Gaza (Reuters) Israeli forces launched overnight strikes in Gaza on Thursday after the US urged all sides to defuse escalating violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank hours after intercepting rockets fired from Gaza.
There were no immediate reports of serious casualties.
The military said airstrikes targeted missile and weapons manufacturing facilities used by Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the blockaded Strip, in response to Wednesday’s missile launch.
Violent explosions shook buildings and lit up Gaza’s night sky, while warning sirens resounded in areas of Israel around the Strip, warning of more rocket launches before dawn on Thursday.
There were no claims of responsibility for Wednesday’s rockets from Hamas, which fired rockets into Israel last week, or from the small Iran-backed Islamic Jihad movement. Militants from the left-wing Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine said they fired rockets into Israel early Thursday morning in response to airstrikes and a “systematic attack” on Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Tensions between Israel and Palestinians rose after a Palestinian gunman shot dead seven of him near a synagogue in East Jerusalem.
US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken called for calm after ending a visit to the region on Tuesday, reaffirming Washington’s support for a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict.
Barbara Leaf, the US’ top Middle East diplomat, and Hadi Amr, US Special Representative for Palestine Affairs, remained to continue de-escalation talks between the two sides.
In a tweet sent after Wednesday’s rocket launch, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gubir, who oversees the prison, said he would push forward with plans to tighten conditions for Palestinian prisoners. “The launch of rockets from Gaza will not stop me from pursuing efforts to lift summer camp conditions for murderous terrorists,” he said, urging the Security Cabinet to convene. He added that he did.
Israel has carried out nearly daily raids in the West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel last year, resulting in the killing of 35 militants and civilians in a bloody January for Palestinians.Israeli forces launched overnight strikes in Gaza on Thursday after the US urged all sides to defuse escalating violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank hours after intercepting rockets fired from Gaza.
There were no immediate reports of serious casualties.
The military said airstrikes targeted missile and weapons manufacturing facilities used by Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the blockaded Strip, in response to Wednesday’s missile launch.
Violent explosions shook buildings and lit up Gaza’s night sky, while warning sirens resounded in areas of Israel around the Strip, warning of more rocket launches before dawn on Thursday.
There were no claims of responsibility for Wednesday’s rockets from Hamas, which fired rockets into Israel last week, or from the small Iran-backed Islamic Jihad movement. Militants from the left-wing Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine said they fired rockets into Israel early Thursday morning in response to airstrikes and a “systematic attack” on Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Tensions between Israel and Palestinians rose after a Palestinian gunman shot dead seven of him near a synagogue in East Jerusalem.
US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken called for calm after ending a visit to the region on Tuesday, reaffirming Washington’s support for a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict.
Barbara Leaf, the US’ top Middle East diplomat, and Hadi Amr, US Special Representative for Palestine Affairs, remained to continue de-escalation talks between the two sides.
In a tweet sent after Wednesday’s rocket launch, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gubir, who oversees the prison, said he would push forward with plans to tighten conditions for Palestinian prisoners. “The launch of rockets from Gaza will not stop me from pursuing efforts to lift summer camp conditions for murderous terrorists,” he said, urging the Security Cabinet to convene. He added that he did.
Israel has carried out nearly daily raids in the West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel last year, resulting in the killing of 35 militants and civilians in a bloody January for Palestinians.
