JERUSALEM — Israel carried out extensive strikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vow of an "unprecedented" response to a Friday terror attack that killed Israeli civilians. The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted militant infrastructure and commanders.

Netanyahu convened his security cabinet over the weekend and placed security forces on high alert. Israeli media reported heightened troop deployments in the West Bank and along the Gaza perimeter, with police reinforcing checkpoints around Jerusalem and major cities.

The Friday attack reignited debate over whether renewed fighting could postpone or affect Israel's approaching election, which polls show as closely contested. Opposition leaders, including Yair Lapid, accused the government of security failures, while Netanyahu's allies pressed for a forceful military campaign.

The escalation strained a tenuous ceasefire framework brokered earlier in the year, raising fears of wider confrontation. Egyptian and Qatari mediators urged restraint, and the United Nations humanitarian office in Geneva warned that renewed bombardment would deepen Gaza's civilian crisis.

The flare-up came as Iran warned that Gulf subsea cables could become targets if war resumed, and as Houthi forces pressed their offensive near Red Sea shipping lanes, underscoring the risk of broader regional escalation.