Israeli fighter jets have attacked high-rise buildings and other targets in the Gaza Strip as Palestinians in the besieged enclave woke up on Thursday to mark the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday under relentless aerial bombardment.
Since the Israeli offensive began late on Monday, Gaza’s health ministry says at least 109 people, including 28 children, have been killed. More than 480 others have been wounded.
At least seven Israelis have also been killed. The Israeli army said hundreds of rockets have been fired from Gaza towards various locations in Israel and they have added reinforcements near the enclave’s eastern lands.
There have also been more violent confrontations between Jewish Israelis and Palestinian citizens of Israel in several cities inside Israel.
Here are the latest updates:
Egypt delegation in Tel Aviv for ceasefire talks
An Egyptian delegation is in Tel Aviv for talks with Israeli officials as part of efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the escalating conflict with Gaza, Egyptian intelligence officials said.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to brief the media. The same delegation met with Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip first, they said, and crossed into Israel by land. Egypt has played a mediating role in the past between the sides.
‘Our weapons are for sake of our land, to defend our people’: Hamas
The spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, warned Israel there are “no red lines if al-Aqsa is violated”.
Abu Obeida said the decision to bomb Dimona, Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities “is easier for us than drinking water”.
“We reassure our people that we have more rockets in our inventory, and our missile strikes have revealed the enemy’s fragility,” he said.
As Israel is preparing ground troops east of the Gaza Strip, Abu Obedia said the Israeli army will sorely regret carrying out a ground invasion.
“Our weapons are for our land, for the defense of our people and victory for our sanctities,” the military spokesman said,
“What distinguishes this battle is the solidarity of the Palestinians across the country and their unanimous support for resistance.”
Lufthansa suspends flights to Tel Aviv through Friday
German airline Lufthansa said it was suspending all flights to Tel Aviv through Friday, May 14.
“Lufthansa is closely monitoring the current situation in Israel and continues to maintain a close exchange with the authorities, security service providers and our own staff on the ground,” read a statement from the company.
Lufthansa said it expected flights to Israel to resume on Saturday, May 15.
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz ordered a “massive reinforcement” of security forces to help contain deadly internal unrest that has rocked mixed Jewish and Arab communities across the country.
“We are in an emergency situation due to the national violence and it is now necessary to have a massive reinforcement of forces on the ground, and they are to be sent immediately to enforce law and order,” he said.
He specified the forces would be reservists from Israel’s border police, a force that largely operates in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli army wounds 35 in occupied West Bank
At least 35 Palestinians were wounded in confrontations with the Israeli army in various locations in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim reported.
Ibrahim said that the majority of people were hit by live ammunition and that most injuries occurred in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
“It was an exceptionally high number of injuries by live fire which shows us that the situation could be escalating rapidly,” she added.
Al Jazeera
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