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- NEW: An Israeli airstrike hits people digging a grave in a cemetery, health officials say
- Hamas says a bombing in Rafah kills 3 senior leaders of the Qassam Brigades
- Israel says two of the dead were responsible for "major terror attacks against Israelis"
- One of them played a "major role" in the capture of an Israeli soldier in 2006, the IDF says
Gaza (CNN) -- An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza overnight killed three high-ranking members of Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, the militant group said Thursday. Seven civilians were also killed.
The three members of the Brigades' 15-member military council were killed in a bombing in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to Hamas.
The announcement of their deaths comes the day after Hamas said an Israeli strike had killed the wife and at least two children of Mohammed Deif, the head of the military wing. Deif's 7-month-old son was killed, and the body of one of his daughters was removed from the rubble later, according to Hamas. Another of Deif's daughters is missing and believed to be buried in the rubble. The strike failed to kill Deif, Hamas said.
Role in capture of Israeli soldier
An Israeli soldier smokes a cigarette in a large concrete pipe used as shelter at an army deployment point near the Israeli-Gaza border on Wednesday, August 20. Israel launched a ground operation in Gaza on July 17 after a 10-day campaign of airstrikes failed to halt Hamas rocket fire on Israeli cities.
Light trails made by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip stand out against the night sky on Tuesday, August 19. Despite efforts to come to a peaceful agreement, Gaza militants launched rockets into Israel on Tuesday, and Israel responded with its own rockets.
An injured Palestinian man is helped into the Shifa hospital in Gaza City on August 19.
Police examine the remains of a rocket launched from Gaza that landed near the kibbutz of Yad Mordechay on August 19.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on August 19.
Islam El Masri begins to sort through the rubble of her destroyed home in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, on Thursday, August 14.
Israelis gather in Tel Aviv during a protest August 14 calling on the government and the army to end Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza once and for all.
Smoke rises in Gaza City after an airstrike on Saturday, August 9.
Israeli soldiers walk past a Merkava tank as they patrol a field near Israel's border with Gaza on August 9.
A Palestinian boy salvages family belongings from the rubble of a four-story building after an airstrike in Gaza City on Friday, August 8.
Israelis flee after a rocket fired from Gaza hit the residential neighborhood of Sderot, Israel, on August 8.
A Palestinian man looks out over destruction in the al-Tufah neighborhood of Gaza City on Wednesday, August 6.
Displaced Palestinians carry their belongings as they leave a United Nations school in Beit Lahiya, Gaza, to return to their homes Tuesday, August 5.
The body of Avrohom Wallis is carried during his funeral in Jerusalem on Monday, August 4. Wallis was killed in what Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld called a "terror attack," when a man drove an earthmover into a bus in Jerusalem.
Israeli soldiers fire a mortar shell toward Gaza from the Israeli side of the border on August 4.
Palestinians remove rubble from a house hit by an airstrike in the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on August 4.
An Israeli drone circles over Gaza City on Sunday, August 3.
A Palestinian man sits in a hospital in Rafah, Gaza, on August 3.
An honor guard caries the coffin of Israeli Lt. Hadar Goldin during his funeral in Kfar-saba, Israel, on August 3. Goldin was thought to have been captured during fighting in Gaza but was later declared killed in action by the Israel Defense Forces.
A Palestinian boy looks for belongings after an airstrike in Rafah on Saturday, August 2.
Israeli soldiers walk to their tank at a staging area near the border with Gaza on August 2.
A young Palestinian carries damaged copies of the Quran from the rubble of the Imam Al Shafaey mosque in Gaza City on August 2.
Palestinians displaced from their houses return to check their homes in Gaza City on Friday, August 1.
An Israeli soldier carries a shell as he prepares a tank along the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday, July 31. Israel called up 16,000 additional reservists, bolstering forces for its fight against Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.
Smoke rises from a building after an airstrike in Rafah on July 31.
The parents and a sister of Israeli soldier Guy Algranati mourn during his funeral in Tel Aviv on July 31.
U.N. workers remove a donkey injured at a U.N.-run school in Gaza on Wednesday, July 30.
