'Israeli attacks damaged 530 Palestinian homes'

GAZA CITY, Palestine

At least 530 houses in the Gaza Strip were damaged by the recent Israeli aggression on the coastal enclave, Palestine's Public Works Ministry said on Thursday.

"In Israeli airstrikes against Gaza, 30 houses were completely destroyed and 500 houses were partially damaged," the ministry said in a statement.

The estimated value of the damages was about $2 million, according to the ministry.

It also called on "donors" to provide financial support to reconstruct the damaged houses for the families, who have lost their homes.

The international community should provide "protection to residential and civilian facilities and handle their responsibilities by intervening urgently to end the imposed siege on the Gaza Strip," the ministry said.

A cease-fire was reached in Gaza on Thursday following two days of Israeli escalation.

The escalation left 34 Palestinians dead and more than 110 injured.

The military escalation started after Israel assassinated a prominent Islamic Jihad commander Bahaa Abu al-Atta. The Palestinian resistance groups fired hundreds of rockets in response to the Israeli escalation.