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world news Diaranson 12 Mei 2021

Israel, Hamas trade deadly fire as confrontation escalates

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip The barrage of rockets and Another strike hit a high-rise the border with Israel, Con- were members of a single
(AP) — A confrontation airstrikes was preceded by as people were conducting ricus said. He did not address family, including three chil-
between Israel and Hamas hours of clashes Monday be- dawn prayers, killing a wom- Gaza Health Ministry reports dren, who died in an explo-
sparked by weeks of ten- tween Palestinians and Israeli an, her 19-year-old disabled about the dead children. sion in the northern Gaza
sions in contested Jerusa- security forces, including son and another man, resi- town of Beit Hanoun. It
lem escalated Tuesday as dramatic confrontations at dents said. Health officials In Gaza, most of the deaths was not clear if the blast was
Israel unleashed new air- Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque confirmed the deaths. were attributed to airstrikes. caused by an Israeli airstrike
strikes on Gaza while mil- compound, a sacred site to However, seven of the deaths or errant rocket.
itants barraged Israel with both Jews and Muslims. The The escalation comes at a
hundreds of rockets. The current violence, like previ- time of political limbo in Is-
exchange killed a number ous rounds, including the rael.
of militants and civilians last intifada, or uprising, has
in Gaza and at least two been fueled by conflicting Netanyahu has been care-
Israelis. claims over Jerusalem, which taker prime minister since an
is at the emotional core of the inconclusive parliamentary
The barrage of rockets from long conflict. election in March. He failed
the Gaza Strip and airstrikes to form a coalition govern-
into the territory continued In a sign of widening unrest, ment with his hard-line and
almost nonstop throughout hundreds of residents of Arab ultra-Orthodox allies, and
the day, in what appeared to communities across Israel the task was handed to his
be some of the most intense staged overnight demonstra- political rivals last week.
fighting between Israel and tions denouncing the recent
Hamas since their 2014 war. actions of Israeli security One of those rivals is Is-
The fire was so relentless that forces against Palestinians. It rael's defense minister, who
Israel's Iron Dome rocket- was one of the largest pro- is overseeing the Gaza cam-
defense system seemed to be tests by Palestinian citizens in paign. It was not clear wheth-
overwhelmed. Columns of Israel in recent years. er the political atmosphere
smoke rose from many places was spilling over into military
in Gaza. In the central Israeli town of decision-making, though
Lod, police fired tear gas and the rival camps have unani-
By late Tuesday, the violence stun grenades after mourners mously expressed support for
extended to Tel Aviv, which threw rocks at officers during striking Hamas hard.
came under fire from a bar- the funeral of an Arab man
rage of rockets launched from allegedly shot to death by a The support of an Arab-
the Gaza Strip. The outgoing Jewish resident the night be- backed party with Islamist
volleys set off air raid sirens fore. Thousands took part in roots is key for the anti-Ne-
across the city. the funeral, and police said tanyahu bloc. But the cur-
the crowd set fire to a patrol rent tensions might deter the
Hamas said it launched a to- car, a bus and a motorcycle. party's leader, Mansour Ab-
tal of 130 rockets, its most in- Two police officers were in- bas, from joining a coalition
tense strike so far, in response jured. for now. The sides have three
to Israel's destruction of a more weeks to reach a deal.
high-rise building in Gaza Israel and Hamas have fought
earlier in the evening. The three wars and numerous Over the weekend, confron-
sound of the outgoing rock- skirmishes since the militant tations erupted at the Al-Aqsa
ets could be heard in Gaza. group seized control of Gaza Mosque compound, which is
As the rockets rose into the in 2007. Recent rounds of the third holiest site of Islam
skies, mosques across Gaza fighting have usually ended and the holiest site in Juda-
blared with chants of "God is after a few days, often helped ism.
great," "victory to Islam" and by mediation by Qatar, Egypt
"resistance." and others. Over several days, Israel po-
lice fired tear gas, stun gre-
Since sundown Monday, 28 Israel carried out dozens of nades and rubber bullets
Palestinians — including airstrikes, including two that at Palestinians in the com-
10 children and a woman— targeted high-rise apartment pound who hurled stones
were killed in Gaza, most buildings where militants and chairs. At times, police
by airstrikes, health officials were believed to be hiding. fired stun grenades into the
there said. The Israeli mili- carpeted mosque.
tary said at least 16 of the One strike demolished a
dead were militants. 12-story building in Gaza On Monday evening, Hamas
City that housed the offices began firing rockets from
Two women were killed by of top Hamas officials. Is- Gaza. From there on, the es-
rockets fired from Gaza that raeli drones fired a series of calation was rapid.
hit their homes in the south- warning shots at the roof to
ern city of Ashkelon — the give people time to leave the Gaza militants fired more
first Israeli deaths in the cur- building before it was de- than 500 rockets at Israel,
rent violence. At least 10 oth- stroyed. There were no im- with about one-third falling
er Israelis have been wound- mediate reports of casualties. short and landing in Gaza,
ed since Monday evening. Conricus said.
At midday, an airstrike hit a
After those deaths, Israeli building in central Gaza City, At midday, a barrage of some
Prime Minister Benjamin sending terrified residents 10 rockets whizzed above the
Netanyahu said officials running into the street, in- southern city of Ashdod, fill-
decided to "increase both cluding women and barefoot ing the skies with streaks of
the strength and rate of children. The Islamic Jihad white smoke.
the strikes" against militant militant group confirmed
groups Hamas and Islamic that the strike killed three of The military hit 130 targets in
Jihad in the Gaza Strip. its commanders. Gaza, including two tunnels
militants were digging under