Israel on brink of a ‘full-scale war’

Escalating conflict between Palestinians and Israelis claims at least 40 lives; more casualties feared

TEL AVIV: The worst Israeli-palestinian violence since 2014 saw 1,000 rockets fired at the Jewish state by Wednesday, the Gaza Strip pounded by relentless airstrikes and at least 40 people killed, fuelling fears of a descent into “full-scale war”.

In another night of escalating conflict, Palestinian militants attacked Israel’s commercial centre of Tel Aviv and other cities, while the Israeli army bombed more targets of the Hamas Islamist group in the crowded costal enclave.

The most intense hostilities in seven years have killed at least 35 Palestinians, including 12 children, and five Israelis, triggered by weekend unrest at Jerusalem’s Al-aqsa mosque compound, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

UNSC set to meet

As the UN Security Council (UNSC) readied for another emergency meeting on the bloody crisis, the UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland warned that “we’re escalating towards a full-scale war”.

“Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of de-escalation,” he said, echoing warnings from the international community.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a state of emergency in the mixed Jewish-arab Israeli city of Lod, where police said “wide-scale riots erupted among some of the Arab residents”.

Over 1,000 rockets fired

Palestinian groups, mostly Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have launched more than 1,000 rockets towards Israel since Monday evening, Israel’s army said, including hundreds at Tel Aviv.

Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes at Gaza, the Israeli-blockaded coastal enclave of two million people that Hamas controls, targeting what the army described as Palestinian military sites.

Aside from the mounting death toll, at least 230 Palestinians were wounded, many rescued from the smouldering ruins of buildings. On the Israeli side, more than 100 people have been injured, as residents across the Jewish state have been ordered to seek shelter.

Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz warned on Tuesday that “this is just the beginning” of Israel’s strikes, vowing that the operation, now dubbed “Guardian of the Walls”, would aim to restore peace “for the long-term”.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh vowed in turn that “if Israel wants to escalate, we are ready for it”.

AFP Smoke billows (left) from an Israeli airstrike on the Hanadi compound in Gaza City, controlled by the Palestinian Hamas movement; Israel’s Iron Dome aerial defence system (top) is launched to intercept a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.