Israel has been under rocket fire from Gaza since Monday night at 6 p.m. Hamas opened a barrage with seven rockets fired at the Jerusalem hills west of the capital, with one direct hit on a house in Kiryat Anavim, although no one was injured.
In the following hours, dozens of rockets were fired at Israeli cities surrounding Gaza, including Ashkelon, with one person slightly injured, when the car was directly hit by an anti-tank missile. Classes were canceled tomorrow in all schools in Israel, within a radius of 40 kilometers from Gaza.
In retaliation for rocket fire, the Israeli air force is attacking Hamas and jihad Islamic targets in Gaza, reporting at least three Palestinians killed.
The attacks come after weeks of tensions in Jerusalem, clashes on Temple Mount between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police, and demonstrations against the possible eviction of Palestinians from homes in Sheikh Yarrah, following a court petition by Jewish groups that the homes belonged to Jews before 1948.
Hamas threatened to attack Jerusalem at 6 p.m., unless Israeli police left the Temple Mount. But even though there were no Israeli police on the Temple Mount, and the flag marched through the Old City to mark Jerusalem Day, Hamas attacked the Jerusalem region with rockets.
The assumption is that neither Israel nor Hamas is interested in a complete conflict and that Hamas has made a great achievement in the eyes of Palestinian public opinion, positioning itself as a defender of Jerusalem. But while the latest round of rocket fire in Gaza and Israeli air retaliation are expected to last several days before the ceasefire is called off, such situations have escalated into fiercer fighting in the past than the parties planned.
Posted by Globes, business news in Israel – en.globes.co.il – May 10, 2021
© Copyright Globes Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2021
0 Comments