| Weeks of tensions in Jerusalem sharply escalated (Haaretz) yesterday as Israel carried out air strikes in Gaza in retaliation for dozens of rocket attacks by Hamas, the militant group that controls the territory, and other armed groups.
In the worst Israeli-Palestinian violence in years, twenty-four Palestinians, including nine children, were killed in the Israeli strikes (AP), Gaza health officials said. The Israeli military said fifteen Palestinian militants were killed and that at least two hundred rockets had been fired into Israel. The rocket attacks and air strikes followed violent confrontations (NYT) at East Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque, where hundreds of Palestinians and more than twenty Israeli police officers were injured. Tensions in Jerusalem have been rising over a pending court decision (WaPo) that could result in the eviction of several Arab families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for an end to the rocket attacks and de-escalation by all sides. |