Jerusalem: Violent clashes over Jerusalem escalated dramatically with Gaza health officials saying at least 20 people, including nine children, were killed by Israeli airstrikes launched after Palestinian militant groups fired rockets close to Jerusalem
The Hamas militant group launched a rare rocket strike on Jerusalem after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at an iconic mosque.
Israel responded with airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, where 20 people, including nine children, were killed in the fighting. More than 700 Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli security forces in Jerusalem and across the West Bank, including nearly 500 who were treated at hospitals.
The rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes continued late into the night, with Palestinians reporting loud explosions close to Gaza City and across the coastal strip. Shortly before midnight local time, Israel’s military said Palestinian militants had fired around 150 rockets into Israel, of which dozens were intercepted by its missile defence systems.
The upsurge in violence came as Israel celebrated “Jerusalem Day”, marking its capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had “crossed a red line” and that Israel would respond “with great force”.
The past few days have seen the worst violence in Jerusalem for years.
Increasingly violent confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters at a compound in Jerusalem’s Old City have threatened to trigger a wider conflict.
Palestinians have been angered about restrictions on access to the compound, where the al-Aqsa mosque – the third holiest site in Islam – is housed, along with the Temple Mount – the holiest site in Judaism.
Early on Tuesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent, a humanitarian group, said more than 700 Palestinians had been injured in clashes with Israeli security forces in Jerusalem and across the West Bank.
