Palestinians in Gaza mourn killing of loved ones
Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza gathered to mourn some of those who were killed in overnight Israeli raids.
Funeral processions took place for 57-year-old Amira Abdel Fattah Subuh, and her son, 17-year-old Abdulrahman, who were killed when their home was struck in al-Shati refugee camp on the edge of Gaza City.
“I bid farewell to the most precious person in my heart, my mother, and I ask God to have mercy on her,” Subuh’s son told Maan news agency.
Meanwhile, in northern Gaza, thousands gathered to mourn eight others who died overnight as a result of Israeli air strikes, including a Hamas military commander.
Hamas launches over ’70 rockets in less than 30 minutes’
Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, said Hamas’ armed wing fired their “largest barrage” yet from the enclave towards Israel.
“That’s more than 70 rockets in less than 30 minutes,” Ibrahim said, according to a statement released by Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qasaam Brigades.
In total, more than 300 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel since Monday.
The al-Qasaam Brigades earlier said Israel crossed “all red lines” in Al-Aqsa, and that it is its duty to respond.
(11:06 GMT)
Jordanian FM says maintaining peace and stability is ‘key’
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said maintaining peace and stability in Jerusalem is “key”.
“Our focus right now on ensuring that the escalation stops, and for that to happen we do believe that all illegal and provocative measures … must stop,” he said, referring to Israel’s actions in Sheikh Jarrah and in the Al-Aqsa mosque.
“The status quo needs to be preserved, and the rights of the Palestinians need to be respected.”
(10:40 GMT)
Netanyahu ‘ready to do’ anything to stay in power: Knesset member
Sami Abu Shehadeh, Palestinian Knesset member and leader of the Balad party, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allowed for an “escalation” in a bid to remain in power.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said: “In order to survive this political crisis he finds himself in now, and in order for him not to lose control and not to lose his seat as prime minister … he is ready to do anything.”
“All the escalation we are seeing now has a clear political target from Netanyahu’s point of view, and he is ready to do anything to keep himself in power including this massacre that we are going to see in Gaza,” Shehadeh said.
“What is happening here is a clear political decision that Netanyahu is responsible for to keep power.”
(10:07 GMT)
Thousands of Israeli soldiers ordered to mobilise
The Israeli army said in a statement Defense Minister Benny Gantz called in troop reinforcements near the fence with Gaza.
Gantz ordered the mobilisation of 5,000 Israeli soldiers to “deepen home front defense,” the statement said.
(09:41 GMT)
Two killed in fresh Israeli raid on Gaza
At least two people have been killed in an Israeli air strike that struck a residential building in Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood, Maan news agency said, bringing the total number of deaths to 26.
The two killed were identified as Islamic Jihad commanders. A third commander was severely injured, according to Maan.
At least five other civilians suffered wounds and were being transported to the hospital.
(09:17 GMT)
Israeli forces used ‘unwarranted, excessive force’: Amnesty
Rights group Amnesty International said that Israeli forces have used “unwarranted and excessive force” against Palestinian protesters in East Jerusalem.
In a statement, the UK-based rights group said: “Israeli forces have repeatedly deployed disproportionate and unlawful force to disperse protesters during violent raids on al-Aqsa mosque and have carried out unprovoked attacks on peaceful demonstrators in Sheikh Jarrah.”
“Israel must not be allowed to continue its rampage against Palestinians who are simply defending their right to exist and protesting against their forced displacement,” the group’s Middle East Deputy Director, Saleh Higazi, said.
(08:42 GMT)
Arab League chief condemns Israeli air strikes on Gaza
Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip were “indiscriminate and irresponsible,” Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said.
He said that Israel was responsible for a “dangerous escalation” in Jerusalem, and called on the international community to act immediately to stop the violence.
Al Jazeera
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