Nine killed in Gaza Strip after Hamas fires rockets towards Jerusalem iwradio.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from iwradio.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
GAZA CITY: Palestinian health officials in the Gaza Strip said 20 people, including nine children, have been killed in fighting with Israel.
Israel’s army said it launched airstrikes on Monday, killing a senior Hamas commander, in response to rockets fired by Hamas amid spiraling violence sparked by unrest at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
He said Israeli forces had targeted “a Hamas military operative,” while Hamas sources in Gaza said that one of their commanders had been killed.
Tensions on the Gaza Strip border with Israel continued to mount following recent violent confrontations at Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Al Aqsa mosque compound a focal point of friction Israel marks 1967 capture of East Jerusalem (Adds rocket attacks)
By Stephen Farrell and Jeffrey Heller
JERUSALEM, May 10 (Reuters) - Hamas said it fired rockets at Israel on Monday, triggering warning sirens in Jerusalem and near the Gaza border, in an apparent response by the militant group to the injury of more than 300 Palestinians in clashes with Israeli police outside al Aqsa mosque.
Hamas, an Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, had given Israel an ultimatum to stand down its forces at al Aqsa and another Jerusalem flashpoint by 6 p.m. (1500 GMT).
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 20
Agencies
Reuters file photo
Israel has said it was striking Hamas targets in retaliation for the dozens of rockets fired on Monday from the enclave towards Israel.
At least 20 people were killed, including nine children, and 65 others wounded in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired rockets towards Israel, Hamas said.
Israel has said it was striking Hamas targets in retaliation for the dozens of rockets fired on Monday from the enclave towards Israel, but has not confirmed its strikes had caused fatalities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Hamas had crossed a “red line” by directing missiles towards Jerusalem and that the Jewish state would “respond with force”.
Children among nine killed in latest round of rocket strikes in northern Gaza iol.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from iol.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.