17 kids among 87 dead in Gaza, 7 in Israel
Tensions overshadow Eid holiday in Gaza as fight between Hamas and Israeli forces continues unabated
Israeli soldiers fire a 155mm self-propelled howitzer towards the Gaza Strip from the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Thursday. Hamas sent a heavy barrage of rockets deep into Israel and Israel pounded Gaza with more airstrikes as tensions continued to escalate.
GAZA/JERUSALEM: Israeli troops massed at Gaza’s border on Thursday and Palestinian militants pounded Israel with rockets in intense hostilities that have continued to cause international concern.
With concern growing that the violence that flared on Monday could spiral out of control, the US is sending an envoy, Hady Amr, to the region. But efforts to end the hostilities appear to have made no progress.
In renewed airstrikes on Gaza which sombrely marked the end of the month of Ramadan, Israel struck a six-storey residential building in Gaza City that it said belonged to Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Palestinian enclave.
At least 83 people have been killed in Gaza since violence escalated on Monday, medics said, further straining hospitals already under heavy pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic.
An Egyptian delegation is in Tel Aviv for talks with Israeli officials as part of efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the escalating conflict with Gaza.
“We are facing Israel and Covid-19. We are in between two enemies,” said Asad Karam, 20, a construction worker, standing beside a road damaged during the airstrikes.
In the latest Palestinian rocket attacks, one rocket crashed into a building near Israel’s commercial capital of Tel Aviv, injuring five Israelis, police said. Sirens blared in cities across southern Israel, sending thousands running for shelters. Seven people have been killed in Israel, its military said.
“All of Israel is under attack. It’s a very scary situation to be in,” said Margo Aronovic, a 26-year-old student, in Tel Aviv.
Combat troops along border with Gaza
Israel has prepared combat troops along the Gaza border and was in “various stages of preparing ground operations”, a military spokesman said, a move that would recall similar incursions during Israel-Gaza wars in 2014 and 2008-09.
Health authorities in Gaza said they were investigating the deaths of several people overnight who they said may have inhaled poisonous gas. Samples were being examined and they had yet to draw any final conclusions, they said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to “continue acting to strike at the military capabilities of Hamas” and other Gaza groups. Hamas is regarded as a terrorist group by the US and Israel.
Also, Israel’s southern Ramon airport had not been targeted by Palestinian rocket fire and was operating as usual, an Israeli official said, after Hamas said it had fired a rocket at the airport. Israel had redirected some flights to Ramon airport due to the security situation.