epaselect epa04308107 Smoke rises after an attack of Israeli aircraft in the southe of Gaza City on 09 July 2014. Israel launched the military operation ‘Protective Edge’, which came in response to a renewed wave of rockets out of the Gaza Strip, for some of which Palestinian group Hamas has claimed responsibility. There have been more than 120 Israeli airstrikes in the coastal enclave, according to Palestinian sources, while hundreds of rockets and mortar shells have landed in southern Israel. Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said the offensive, named Protective Edge, could grow into a ‘ground mission if required’. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER