on Wednesday talked about a limited ground operation.

Around 195 Palestinians, including 150 civilians, with 31 of them children, died in the attack, according to Gaza medical officials. Israel only suffered one casualty in the fighting as its Iron Dome system countered 20 Hamas projectiles.

The murder of three Jewish students last month and the revenge killing of Palestinian youth early this month triggered the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip. On Monday, Israel announced that police already had custody of three Jews who confessed to the revenge killing.

The leaders of Hamas said they would only sign a deal that includes the end of the Israeli blockade at the Gaza border and the Egyptian curbs at the Rafah crossing that affected Gaza's economy. In addition, the Islamist group wants hundreds of arrested activists to be released.

TagsIsrael vs. Hamas, Israel-Gaza crisis