Buildings and roads were destroyed after Israeli strikes hit Tal Al-Hawa, west of Gaza City, as seen in footage on Thursday.

According to reports the airstrikes carried out on Wednesday killed three citizens and wounded four others in the neighbourhood.

The owner of an apartment damaged in the strikes, Rafat Al-Rifi said, “Suddenly the Israeli missiles landed on our neighbours’ house, causing the wall of the house on the eastern side to collapse on my children while they were asleep.”

Tensions have been running high over the planned eviction of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem and related protests. Israel has been responding with airstrikes to rockets fired from Gaza Strip since Monday.

The unfolding events mark the most heated-up escalation of the conflict since 2014.