Israel is threatening to launch a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip after breaking an informal ceasefire with a series of ongoing deadly attacks. On Wednesday, an Israeli air strike assassinated Ahmed Jabari, the head of Hamas’ military wing. The bombing continued throughout the day and night, killing at least 13 civilians, including a baby and a mother pregnant with twins. More than 100 Palestinians were also wounded, and the toll is expected to rise. At least three Israelis were killed today when Palestinian rockets hit a residential building in the town of Kiryat Malachi, the first Israeli fatalities since the latest fighting began. Israel says it has launched the strikes to prevent Palestinian rocket fire, but the latest round of violence began last week when Israeli troops killed a young boy in Gaza. The situation has escalated since Saturday, when Palestinian militants fired at an Israeli military vehicle near the Israel-Gaza border. After Palestinian militant groups agreed to an informal truce on Monday, Israel broke two days of quiet on Wednesday. At the United Nations, Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour condemned the Israeli government.

Riyad Mansour: “There is no justification whatsoever for assassinating any Palestinian by Israel, the occupying power. They have assassinated a number of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Our understanding, that the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza so far is nine, and the number is increasing, and there is a large number of people injured. The assassination was later on accompanied by attacks from the sea against the Gaza Strip from Israeli naval units, and they are mobilizing a large number of forces, ground forces, with the possibility of moving in the Gaza Strip.”

Israel’s attack on Gaza marks its largest since the U.S.-backed operation that killed more than 1,300 Palestinians nearly four years ago.