Israel continued deadly airstrikes on areas in the Gaza Strip on August 4. (Source: AP)

The Times of Israel online newspaper reported that in a meeting with the security cabinet, Prime Minister Netanyahu affirmed that the country has prepared all attack and defense scenarios and is ready to deal with any situation.

"We will respond and will demand a heavy price for any aggression against us, regardless of which side it comes from," he declared.

The statement came after Iran threatened to retaliate after Hamas terrorist group leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran early on July 31, a day after senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr died in an Israeli strike in Beirut.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination of Mr Haniyeh, but confirmed that it killed Mr Shukr.

Meanwhile, the US and Israel's allies are also preparing to protect the country from destructive attacks. "We are doing everything we can to make sure this situation does not get worse," said White House Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer.

The US has also transported important military equipment to the region to prepare for combat.

On the same day, the Israeli army said it had carried out airstrikes on two schools, Hassan Salameh and Al-Nasr, in Gaza City, stating: "The schools were used by Hamas' Al-Furqan Battalion as a hideout for militants and a command center."

The Gaza Civil Defense Authority said the airstrike killed at least 30 people, mostly women and children. The two schools were home to Palestinians displaced by the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas militants, the agency said.

Also on August 4, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that it had fired a barrage of rockets from the southern Gaza Strip towards the town of Gan Yavne and the city of Ashdod in central Israel in response to massacres targeting Palestinian civilians and resistance leaders.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), five rockets were detected flying from the southern Gaza Strip into the country, one of which fell in the city of Ashkelon, but no casualties were reported.

So far, the Israel-Hamas conflict that broke out last October has caused the deaths of 39,583 people and injured 91,398.