Gaza reports: 7 killed, among them baby

Israeli fighter jets continued their sorties over Gaza Sunday night as "Operation Cast Lead" entered its third day. According to Palestinian reports, seven people were killed in the raids, including a baby and three siblings, one of them an infant.

Israeli warplanes bombed the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza on Monday, the first air strike that targeted a government building in Israel's offensive, the Palestinian faction said. No immediate word was available on whether there were any casualties.

Palestinian sources further reported that the IAF the house adjacent to the home of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in a refugee camp near Gaza City.

Haniyeh was not at the place during the strike, as all Hamas leaders have gone into hiding after the IDF operation in Gaza was launched Saturday.

After nightfall, Israeli aircraft attacked a building in the Jabalya refugee camp next to Gaza City, killing a 14-month-old baby, a man and two women, Gaza Health Ministry official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said.

Another airstrike in Rafah reportedly left three siblings dead – an infant and two teenagers. The strike was apparently aimed against a senior Hamas commander who was in the area.

Israeli aircraft also bombed the Islamic University and government compound in Gaza City, centers of Hamas power. Witnesses saw fire and smoke at the university, counting six separate airstrikes there just after midnight.

The IDF confirmed that fighter jets struck a series of targets in the Gaza Strip, including a military outpost, a weapons manufacturing site and a weapons R&D center.

In a statement issued by the army, the IDF said that two of the buildings attacked served as meeting places for senior Hamas officials.

Rocket injures kibbutz volunteer

On Monday morning, a Qassam rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip landed within the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. A mortar shell fired from the Strip exploded in an open area near the border fence in the Nahal Oz area. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

Gunmen in Gaza continued to fire rockets at Israel during the night. A Qassam rocket exploded in an open field near a kibbutz in the Eshkol Regional Council, causing no injuries or damage.

Earlier Sunday, one Qassam hit a shed in a kibbutz located in the Eshkol Regional Council in south Israel. A kibbutz volunteer was treated for very light injuries.

Israeli aircraft struck dozens of Hamas targets Sunday evening.

Al-Jazeera reported that a senior figure in Hamas' armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was killed during an aerial strike on his home in east Gaza.

According to the report, the Air Force struck additional homes belonging to members of the armed wing.

News agencies contributed to this report