Senior Hamas commander killed as Israel strikes Gaza

• Israeli air strikes have killed a senior Hamas leader, the group confirmed Wednesday. 
• At least 56 people in Gaza have been killed as Israel continues to launch air strikes, says the Palestinian health ministry.
• A Palestinian source said truce efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations had made no progress.

Israel's airstrikes on Gaza have killed 16 members of Hamas on Wednesday after the group retaliated to the atrocities of the Israeli forces by firing rockets. 

At least 56 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel escalated attacks on Monday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.  On the other hand, six people have been killed in Israel, medical officials said.

Israel's Shin Bet security service said the brigade commander for Gaza City was among senior members of Hamas who had been killed.

"This is just the beginning. We'll hit them like they've never dreamed possible," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Soon after the announcement, rockets were was fired at the Israeli city of Ashdod and Israeli media said the military was preparing for new salvoes on the Tel Aviv area.

Hamas confirmed the brigade commander's death and the loss of "other leaders and warriors" and said in a statement: "Thousands of leaders and soldiers will follow in their footsteps.".

A Palestinian source said truce efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations had made no progress to end the tension that flared this week.

In Gaza, a multi-storey residential building collapsed after Israel warned its occupants in advance to evacuate, and another was heavily damaged in the air strikes.

Other air strikes hit what Israel's military said were rocket launch sites, Hamas offices and the homes of Hamas leaders. Israeli officials said at least 41 Palestinian fighters have been killed in Gaza so far.

"Israel has gone crazy," said a man on a Gaza street, where people ran out of their homes as explosions rocked buildings.

Sixteen people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza on Wednesday, Gaza's health ministry said. Witnesses and health officials in Gaza said one Israeli air strike killed three people, including a woman, in a car.