At least 30 people were killed as fighting between Israel and Hamas escalated Tuesday. The Israeli military launched air strikes into Gaza when the militant group fired rockets at Israel.
More than two dozen Palestinians, including women and children, are believed to have been killed in the air strikes, which also resulted in the toppling of a 13-story building in Gaza. Rockets fired indiscriminately from Gaza claimed at least three lives in Israel, where the projectiles traveled as far as Tel Aviv.
The viral video showed Israel’s Iron Dome defense system lighting the night sky as it intercepted rocket fire.
This latest violence began last week after Israeli police cracked down on protesters demonstrating against the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to make way for Israeli settlers.
Amnesty International condemned the brutal repression of the demonstrators by the Israeli security forces.
During the holy month of Ramadan, Israeli security officials also stormed a mosque, leaving hundreds of people wounded. In response, Hamas militants fired at Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas “paid and will pay a very high price for its aggression,” but the US is calling for calm and de-escalation.
On Tuesday, UN Secretary General António Guterres, who had previously condemned the evictions in East Jerusalem, said he was “seriously concerned” about the “spiraling escalation” of violence.
“The Israeli security forces must exercise maximum restraint and calibrate their use of force,” said a spokesman for the secretary-general, before adding: “Indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars at Israeli population centers is unacceptable.”
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