Israel's Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli defends the army's strikes on Gaza and says Israel's missile defence system is preventing thousands of Hamas rockets from hitting "highly populated" cities. It comes amid unrelenting Israeli bombardment of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, where the health ministry says more than 8,500 people have been killed, including over 3,500 children. The Israeli strikes come in response to the October 7 attack in which Hamas militants killed 1,400 people. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES