The drone struck a military post belonging to Hamas in the Rafah area, near where the protest occurred, according to the spokesperson…reports Asian Lite News
The Israeli military struck a Hamas post near the Gaza-Israel border, saying the airstrike was a response to an earlier petrol bomb thrown at an Israeli military post.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military said on Tuesday in a statement that the strike by an unmanned aerial vehicle was launched “in response” to “a violent riot at the security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip”.
During the protest, a suspect hurled a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli military post near the fence, which set the military post alight, Xinhua news agency reported.
The drone struck a military post belonging to Hamas in the Rafah area, near where the protest occurred, according to the spokesperson.
The strike is one of the series that Israel has launched amid the near-daily protests at the border by the Palestinians for nearly two weeks.
Israeli police stand guard at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, on April 5, 2023.. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua/IANS)
Tensions have been high in the region following Israeli police raids at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, triggering clashes with Palestinian worshippers, and sparking a fresh round of cross-border strikes between Israel and Gaza militants earlier this week…reports Asian Lite News
Israel announced that all crossing points of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip would remain closed until Thursday for security reasons. Entry permits to Israel for working purposes or for Ramadan prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem during the period will be canceled, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement.
It was decided upon “an operational situation assessment” that the closure, originally planned to be lifted overnight on Saturday, will be in place until the end of the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover, according to the statement.
Gallant also instructed the defence establishment to allocate more resources and soldiers to enforce the activities of the Israeli police.
The decision came after two deadly attacks which Israel deemed as acts of terror by Palestinians. On Friday, two British-Israeli sisters were killed and their mother seriously injured in a drive-by shooting attack in the West Bank Jordan Valley. At night, an Arab citizen of Israel rammed his car at a group of tourists at Tel Aviv’s coastal promenade, killing an Italian tourist and injuring seven others.
Fire and smoke are seen following an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on April 7, 2023. Israel on Friday intensified airstrikes on military posts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, in response to rockets fired from the areas at several parts in Israel, escalating tensions with Palestine over the past three days after Israeli police forcibly expelled Palestinian worshippers from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)
Tensions have been high in the region following Israeli police raids at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, triggering clashes with Palestinian worshippers, and sparking a fresh round of cross-border strikes between Israel and Gaza militants earlier this week.
Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war and has continued to control these territories, where Palestinians hope to establish their future state.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian armed forces said that a rocket exploded in the air over Jordanian territories near the border with Syria, and no injuries were reported.
The army said around 10:25 p.m. local time (GMT 1925) on Saturday, a rocket exploded in the air over Wadi Aqraba Valley in Irbid governorate, which led to its shrapnel falling on the ground in the same area.
The army said no loss of lives or properties was reported, adding that the Royal Engineering Corps’ teams headed to the site to deal with the incident.
The army added that they are closely following up on the situation in the area
More Killings
A Palestinian was killed on Saturday during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the village of Azzoun, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya, Palestinian medics and eyewitnesses said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a press release that A’ahead Isleem, 20, was shot in the chest and abdomen by Israeli soldiers and died later on the way to the hospital. No other injuries were reported, the statement added.
Palestinian eyewitnesses said the incident took place during clashes in the village between stones-hurling Palestinians and Israeli soldiers, who responded with teargas, stun grenades, and live ammunition.
The ministry said that since the beginning of this year, the Israeli army and the security forces have killed 95 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including 17 children and a woman.
Official Israeli figures said that 18 Israelis were killed in a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians.
Meanwhile, the official Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported that four Palestinians were injured Saturday in an attack by Israeli settlers on Palestinian vehicles at the north entrance to the city of Al-Bireh in the West Bank.
The report said that several Israeli settlers hurled stones at Palestinian vehicles as they crossed the Israeli military checkpoint of Beit El at the north entrance to the city, injuring four Palestinian passengers and damaging their vehicles.
Israel, which occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967, has constructed dozens of Israeli settlements since then. According to official Palestinian figures, more than 500,000 settlers live there. The international community considers Israeli settlement illegal.
Fire and smoke are seen following an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on April 7, 2023. Israel on Friday intensified airstrikes on military posts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, in response to rockets fired from the areas at several parts in Israel, escalating tensions with Palestine over the past three days after Israeli police forcibly expelled Palestinian worshippers from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)
On Friday night, a tourist was killed and five others were injured during a shooting and run-over attack in the Israeli capital city of Tel Aviv,
Tensions have remained high despite an easing of the fightings between Israel and militants in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, lowering fears of a major escalation in the region.
On Friday night, a tourist was killed and five others were injured during a shooting and run-over attack in the Israeli capital city of Tel Aviv, reports Xinhua news agency.
The attacker was identified as an Arab citizen of Israel from Kafr Qasim, east of Tel Aviv, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported.
Also on Friday, two British-Israeli sisters, aged 16 and 20, were killed in a drive-by shooting in the northern West Bank, and their mother was critically injured, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service.
Following the attack in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the border police and military to call up reserve forces “in the wake of terrorist attacks,” according to a statement issued by his office.
Friday’s Ramzan prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem concluded without any major incidents after consecutive nights of violence.
Israel lifted the high alert level in the south, which had required residents in communities near the Gaza Strip to stay indoors and close to shelters.
However, Israel’s Chief of the General Staff called up reservists, particularly from the Air Force, citing concerns of further escalation.
Fire and smoke are seen following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, on April 7, 2023. Israel launched an airstrike on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza Strip late Thursday night, in response to earlier rocket attacks from Lebanon. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
On Thursday, militants in Lebanon fired 34 rockets at northern Israel, in the largest rocket attack since the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.
The attack injured two civilians and caused damage to several buildings and cars.
Israel accused Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs Gaza, of being responsible for the attack.
In response, Israel carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip late Thursday night, targeting Hamas sites.
The escalation was triggered by two consecutive days of Israeli raids at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.
Israeli police forces fired gas canisters and stun grenades at Palestinian worshipers.
It came during a sensitive time when Muslims are observing the holy month of Ramzan with prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, while Jews were commemorating the Passover holiday.
Despite the heightened tensions, conflicting sides expressed a desire to avoid a full-fledged war, with Israel’s army spokesman stating that “quiet will be answered with quiet” during a press briefing.
The peacekeeping UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has appealed for calm and stated that it was in contact with Israeli and Lebanese authorities.
Israel has struck two tunnels, first, one is located in the northern Gaza city of Beit Hanoun and the second one is near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis…reports Asian Lite News
In response to a major rocket attack, Israel on Friday launched airstrikes in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon amid escalating tensions in the region.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it “struck targets including terrorist infrastructures belonging to Hamas in southern Lebanon”.
It has struck two tunnels, first, one is located in the northern Gaza city of Beit Hanoun and the second one is near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
“The IDF will not allow the Hamas terrorist organisation to operate from within Lebanon and hold the state of Lebanon responsible for every directed fire emanating from its territory,” the statement said.
This comes in retaliation after 34 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel late Thursday night, said the IDF.
It said that 25 rockets were intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array, while five landed in Israeli territory and four additional launches were under review.
Meanwhile in the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes stepped up airstrikes with around 20 missiles hitting four new sites in 10 minutes, the BBC reported.
Meanwhile, Hamas, the militant organisation which controls the besieged Palestinian enclave, said that it was not aware of who launched the rockets into Israel from Lebanon.
The attack was the biggest single barrage from Israel’s northern neighbour in 17 years.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Lebanon when the rockets were launched, said Palestinians would not “sit with their arms crossed” in the face of Israeli aggression.
Tensions remain high after Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on consecutive nights earlier this week.
The violence first broke out on Tuesday night during a sensitive holiday time when tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers observe the holy month of Ramzan through prayers at the hilltop compound.
Below the compound, scores of Jewish pilgrims commemorate the Passover holiday with prayers at the Western Wall.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site for Muslims and the most sacred place for Jews.
In the past, the shrine has often seen clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli security forces, triggering wider unrest.
In May 2021, an Israeli raid here contributed to an 11-day full-scale conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist militant group which governs the Gaza Strip.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called on countries in the Arab world to help Lebanon overcome its unprecedented crisis, the Council of Ministers said in a statement
Lebanon rejects military escalation
Lebanon rejects any military escalation from its lands and the use of Lebanese territories to carry out operations that may jeopardise the country’s stability, said Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Mikati’s remarks on Thursday came following the rocket attacks launched from Lebanon at Israel, hours after Israeli police forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City for a second consecutive day, triggering fresh clashes with Palestinian worshippers.
“Lebanon is committed to UN Resolution 1701 and the close coordination between the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),” the Lebanese Prime Minister was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Council of Ministers.
Meanwhile, the UNIFIL issued orders to civilian and military staff to resort to shelters inside their bases amid the escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, Xinhua news agency reported.
“UNIFIL’s peacekeepers continue to perform their duties and do everything they can during this day of an explosive and dangerous situation,” the UNIFIL said in a statement released by the National News Agency.
On Thursday evening, three new rockets were fired from the Lebanese district of Marjeyoun into northern Israel. It came after dozens of rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon, prompting the Israeli Army to shell the outskirts of the southern Lebanese town of al-Qulayla with artillery.
This was one of the worst rocket attacks at northern Israel since the full-fledged war between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese group, in 2006.
Israeli fighter jets bombarded military facility in Gaza
PIJ had fired rockets at the country in retaliation for attacks killing of its high-ranking members in the Gaza Strip…reports Asian Lite News
A ceasefire between Israel and the militant organisation Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip came into force at around Sunday midnight, after both sides confirmed they agreed to it.
However, the PIJ said it was insisting on its right “to respond to any Israeli aggression”. Israel also stressed that it “maintains the right to respond strongly” if the ceasefire is violated.
The ceasefire comes after a targeted Israeli military operation that killed several high-ranking PIJ members in the Gaza Strip, including military chief Taisir al-Jabari and Islamic Jihad’s southern commander, Khaled Mansour.
PIJ had fired rockets at the country in retaliation for attacks killing of its high-ranking members in the Gaza Strip.
A high-ranking delegation from Egypt had arrived in Gaza on Sunday evening, to negotiate a potential deal.
Cease fire attempt fails
Israel said militants in the Gaza Strip continued on Sunday night to fire rockets at southern Israel despite a reported Egypt-brokered cease-fire.
Israel’s Home Front Command said in a notice that several rockets were fired at southern Israel “minutes” after 8 p.m. local time, which is the reported time for an Egypt-brokered cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.
The notice said PIJ militants fired barrages of rockets at Tel Aviv and other cities in central Israel.
Rocket sirens were heard in the communities of Kisufim, Ein Ha’shlosha, Nirim and Zikim near the Gaza border and the residents were instructed to stay inside shelters.
In the southern city of Ashkelon, a rocket hit a factory, injuring a Palestinian worker from the West Bank city of Hebron, state-owned Kan TV news reported. Magen David Adom emergency health service said in a statement that the man sustained moderate-to-light injuries.
At least 41 Palestinians, including 11 children and four women, have been killed, and 311 injured since Israel began an offensive on the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to a statement released by the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza on Sunday evening.
Israeli media earlier reported at least eight Israelis were injured by rockets fired by PIJ militants from Gaza into southern Israel.
Rockets fired by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas from Gaza City towards Israel. (Photo Mohammed Talatene_dpa_IANS)
Fearing reprisals for al-Jabari’s killing, Israel closed its border with Gaza causing a fuel shortage at Gaza’s sole power plant that forced it offline on Saturday…reports Asian Lite News
The UN Security Council (UNSC) is to discuss Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza in a closed doors session in New York on Monday, as the death toll continued to rise, with 24 people confirmed dead and 203 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The UN’s most powerful body agreed to address the attacks following requests for it to do so made by the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, France, Norway and China on Saturday, dpa news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources.
Israeli forces launched Operation Breaking Dawn on Friday, a series of targeted airstrikes on Gaza that resulted in the killing of Taisir al-Jabari, a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, among many others.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is classified as a terrorist organization by both the European Union and the United States, is closely linked to Israel’s arch-enemy Iran and is the second most powerful militia in the Gaza Strip after the ruling Hamas militant group.
Fearing reprisals for al-Jabari’s killing, Israel closed its border with Gaza causing a fuel shortage at Gaza’s sole power plant that forced it offline on Saturday.
As a result, Gaza residents are now limited to just four hours of electricity a day, compared to the previous 12, in what an energy company official described as a “catastrophic situation.”
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that they were gearing up for a “week of operations” against Palestinian militants, as a barrage of retaliatory missiles were fired from Gaza towards Israel.
The Israeli military said that while 190 rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel since Friday, they had all either fallen short of Israel, landed in uninhabited areas or been intercepted by the country’s Iron Dome defence system.
The strikes on terrorist targets in Gaza continued on Saturday, Israel said. Three residential buildings were hit by the attacks, destroying one five-storey apartment building. Residents reported that Israeli drones fired a warning shot at the building before fighter jets attacked it.
Meanwhile, five children and an adult were killed in an attack on the Jabalia refugee camp to the north of Gaza City on Saturday, according to Palestinian reports.
The Israeli military denied it was responsible for the attack, however: “Based on military data, it appears that the event was due to an errant Islamic Jihad missile,” the Israeli military said, adding that it had not been carrying out strikes on Jabalia at the time of the attack.
A spokesperson for Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that there was video footage documenting the incident, adding: “The world should be outraged that this terror group is targeting innocent Israelis and killing innocent people in the Gaza Strip.”
Egypt has offered to mediate ceasefire talks between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad faction in Gaza, an Egyptian security source told dpa, adding that an Egyptian team was preparing to travel to Israel and Gaza in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.
Egypt has often acted as a mediator between the Israelis and Palestinians. In 2021, Cairo successfully brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, ending 11 days of fighting.
Israeli fighter jets bombarded military facility in Gaza
Around 550 megawatts of electricity are needed daily to cover the needs of the approximately 2 million residents. Recently, however, only 180 megawatts were available….reports Asian Lite News
The sole power plant in the Gaza Strip has been knocked offline due to a lack of fuel, electricity officials said.
As a result, the power supply in the Palestinian territory will be reduced from the previous 12 hours to four hours, dpa news agency quoted the officials as saying on Saturday.
Israel closed its border with Gaza to goods and people early in the week, fearing reprisals after the arrest of a Palestinian militant leader in the West Bank.
An electricity company official said the plant’s shutdown was leading to a “catastrophic situation” in Gaza, noting the impoverished territory had already been suffering from insufficient electricity.
Around 550 megawatts of electricity are needed daily to cover the needs of the approximately 2 million residents. Recently, however, only 180 megawatts were available.
Palestinian security sources said that Israel originally intended to reopen the crossing for the import of limited amounts of fuel, but withdrew the decision at the last minute.
This was preceded by mediation attempts, according to the sources.
Tensions soared on Friday after Israeli forces launched a large-scale military operation against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in the Gaza Strip.
At least 24 people have been killed in airstrikes, including senior leader Taisir al-Jabari, according to Palestinian health officials.
Palestinian militants responded by firing rockets at Israel, almost all of which either fell in unpopulated areas or were intercepted by the Iron Dome defence system.
In Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, women and children were trapped under rubble following an Israeli strike, the strip’s civil defense unit said…reports Asian Lite News
The death toll from escalating violence in Gaza had risen to 29 on Sunday, including six children, as Israel extended its bombardment of Palestinian militants who have retaliated with a barrage of rockets.
The updated count from health authorities in the Hamas Islamist-run territory said six children were among those killed since the start of the “Israeli aggression” on Friday, in addition to 253 people injured.
But Israel said it had “irrefutable” evidence that a stray rocket from Islamic Jihad militants had been responsible for the death of multiple children in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on Saturday. It was not immediately clear how many children were killed in the incident in Jabalia.
Israel’s military has warned its aerial and artillery campaign against Islamic Jihad could last a week, but Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said Cairo is talking “around the clock” with both sides to ease the violence.
Israel has said it was necessary to launch a “pre-emptive” operation against Islamic Jihad, as the group was planning an imminent attack following days of tensions along the border with Gaza.
Civilians meanwhile took refuge in air raid shelters on the Israeli side, with AFP journalists hearing sirens warning of incoming fire in the Tel Aviv area on Saturday evening.
In Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, women and children were trapped under rubble following an Israeli strike, the strip’s civil defense unit said.
Rescue workers were digging through the site where a top Islamic Jihad commander, Khaled Mansour, was reportedly targeted by an Israeli strike on Saturday.
There was no specific confirmation of Mansour’s death, but the head of the Israeli army’s operations directorate, Oded Basiok, said in a statement that the entire “senior leadership of the military wing of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza has been neutralized.”
Daily life in the strip has come to a standstill, while the electricity distributor said the sole power station shut down due to a lack of fuel after Israel closed its border crossings.
Gaza’s health ministry said the next few hours will be “crucial and difficult,” warning it risked suspending vital services within 72 hours as a result of the lack of electricity.
In Gaza City, resident Dounia Ismail said Palestinians have become accustomed to preparing a “survival bag” of items such as money and medicine.
“This latest escalation brings back images of fear, anxiety, and the feeling that we are all alone,” she told AFP.
On the Israeli side of the frontier, the Magen David Adom emergency service said two people were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds and 13 others were lightly hurt while running for safety.
In Kibbutz Nahal Oz, an Israeli community beside the Gaza border, resident Nadav Peretz said he has been “in the bomb shelter or around it” since Friday.
“We recognize that on the other side too there is an uninvolved civilian population, and on both sides children deserve to enjoy their summer vacation,” the 40-year-old said.
Islamic Jihad is aligned with Hamas, but often acts independently. Both are blacklisted as terrorist organizations by much of the West.
Hamas has fought four wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, including the conflict last May.
A flare-up with Islamic Jihad came in 2019, following Israel’s killing of Baha Abu Al-Ata, Jabari’s predecessor. Hamas did not join the fray in that conflict.
Hamas’s moves now could prove crucial, with the group facing pressure from some to restore calm in order to improve economic conditions in Gaza.
The UN humanitarian chief for the occupied Palestinian territories, Lynn Hastings, urged the warring sides to allow “fuel, food, and medical supplies” to be delivered to Gaza amid the worsening crisis.
On Friday, the health ministry reported “a five-year-old girl” was among those killed by Israeli fire.
The girl, Alaa Kaddum, had a pink bow in her hair and a wound on her forehead, as her body was carried by her father at her funeral.
The Gaza strikes follow the arrest in the occupied West Bank of two senior members of Islamic Jihad, including Bassem Al-Saadi, whom Israel accuses of orchestrating recent attacks.
Israel on Saturday broadened its operation against Islamic Jihad, announcing the arrest of 19 people in the West Bank it said were members of the group.
Israel has conducted a wave of often deadly raids in the West Bank since mid-March in response to lethal attacks on Israelis.
UN agency launches summer camps for children in Gaza with joy, relaxation … a special report by Sanaa Kama
With the start of school breaks in Gaza, many children have enrolled in summer camps set up by UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in an effort to alleviate conflict-incurred psychological problems.
As many as 120,000 children aged from six to 14 have participated in the summer camp program which started on Monday in 83 UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip, the UN agency said in a statement.
The camp runs for four weeks, and children can play trampolines, bouncy castles and ball games, in addition to painting and handicrafts activities.
“This camp came after a long academic season which involved a lot of pressure,” Jana Al-Najjar, an 11-year-old girl from Gaza, told Xinhua at the Jabalia Elementary Common School in northern Gaza.
“It gives me an opportunity to play, have fun, meet new friends and relax,” she said, adding the atmosphere is “wonderful” while playing sports helps the children gain self-confidence.
Salma Mohammed, another Gazan girl, told Xinhua that she used to play for hours in summer camps, a place that helps children to explore their talents and meet new friends.
Her mother Ahlam Hana said sports and cultural activities are a must for children in the Palestinian enclave, as they live in an area plagued by political and economic instability.
“The summer camps are a way to reintegrate children into society after a long year of study and the wars they lived through, and schools are the safe place in Gaza in the eyes of children,” Hana said.
Ben Majekodunmi, UNRWA officer-in-charge in Gaza, told Xinhua that last year’s military attack on the Gaza Strip damaged many children’s psychological states, which prompted the UN agency to launch summer camps as a relief measure.
“It is very important for refugee children to enjoy their basic rights to live, educate and play in a safe and stimulating environment like all children in the world,” he noted.
According to a UNRWA study conducted in the wake of heavy fighting in Gaza between Palestinian factions and Israel in May 2021, 35 percent of surveyed first-grade children showed traumatic reactions.
Apart from calming children, the summer camps also provide 2,750 part-time job opportunities for graduates of both sexes in the field of psychological support and health education, according to UNRWA.
Palestinian people protest against the flag march in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have joined public protests organized in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip against the flag march on Sunday. The controversial flag march through Jerusalem’s Old City took place on Sunday to mark Jerusalem Day, which commemorates the unification of the city after Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967.
