The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Troops mobilised as Israel and Hamas step up attacks
Hamas has sent a heavy barrage of rockets deep into Israel as the Israelis pounded Gaza with more air strikes and called up 9,000 more reservists.
The relentless escalation of hostilities came even as Egyptian negotiators held in-person talks with the two sides, intensifying efforts at mediation.
Previous fighting between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, including a devastating 2014 war, was largely confined to the impoverished and blockaded Palestinian territory and Israeli communities on the frontier.
But this round seems to be rippling further and wider than at any time since the 2000 Palestinian intifada, or uprising, and is tearing apart the country at its seams.
While some rocket attacks have reached the Tel Aviv area, Jewish and Arab mobs have rampaged through the streets, savagely beating people and torching cars.
Flights have been cancelled or diverted from the country’s main airport.
Weary Palestinians, meanwhile, marked the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan yesterday as militants fired one barrage of rockets after another and Israel carried out waves of air strikes.
Since the rockets began on Monday, Israel has toppled three high-rise buildings that it claimed housed Hamas facilities after warning civilians to evacuate.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the death toll has climbed to 87 Palestinians, including 18 children and eight women, with 530 people wounded.
Seven people have been killed in Israel.
Among them were a soldier and a six-year-old child hit in a rocket attack.
In another sign fighting could escalate further, Israel’s defence minister approved the mobilisation of 9,000 more reservist troops, and Israel’s military spokesman said forces were massing on the border with the Gaza Strip.