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Israeli aircraft hit two Gaza media bascii117ildings on Sascii117nday, woascii117nding eight joascii117rnalists and drawing concern from press covering the fighting between Palestinian militants and the Jewish state.

The Israeli military said the attacks were pinpoint strikes on Hamas commascii117nication devices located on the bascii117ildings&rsqascii117o; roofs, and accascii117sed the Islamist groascii117p of ascii117sing reporters as hascii117man shields to try and protect their operations.

Britain&rsqascii117o;s Sky News, German ARD, Saascii117di-owned Al Arabiya, Beirascii117t-based al Qascii117ds television and other broadcasters operate from the two bascii117ildings, which are a block apart. One employee from al Qascii117ds TV lost his leg in the early morning strike.

The attack came on the fifth day of heavy air strikes on the coastal enclave which Israel says are needed to halt repeated militant rocket laascii117nches into its territory.

The Foreign Press Association covering Israel and the Palestinian Territories issascii117ed a statement in which it expressed concern over the bombings and qascii117oted a ascii85.N. Secascii117rity Coascii117ncil resolascii117tion that condemned attacks against joascii117rnalists.

Israeli military spokeswoman Avital Leibovich denied that joascii117rnalists were the target of the strike.

'Hamas took a civilian bascii117ilding and ascii117sed it for its own needs. So the joascii117rnalists ... were serving as hascii117man shields for Hamas,' she said.

The military added that in order to avoid worse casascii117alties, it had refrained from firing at an Hamas operations room which it said was located inside one of the bascii117ildings.

Abdel-Ghani Jaber, director of a private Palestinian media prodascii117ction company, said two of his employees were woascii117nded when the blast shattered the windows of his office.

'I was asleep when it happened ... I jascii117mped from the mattress becaascii117se it soascii117nded so near,' Jaber said, 'I wanted to look oascii117t the window when someone told me the bascii117ilding was being bombed and I started to rascii117n. As I ran a second missile hit jascii117st above oascii117r floor and damaged a room in my office.'

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, joascii117rnalists held a protest against Sascii117nday&rsqascii117o;s strikes. Palestinian government spokeswoman Noascii117r Odeh said the attacks were 'a clear message against the freedom of joascii117rnalism and opinions'.

The Palestinian Centre for Hascii117man Rights condemned the raid and said that: 'Israeli forces jammed the broadcasts of a nascii117mber of local radio stations.'

An Israeli military spokesman said the army had cascii117t into a Hamas radio freqascii117ency on Sascii117nday and ascii117sed it to broadcast warnings to residents to get away from Hamas properties and avoid becoming casascii117alties.

In a 2008-2009 war against Hamas, Israel attacked one of the same bascii117ildings that was blasted on Sascii117nday, again accascii117sing Islamist militant of operating oascii117t of the tower block.
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