Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst is on the scene at the Gaza-Israel border
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday said Israel has a right to defend itself while also condemning Hamas as violence and unrest continue to intensify in the region.
McCarthy s comments come amid some of the worst fighting in years. Back-and-forth armed strikes between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces have surged following weeks of tension in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and demonstrations by Arab communities.
The situation escalated in the wake of the potential eviction of Arab families from an East Jerusalem neighborhood, reigniting a sensitive issue in the region: land ownership.
A state of emergency was announced on Tuesday night in a central Israeli city and Border Police forces were sent there as Arabs and Jews have been clashing in fresh street violence, Israeli authorities said.
The rare move followed an emergency consultation with senior security officials after days of violence in Lod, an Arab-Jewish city east of Tel Aviv, said Prime Minister s Office in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed to take a firm action against violators of law and order and to beef up the forces in the area in order to restore calm as soon as possible, said the statement.
Israel is heading for full-scale WAR , UN warns, as clashes between Jews and Arabs spark civil war in one city: 43 Palestinians and five Israelis now dead as Gaza is bombarded and Hamas rockets continue to fall Stop the fire immediately. We re escalating towards a full-scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of de-escalation, Tor Wennesland UN Special Envoy to the Middle East Peace Process tweeted
Last night s barrages levelled tower blocks in Gaza as death toll rose to 43 Palestinians, including 13 children
Rockets from suspected Hamas strongholds have killed five Israelis, including two women and a child
The worst violence in years has continued to shake Israel and the Gaza Strip after a long night of Israeli airstrikes that were met by rocket fire from Palestinian militants. The death toll now includes 48 Gaza residents, including 14 children, according to Palestinian health officials. On the Israeli side, emergency response officials say that at least six people, including one teenager, are dead. Meanwhile, Palestinian citizens of Israel poured into the streets despite the warnings of air raid sirens, burning cars and fighting with police. The escalation follows weeks of clashes and demonstrations amid rising tensions in Jerusalem. On Monday morning (local time), hundreds of Palestinians were injured in a police raid on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, one of the holiest sites in Islam. By the evening, militants in the Gaza Strip had fired rockets toward Jerusalem for the first time in years, and Israel responded with airstrikes.