Palestinians walk under the collapsed minaret of a destroyed mosque in Gaza City on July 30.
Palestinians gather leaflets that fell from an Israeli plane on July 30. The leaflets warned residents of airstrikes in Gaza City.
Israelis take cover from a Palestinian rocket attack from Gaza during the funeral of Israeli soldier Meidan Maymon Biton, which was held at a cemetery in Netivot, Israel, on Tuesday, July 29.
Smoke and fire rise above Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike on July 29.
An Israeli soldier prays on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza on July 29 as smoke billows from the only power plant supplying electricity to Gaza.
Near the rubble of their home in Rafah, Palestinian men mourn July 29 for people killed during an airstrike.
A Palestinian man places a portrait of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya on the rubble of Haniya's Gaza City home July 29 after it was hit by an overnight airstrike.
Flares from Israeli forces light up the night sky of Gaza City on July 29.
Israeli soldiers carry the coffin of 2nd Lt. Roy Peles, an infantry officer who was killed in combat, during his funeral in Tel Aviv on Sunday, July 27.
During a 12-hour cease-fire in Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood on Saturday, July 26, a Palestinian man sits atop a car filled with belongings that were salvaged from a destroyed home.
Israeli soldiers watch a bomb explode along the border with Gaza before the 12-hour cease-fire on July 26.
As her brother-in-law Mazen Keferna weeps on the ground, Manal Keferna cries upon discovering her family home destroyed by airstrikes in Beit Hanoun on July 26.
Palestinians dig a body out of the rubble of a destroyed house in Gaza during the cease-fire on July 26.
An Israeli soldier mourns at the grave of reserve Master Sgt. Yair Ashkenazy during his funeral at the military cemetery in Rehovot, Israel, on Friday, July 25. Ashkenazy was killed during operations in northern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces reported.
A Palestinian man cries after bringing a child to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya on Thursday, July 24. The child was wounded in a strike on a school that was serving as a shelter for families in Gaza. It's unclear who was behind the strike. The Israeli military said it was "reviewing" the incident, telling CNN that a rocket fired from Gaza could have been responsible.
Israeli soldiers carry a wounded soldier to a helicopter near the Israel-Gaza border on July 24.
Israeli soldiers patrol the Israel-Gaza border on July 24.
A trail of blood is seen in the courtyard of the school that was hit July 24 in the Beit Hanoun district of Gaza.
An Israeli tank fires toward Gaza from a position near Israel's border on July 24.
A photograph tweeted by astronaut Alexander Gerst on Wednesday, July 23, shows major cities of Israel and Gaza. Gerst said in his tweet: "My saddest photo yet. From #ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over #Gaza & #Israel."
A woman in Philadelphia passes by a departure board that shows US Airways Flight 796, scheduled to fly to Tel Aviv, has been canceled on Tuesday, July 22. The Federal Aviation Administration told U.S. airlines they were temporarily prohibited from flying to the Tel Aviv airport after a Hamas rocket exploded nearby.
Smoke and fire from the explosion of an Israeli strike rise over Gaza City on July 22.
A relative of Israeli soldier Jordan Ben-Simon mourns over his coffin during his funeral in Ashkelon, Israel, on July 22.
Palestinians inspect destroyed buildings and collect usable items after an Israeli air assault on July 22.
Israeli soldiers weep at the grave of Israeli Sgt. Adar Barsano during his funeral Sunday, July 20, in Nahariya, Israel.
Palestinian medics carry a body in Gaza's Shaja'ia district on July 20.
Israeli soldiers give medical care to soldiers who were wounded during an offensive in Gaza on July 20.
A Palestinian boy injured during an Israeli airstrike is taken to the hospital by his father in Gaza City on July 20.
Palestinians flee their homes as Israeli troops focus their firepower on the Gaza town of Shaja'ia on Sunday, July 20. The shelling and bombing killed at least 60 people and wounded 300, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Smoke rises after an Israeli missile hit Shaja'ia on July 20.
A Palestinian child walks on debris from a destroyed house following an overnight Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya on Saturday, July 19.
An explosion rocks a street in Gaza City on Friday, July 18.
