Gaza violence intensifies as Jerusalem clashes resume
Source: AP
By TIA GOLDENBERG
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s air force and Palestinian militants traded fire across the Gaza frontier early Thursday as clashes erupted again at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, worsening an escalation that has been eerily similar to the lead-up to last year’s Israel-Gaza war.
The violence along the Gaza front, fueled by the unrest between Israeli police and Palestinians in Jerusalem, appears to be the heaviest-cross-border fighting since last year’s 11-day war and comes despite efforts to prevent a repeat. A rocket fired from Gaza this week shattered a months-long period of calm that followed the war.
Palestinian militants fired two rockets toward Israel from the Gaza Strip late Wednesday and early Thursday, and Israeli aircraft hit militant targets in the seaside, Hamas-ruled enclave. One rocket landed in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, a frequent target, and another fell short and landed in Gaza, the Israeli military said. The launches set off air-raid sirens across parts of southern Israel, disrupting the quiet of the Passover holiday week.
Early Thursday, Israeli warplanes conducted airstrikes in the central Gaza Strip, local media reported. Social media posts by activists showed smoke billowing in the air. The Israeli military said the airstrikes were aimed at a militant site and the entrance of a tunnel leading to an underground complex holding chemicals to make rockets.
Israeli security forces escort a group of Jews outside Damascus Gate, in Jerusalem's Old City, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Police prevented hundreds of ultra-nationalist Israelis from marching around predominantly Palestinian areas of Jerusalem's Old City. The event planned for Wednesday was similar to one that served as one of the triggers of last year's Israel-Gaza war. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-jerusalem-middle-east-tel-aviv-gaza-strip-f9eb9b51e57ac3883de98a0c64cfa692
