Palestinian militants fire rockets at Israel in Gaza.MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
At least nine people have died, including three children, and several were injured on Monday in Beit Hanun, north of the Gaza Strip, in a bombardment by Israeli aviation in retaliation for the firing of rockets into Jerusalem by of the armed wing of Hamas, as reported by the Al Qasa television channel, citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The Ezzdin al Qassam brigades, affiliated with the Islamist Hamas movement, which rules Gaza de facto, fired at least seven projectiles in the direction of central Israel.
In Jerusalem, the bombing alarm sirens went off shortly after 6:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. PST).
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The Israeli army said in a statement that it had intercepted one of the rockets with the Iron Dome anti-missile defense shield, which caused explosions to be heard around Jerusalem for the first time since 2014, during the third war waged by Israel in Gaza.
The seat of the Knesset (Parliament) had to be evacuated.
Hamas had warned in a statement two hours before that if the security forces did not withdraw from the Al Aqsa mosque it would act "in retaliation for the crimes and aggression in the Holy City and the brutality against the Palestinian people."
The escalation of violence during the month of Ramadan in Jerusalem registered the day with the greatest tension on Monday. At least 305 Palestinians have been injured, of which 228 have had to be hospitalized, according to the Red Crescent, in clashes with the Israeli police during morning prayer at the Al Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holy place.
Tens of thousands of Israeli nationalists and settlers marched hours later with the Star of David flag through Jerusalem's Old City. The provocative tour of the Muslim quarter from the iconic Damascus Gate, where tension soars every year, was banned by the police. The nationalist parade was finally diverted towards the Jaffa Gate, through the Christian and Armenian neighborhoods, in the direction of the Wailing Wall, to avoid passing through the most conflictive areas. The authorities finally decided to cancel the march at around 6.30 pm after the anti-missile security alerts were activated in Jerusalem.
