THE Israeli war machine continued its relentless bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza today, while also extending its attacks to targets in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank.

Missile strikes hit two airports in Syria and a mosque near the West Bank city of Jenin that the Israelis claimed was being used by Palestinian resistance fighters.

These Israeli actions threaten to trigger a broader conflict across the region.

Tensions are also soaring in other parts of the occupied West Bank, where Israel’s troops have carried out attacks on refugee camps  and launched a number of air strikes in recent days.

Syrian media reported that Israeli air strikes had targeted the international airports in the capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, killing one person and making the runways unusable.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the United Nations security souncil to “fulfil its responsibilities under the charter and put an end to these Israeli aggressions.”

Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but it said it had acted to prevent Hezbollah and other resistance groups from bringing in arms allegedly provided by Iran.

Israel has traded fire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters on a near-daily basis since the latest war against the Palestinians began.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah said that six of its fighters had been killed on Saturday and deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem warned that Israel would pay a high price if it started a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. 

The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah targets early today in response to rocket fire.

At a Cairo summit, even Arab leaders at peace with Israel have expressed growing anger over the Gaza war.

Egypt and Jordan harshly criticised Tel Aviv on Saturday for its actions in Gaza, a sign that the two Western allies that made peace with Israel decades ago are losing patience with its two-week-old war against the Palestinians.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi reiterated his rejection of any talk of driving Gaza’s 2.3 million people into the Sinai peninsula and warned against the “liquidation of the Palestinian cause.”

Jordan’s King Abdullah II branded Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza “a war crime.”

The leaders at the summit reflected growing anger in the region, even among those with close ties to Israel who have often served as go-betweens with the Israelis. 

More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, and more than 1,400 in Israel.