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Israeli soldier in Hebron, West Bank: conflict reignited during the fasting month of Ramadan
Photo: ABED AL HASHLAMOUN / EPA
Within a few days, a conflict that began in Jerusalem has gripped large parts of Israel.
According to the Israeli army, militant Palestinians have fired more than 1,800 rockets from the Gaza Strip since Monday.
Israel responded with military strikes - in turn, the air force and artillery bombed around 750 targets in the Gaza Strip.
Fireballs rose over Gaza City in the night.
Several houses were destroyed or badly damaged.
Dozens of rockets were fired again from the Gaza Strip at the southern Israeli coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon as well as in the vicinity of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
During the night, the Israeli military took action against a tunnel system operated by the radical Islamic Hamas.
However, no Israeli soldiers entered the Gaza Strip;
the army had erroneously reported the transfer of soldiers to the Gaza Strip.
The mission ended after 40 minutes and marked a further escalation in the conflict.
It is the fiercest skirmishes between Israel and Palestinian militants since 2014. An end to the violence is not in sight, rather fears of a new Gaza war are growing.
It is not just the military and Hamas who are increasingly fighting against each other.
Jewish and Arab Israelis also attack each other (read more about this here).
Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been increasing massively for days, and the conflict reignited during the fasting month of Ramadan.
Police barriers in the old city of Jerusalem were viewed as humiliation by many young Palestinians.
Restrictions on access to the Aqsa Mosque site during Ramadan also contributed to the anger of the Palestinians.
In addition, there are clashes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah over evictions and violent clashes on the Temple Mount.
The economic consequences of the corona pandemic and the cancellation of Palestinian elections by President Mahmoud Abbas, who has held on to his office for 15 years, do not contribute to easing the situation - on the contrary (read more about the background to the conflict here.)
More than 120 dead reported
According to both sides, 127 people have died since the massive rocket fire on Israel from the Gaza Strip on Monday and the Israeli retaliatory attacks.
The Israeli air strikes killed 119 Palestinians, including 31 children, said the health ministry in the Gaza Strip, led by the radical Islamic Hamas.
In Israel, the number of deaths rose to eight according to official figures.
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The "Iron Dome" system intercepts rockets fired from the Gaza Strip
Photo: NIR ELIAS / REUTERS
In view of the current developments, concerns about a renewed war in the Middle East are also growing internationally.
The German government has strongly condemned the rocket attacks by militant Palestinians from the Gaza Strip on Israel and stressed Israel's right to self-defense.
UN Security Council deliberates on Sunday
"They are terror attacks," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert on behalf of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU).
"Nothing justifies such terror." The rocket fire had to "stop immediately," said Seibert.
A spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office said Israel's security was of the utmost importance to Germany.
For an end to the violence "it is necessary that the rocket fire against Israel is stopped immediately."
After objections from the USA, a meeting of the UN Security Council, initially planned for Friday, will now be held on Sunday.
The United States had previously asked for a postponement because diplomatic efforts were ongoing and the proposed open session, in Washington's view, could have undermined them.
"The last word has not yet been spoken and this operation will continue as long as necessary."
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Russia and Egypt have also announced that they will try to mediate to end the violence. As the news agency dpa reports, citing Egyptian security circles, Israel has so far rejected a mediation offer from Cairo. Representatives of Israel had rejected all proposals to broker a ceasefire or a temporary ceasefire, it said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message that "I said Hamas would pay a very high price."
"The last word has not yet been spoken and this operation will continue as long as necessary." Defense Secretary Benny Gantz had previously approved the mobilization of an additional 9,000 reservists.
Meanwhile, the United Nations is calling for the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip to be opened for fuel and aid deliveries.
Otherwise, the Palestinians would face even more drastic restrictions in the health system and water supply in the coming days, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva.
The two most important border crossings to the Palestinian Territory on the Mediterranean Sea have been closed by the Israeli side since May 10, according to the UN office.
The roughly two million people in the Gaza Strip already have no electricity for eight to twelve hours a day because there is too little diesel.
Humanitarian aid supplies are still available, but they could run out.
asc / dpa / AFP
