CRI听力:Fighting Continues in Gaza as Israeli PM Vows "Prolonged Operation"

Israel's military continues to pound targets in the Gaza strip on the Muslim Eid holiday, as Israel's leader has vowed "a prolonged army operation" against Hamas militants.

Benjamin Natanyahu is the Israeli Prime Minister.

"We know there are hard days ahead of us. This is a hard and painful day. We have to have patience and be determined to continue the struggle against a murderous terror organisation, which aspires to destroy us."

Israeli shells hit a fuel tank at the Gaza Strip's only power plant on Tuesday.

It cut electricity to Gaza City and many other parts of the Palestinian enclave of 1.8 million people.

Mohammed al-Sharif is the director of the power plant.

"I would like to say to the world that this was a humanitarian plant, that served the people, therefore its existence helped people, life, hospitals and the normal, simple life of the people of Gaza so striking the plant in this way means that we lost the electricity supply which we were relying on even if it only supplied 3 hours' worth a day."

Though no casualties have been reported yet, but the fuel tank in the power plant is on flame.

Officials at the civil defence said the local fire brigade was not equipped to extinguish the blaze.　

Earlier, an Israeli strike hit the Hamas media buiding and an office within the Hamas government.

It comes after a night of continuous Israeli strikes targeting the home of the top Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh.

The house of Haniyeh has been reportedly flattened but with no casualties.

After 22 days of conflict in the strip, a Palestinian health official put the overall Gaza death toll at 1,110.

Israel has lost over 50 soldiers, along with two civilians and a foreign worker from Thailand.

The United Nations has called for an immediate cease-fire.