Israeli fighter jets have attacked high-rise buildings and other targets in the Gaza Strip as Palestinians in the besieged enclave woke up on Thursday to mark the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday under relentless aerial bombardment.
Since the Israeli offensive began late on Monday, Gaza’s health ministry says at least 87 people, including 17 children, have been killed. More than 480 others have been wounded.
At least seven Israelis have also been killed. The Israeli army said hundreds of rockets have been fired from Gaza towards various locations in Israel and they have added reinforcements near the enclave’s eastern lands.
There have also been more violent confrontations between Jewish Israelis and Palestinian citizens of Israel in several cities inside Israel.The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has now risen to 87, including 17 children, the local health ministry has said. More than 480 others have been wounded amid the ongoing violence.
The city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip has been hit by a fresh Israeli air raid, while a barrage of rockets were launched from Gaza towards Israeli cities close to the enclave, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah, said.
“Gaza is a relatively small piece of land with two million Palestinians – one of the most condensed areas in the world so you can imagine the impact of these targets,” said Ibrahim.
“It is also such a closed zone the chances of hitting civilians gets very high as Palestinians can tell you from previous wars,” she added.
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz ordered a “massive reinforcement” of security forces to help contain deadly internal unrest that has rocked mixed Jewish and Arab communities across the country.
“We are in an emergency situation due to the national violence and it is now necessary to have a massive reinforcement of forces on the ground, and they are to be sent immediately to enforce law and order,” he said.
He specified the forces would be reservists from Israel’s border police, a force that largely operates in the occupied West Bank.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Britain wanted to see an urgent de-escalation of violence in Israel.
“Certainly we in the UK are very sad to see what is happening and the cycle of violence that now seems to be taking place,” Johnson told reporters.
Hundreds of worshippers have attended Eid prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, Islam’s third holiest site.
“We in Gaza and all of Palestine do not feel the joy of this Eid because of this devastating aggression carried out by the occupation forces on Gaza and all of Palestine in general,” said Moe’n Ahmad, a resident from Gaza.
Religious leaders called for calm on the day that marks the end of Ramadan for Muslims around the world.
“I think it’s important that we break that cycle and we end this idea of reprisals, and I think that what everybody wants to see is urgent, urgent de-escalation.”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov agreed that Israel needs to stop attacks on the Gaza Strip.
In a phone call, the two top diplomats reiterated that Israel should stop the bloodshed, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
‘Our weapons are for sake of our land, to defend our people’: Hamas
The spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, warned Israel there are “no red lines if al-Aqsa is violated”.Abu Obeida said the decision to bomb Dimona, Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities “is easier for us than drinking water”.
“We reassure our people that we have more rockets in our inventory, and our missile strikes have revealed the enemy’s fragility,” he said.
As Israel is preparing ground troops east of the Gaza Strip, Abu Obedia said the Israeli army will sorely regret carrying out a ground invasion.
“Our weapons are for our land, for the defense of our people and victory for our sanctities,” the military spokesman said,
“What distinguishes this battle is the solidarity of the Palestinians across the country and their unanimous support for resistance.”German airline Lufthansa said it was suspending all flights to Tel Aviv through Friday, May 14.
“Lufthansa is closely monitoring the current situation in Israel and continues to maintain a close exchange with the authorities, security service providers and our own staff on the ground,” read a statement from the company.
Lufthansa said it expected flights to Israel to resume on Saturday, May 15.Muslim countries must show a united and clear stance over Israel’s conflict with the Hamas movement in Gaza, said Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay as he criticised world powers for condemning violence without acting.
“What we desire is that active measures are taken,” Oktay told reporters after morning prayers marking the end of Ramadan.
“There are decisions taken repeatedly at the United Nations, there are condemnations. But unfortunately no result has been obtained, because a clear stance is not displayed.”
