Israel continued its bombing of Gaza on Friday after claiming success in overnight air strikes which killed three Hamas leaders, along with a four-year-old girl.

The ten-day ceasefire appears dead and buried after talks collapsed on Tuesday, and rocket fire into Israel from Gaza continues.

Israel appears to have changed tactics, with militant leaders being targeted, a change Israel attributes to obtaining better information on the ground. More than 30 sites were hit from the air on Thursday. For the moment its ground forces have stayed in their pullback positions, but they linger on the skyline, visible from within Gaza.

One Hamas leader, living in exile in Turkey, claimed on Thursday the organisation had been behind the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers in June, the incident that sparked this latest round of violence. Previously Hamas had denied any involvement, while praising the perpetrators.

Hamas has promised to avenge the loss of its three leaders.