‘Dozens Killed, Hundreds Injured In Israel-Palestinian Clashes’
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Palestinian officials in the Gaza Strip claimed Monday that some 20 people were killed in fighting with Israel in one of the bloodiest clashes in years.
Authorities claimed there were at least nine children among the victims. Those claims could not be independently verified.
The death toll was reported after Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets toward the Jerusalem area and southern Israel on Monday.
The group confirmed it carried out a threat to punish Israel for violent confrontations with Palestinians in Jerusalem.
It expressed anger that Israel didn’t meet its demand that Israeli forces stand down in the al Aqsa mosque compound, Islam’s third most sacred site, where violence erupted.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said more than 300 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police who fired rubber bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas in the compound. Jews also revere the area as the site of biblical temples.
ISRAELI INJURIES
However, at least 21 Israeli police officers were also injured in the clashes, Israeli authorities said
Amid the turmoil, Israel’s military said it struck several Hamas targets in response to rockets fired by Hamas militants out of Gaza. It added that eight militants were attacked.
The bloodshed happened while Israel celebrated “Jerusalem Day” Monday, marking its capture of eastern sections of Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
“The terrorist organizations crossed a red line on Jerusalem Day and attacked us on the outskirts of Jerusalem,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed in a speech.
“Israel will respond very forcefully. We will not tolerate attacks on our territory, our capital, our citizens, and our soldiers. Whoever strikes us will pay a heavy price,” he warned.
Israeli Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus defended the Israeli military response despite reports of civilian casualties.
45 ROCKETS
He said at least six of the 45 rockets fired from Gaza were launched towards Jerusalem’s outskirts, where a house was hit. “We have started to attack Hamas military targets,” Conricus told reporters, putting no timeframe on any Israeli offensive. “Hamas will pay a heavy price.”
While militants and their properties were the reported targets, Hamas has come under international criticism for allegedly using civilians as human shields.
It was not immediately clear whether that had been the case during these latest clashes. The Palestinian Health Ministry did not provide a breakdown on the cause of deaths.
Conricus stressed that Israel focuses its airstrike on northern Gaza on Hamas militants but added they were looking into reports that children were killed. “We had multiple events of rockets fired by Gaza terrorists falling short. This might be the same,” Conricus added, citing another possible but unverified cause for the deaths.
Streaks of light were seen as Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted at least some rockets launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, potentially preventing more destruction. Rockets sirens wailed throughout Jerusalem and other areas of Israel. Even Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, was evacuated, Worthy News learned.
Rockets fired from Gaza last hit the Jerusalem area during a 2014 war between Israel and Palestinian militants in the territory. Separately, at the fortified Gaza-Israeli border, a Palestinian anti-tank missile fired from the tiny coastal territory struck a civilian vehicle, injuring one Israeli, Conricus added.
As tensions rose, international efforts were underway to stem the violence. Reuters news agency quoted a Palestinian official as saying that Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations, which have mediated truces between Israel and Hamas in the past, were in contact with the group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh.
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