ISRAELI warplanes pounded the besieged Gaza strip last night, shattering a fragile ceasefire brokered in November after the targeted assassination of Islamic Jihad leader Baha Abu al-Ata.

Civilian homes were damaged as F-16 fighter jets targeted at least two positions in the Palestinian territory, while an Israeli drone bombed a location to the north-west of Gaza City.

Israel claimed it was responding to rockets fired from Gaza, the standard justification given by its military for such bombing missions.