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Rockets fly between Israel and Gaza after botched raid, Hamas TV station bombed

Click to play video: 'Israel bombs Hamas TV station in Gaza after warning shots'
Israel bombs Hamas TV station in Gaza after warning shots
WATCH: Israel bombs Hamas TV station in Gaza after warning shots – Nov 12, 2018

Palestinians in Gaza fired scores of rockets and mortar bombs into southern Israel on Monday and Israel launched retaliatory air strikes, a day after an Israeli incursion prompted deadly fighting in the enclave.

Three Palestinian gunmen were killed in the air attacks, their factions said. Warplanes also destroyed the premises of Hamas’s Al-Aqsa Television, the Israeli military said.

WATCH: Palestinians resume fire from Gaza, hitting bus, after botched Israeli operation

Click to play video: 'Palestinians resume fire from Gaza, hitting bus, after botched Israeli operation'
Palestinians resume fire from Gaza, hitting bus, after botched Israeli operation

On the Israeli side of the border, a guided missile wrecked a bus, wounding a soldier and shelling struck several homes as residents fled to shelters, authorities said.

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The flare-up cast a new cloud over efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations to broker a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the dominant Islamist group in Gaza.

The enemies have fought three wars in the past decade. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped to reach an “arrangement” to avoid another conflict and ease Israeli-blockaded Gaza’s economic hardships.

WATCH: Israeli army video purportedly shows air strikes over Gaza

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Israeli army video purportedly shows air strikes over Gaza

The United Nations says it is working with Egypt to broker an end to the latest round of fighting in Gaza.

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Nickolay Mladenov, from the office of the U.N.’s Mideast envoy, said efforts were underway “to ensure that Gaza steps back from the brink.” It called for an end to rocket fire, and for restraint “by all.”

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The United States, whose attempt to seal a wider Israeli-Palestinian peace stalled in 2014, condemned Hamas.

WATCH: Hamas leader among 7 dead after violence erupts in Gaza strip

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Hamas leader among 7 dead after violence erupts in Gaza strip

“We stand with Israel as it defends itself against these attacks,” U.S. envoy Jason Greenblatt tweeted. “This violence prevents any real help for the people of Gaza.”

In southern Israel, interceptor missiles streaked through the sky and sirens sounded during what the military said were around 300 rocket and mortar launches from Gaza.

Israeli medics said at least 10 people were hurt.

WATCH: Emergency crews put out flames after rockets fire into Israel during botched raid

Click to play video: 'Emergency crews put out flames after rockets fire into Israel during botched raid'
Emergency crews put out flames after rockets fire into Israel during botched raid

In Gaza, medics said three people were wounded.

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Al-Aqsa TV’s employees had evacuated their office in advance after phoned-in warnings from the Israeli military, and broadcasts resumed after a brief outage.

The frontier had been quiet earlier in the day after a botched Israeli undercover operation in Gaza led to fighting that killed a Hamas commander, six other Palestinian militants and an Israeli colonel.

WATCH: Botched Israeli operation on Gaza border

Click to play video: 'Botched Israeli operation on Gaza border'
Botched Israeli operation on Gaza border

“In response to yesterday’s crime, the joint command of Palestinian factions announce the beginning of bombardment of the enemy’s settlements with scores of rockets,” Hamas said in a statement.

Late on Sunday, Palestinians shelled Israel in response to the Israeli incursion and air strikes, which Hamas said were intended to cover the retreat of the Israeli commandos’ car.

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The military said a lieutenant-colonel had been killed in the raid and another officer wounded.

Violence has flared regularly along the Israel-Gaza border since Palestinians began protests on March 30 to demand rights to land lost to Israel in the 1948 war of its creation.

Israeli gunfire has killed more than 220 Palestinians since the start of the demonstrations, which have included breaches of the border fence.

In an apparent attempt to defuse tensions, Israel’s military spokesman said the special forces had not been dispatched to assassinate Hamas commanders, a tactic that led to wider conflict in the past and which has largely been abandoned.

Israeli media reports suggested the raid was mounted to gather intelligence.

-With a file from the Associated Press

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