Tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians ran high again last night. Hundreds of rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. At least two people were killed. Israel, on the other hand, has carried out a new series of bombings on the Gaza Strip. The UN Security Council is meeting today in an emergency session.
According to the Israeli army, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired more than 1,000 missiles at Israel since Monday night. About 850 of the projectiles were intercepted or landed in Israel, about 200 fell in the Gaza Strip, army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said.
In Lod, 15 kilometers from the capital Tel Aviv, two people were killed by rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip last night, including a young girl and a man in his 40s. Their car was hit by a missile fired from Gaza, police said.
In total, five Israelis have been killed by the Palestinian attacks. Dozens of people were injured. On the Palestinian side, authorities say at least 35 people have already died, including 12 children. Two hundred thirty-three people were injured.
The Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip mainly destroyed all police stations in the Palestinian strip, according to the Hamas-led Ministry of the Interior. Israel itself said that it targeted high officials of Hamas with its airstrikes.
There were also two reports of Palestinians being killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank last night. The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that a Palestinian was killed in clashes with the Israeli army in a refugee camp.
Earlier, a Palestinian source said that Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian member of the intelligence services at a military border post.
Jews and Arabs
Last night in Israel, there were heavy riots in Lod, where Jews and Arabs live together. A synagogue and dozens of cars were set on fire, and the windows of shops were smashed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a state of emergency in the city.
Border police patrols were deployed to Lod to help put things in order. And in other cities as well, such as Acre, in the north of Israel, and Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, there were severe riots. Mainly Muslims live in those two cities.
Tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians have been rising again since Monday, following manifestations by Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part of the city that Israel illegally annexed under international law.
The situation escalated yesterday evening due to airstrikes and missile strikes. According to Israel, the military is carrying out the heaviest bombing since 2014.
UN emergency session
The UN Security Council is meeting today in an emergency session to discuss the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories. This is the second meeting in three days, diplomatic sources report. According to the UN envoy to the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, Israel and Hamas are on the way to waging war on a large scale. He calls on both sides to stop the confrontations immediately.
“Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of deescalation. The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now,” Wennesland wrote on Twitter.