Israeli ground forces move to the Gaza border on July 18.
Israeli soldiers patrol near the Israel-Gaza border on July 18.
A relative mourns July 18 during the funeral of Rani Abu Tawila, a Palestinian who was killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City.
A Palestinian demonstrator, protesting Israel's military operation in Gaza, runs through smoke July 18 during clashes with Israeli soldiers at the entrance of the Ofer prison in the West Bank village of Betunia.
This image, made from video shot through a night-vision scope, was released by the Israeli military on July 18. It shows troops moving through a wall opening during the early hours of the ground offensive in Gaza.
Children stare as Palestinians flee Khan Yunis, Gaza, to safe areas July 18.
An Israeli tank fires a shell into Gaza on July 18.
A Palestinian carries a gas cylinder salvaged from the rubble of an apartment building after it was hit by Israeli fire on July 18.
An Israeli reservist prays July 18 near the Gaza border by Sderot, Israel.
Flare smoke rises into the Gaza City sky on Thursday, July 17.
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Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis
Hamas: We're aiming for Tel Aviv airport
The militant group, which controls Gaza, said the leaders killed overnight were Mohammed Abu Shamala, Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Barhoum.
A crater the size of a residential block was left at the site of the airstrike.
According to Palestinian officials, Israeli airstrikes have killed 27 since midnight local time (5 p.m. ET Wednesday).
Hamas vowed revenge for their deaths.
"The assassination of the Qassam leaders is a great Israeli crime that will not succeed in breaking the will of our people or even weaken the resistance, and Israel will pay the price," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Al-Attar, the commander of the Qassam Brigades in Rafah, is believed to be the most senior of the three.
The Israeli military said it had confirmed that it killed the three men. It described al-Attar and Abu Shamala as "high-ranking Hamas commanders responsible for major terror attacks against Israelis."
Al-Attar played a "major role" in the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006, the Israel Defense Forces said on its Twitter account. Shalit was held captive until a deal was struck for his release in 2011 in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
"This morning's strike sends a clear message to those responsible for planning attacks," IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said in a statement. "We will strike those that have terrorized our communities, towns and cities, we will pursue the perpetrators of abduction of our soldiers and teenagers, and we will succeed in restoring security to the State of Israel."
Renewed fighting
The return to violence between Israel and Hamas began Tuesday after a cease-fire and peace talks in Cairo fell apart, with each side blaming the other for the breakdown.
The Egyptian-brokered negotiations were aimed at finding a lasting end to the current Gaza conflict, which has killed more than 2,000 Palestinians, around 70% of them civilians, according to the United Nations. The fighting, which erupted in early July, has killed 67 people on the Israeli side, most of them soldiers.
But the two sides failed to reach a compromise, with Israel calling for Gaza to be demilitarized and Hamas requesting, among other things, the lifting of Israel's economic blockade on Gaza.
Humanitarian groups have warned of a dire situation in Gaza, where tens of thousands of people have been left homeless amid the destruction caused by the conflict.
The Israeli military said Thursday that more than 225 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza since the truce collapsed this week. Over the same period, Israeli forces have attacked around 150 targets in Gaza, the IDF said.
One airstrike Thursday hit a cemetery in Gaza City, where a group of people were digging a grave for relatives, Palestinian health officials said. The attack killed six people and injured others, paramedics told the Hamas-run Al Aqsa TV.
Hamas threatens airport
"Our policy is simple: If you shoot, you will get attacked," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday. "If you try more, you will get double."
Israel will not stop its efforts against Hamas "until we can ensure full safety and security" for people in Israel's south, the prime minister said.
The Qassam Brigades on Wednesday warned international airlines to refrain from landing at or taking off from Ben Gurion Airport in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv from Thursday morning onward.
U.S. aviation authorities briefly banned U.S. carriers from flying to and from the airport in late July after a Hamas rocket struck nearby. Many international airlines followed suit, canceling flights to and from Tel Aviv.
But flights picked up again after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lifted the ban. Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, had lobbied Washington to reverse the extraordinary order.
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Talal Abu Rahma reported from Gaza, and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's Samira Said contributed to this report.
