Israel ramps up airstrikes as barrage of rockets from Gaza continues

Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians escalated further on Tuesday as Palestinian militants in Gaza fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, which in turn ramped up airstrikes on the coastal enclave, as unrest spread to cities and towns beyond Jerusalem.

As both sides traded airstrikes on Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation from Tel Aviv, saying, “We are in the midst of a significant operation.”

Israeli bombing raids across Gaza have killed at least 32 people, including 10 children, according to Palestinian health officials, who also said 203 people have been injured. The Israeli military said it had killed more than 15 militants.

Meanwhile in Israel, sirens wailed non-stop on Tuesday in the town of Ashkelon, where two people were killed by rocket fire, according to an Israeli military spokesman. A third person died in the town of Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening after a rocket attack, Israeli media reported citing the ZAKA emergency service.

A CNN team heard at least 50 explosions in the coastal town near Gaza, and rocket fire was also reported in the city of Ashdod. At least 17 Israeli civilians have been treated for injuries from rocket attacks, the military said.

A 13-story building collapse

A 13-story tower block in Gaza city collapsed on Tuesday night after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike, drawing vows of retaliation from militants.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the building contained offices used by Hamas across several floors, including intelligence offices of its military wing, and a research and development unit working on rockets.

The IDF also said it provided “advance warning to civilians in the building and provided sufficient time for them to evacuate the site.”

There are reports that one person on a nearby street was injured in the building’s collapse.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad promised to retaliate by firing rockets at Tel Aviv, and shortly before 9 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) sirens went off across the city and surrounding towns.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, later said the militant group had targeted Tel Aviv with 130 rockets on Tuesday night, a statement shared on Whatsapp read.

Seven people, including a 5-year-old child, were injured when a rocket struck a bus in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, according to Israeli media.

No signs of de-escalation

In the past two days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza have fired at least 500 rockets into Israel, forcing the closure of Israel’s main international airport, Ben Gurion, about fifteen kilometers east of Tel Aviv.

The militants say it is a response to the actions of Israeli police who fired stun grenades inside the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem — one of the city’s holiest sites — on Monday morning.

Hundreds of Palestinians went to hospitals for treatment after ensuing clashes with Israeli police, in the most serious violence seen in the city in weeks.

“We have the right to respond to the Israeli offensive and protect the interests of our people as long as the Israeli occupation continues the escalation,” Hamas said in a statement.

The Israeli military has conducted more than 150 strikes in Gaza as of Tuesday afternoon, according to a military spokesman, who said Israel had also called up 5,000 reserve troops to active duty to “enhance” its operation in Gaza.

A number of deaths were reported in strikes in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Among them were Amira Abdel-Fattah, 57, who was killed in her apartment along with her son who has special needs, Ibrahim al-Masri, 11, and his brother Marwan, 7, the Palestinian health ministry said. The Israeli army says it is investigating.

A Palestinian man in Gaza told CNN over the phone that the sounds of Israeli strikes throughout Monday night, as well as the sound of outgoing rocket fire, had been “horrifying.”

The man, who declined to be named, described a mood of anger in Gaza over recent events in Jerusalem. “It’s the fact the Israelis targeted Al Aqsa, during Ramadan, while people were praying” that has so riled people, he said.

The man added that Israel’s actions would only embolden support for Hamas, and that he believed militants should continue firing rockets.

Meanwhile, Arab citizens of Israel demonstrated Monday evening and Tuesday in the streets of several Israeli cities and villages, including Haifa and Lod, in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and Jerusalem.

In Lod, a 25-year-old Arab-Israeli man was shot dead by a 34-year-old Jewish resident who said he was responding to stones being thrown at him. Two people were arrested in connection with that incident, police said.

Israeli police said around 150 violent protesters had been arrested in multiple locations. Rioters attacked drivers, threw stones at passing cars, blocked roads and ignited trees tires and a car, according to police.

International community calls for calm

The United States and European Union called for a de-escalation of violence while several countries in the Middle East, including Turkey, condemned the Israeli police response to tensions in Jerusalem.

One of the main sources of growing unrest in recent days has been the possible eviction of several Palestinian families from their homes in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

Israeli police have clashed with Palestinians in the neighborhood, as well as other locations, for several weeks now, with Palestinians accusing Jewish nationalists of provocation and police of heavy-handed tactics.

Nearly a thousand Palestinians were injured in East Jerusalem, and over 200 in the West Bank, between May 7 and May 10, according to the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

On Tuesday, UN human rights experts expressed “grave concerns about Israel’s aggressive response to protests in East Jerusalem, and called on Israel, as an occupying power, to immediately lift its threat to evict hundreds of Palestinian households from their legally protected homes.”

“Re-establishing calm in Jerusalem is important, but creating the conditions for justice and equality in the City are even more important,” the experts said in the statement.

The UN also denounced Israeli airstrikes in Gaza as well as Palestinian rocket shelling.

US President Joe Biden has received a briefing from his national security adviser on the ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.

Biden had directed his team to “engage intensively” with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, she said. “His team is communicating a clear and consistent message in support of de-escalation and that is our primary focus. The President’s support for Israel’s security, for its legitimate right to defend itself and its people is fundamental and will never waver.”

She condemned Hamas rocket attacks into Jerusalem but also said “we stand against extremism that has inflicted violence on both communities.”

US officials have “spoken candidly” with Israeli officials about the eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem, Psaki said, saying they worked against shared interests of reducing violence.

“We believe Palestinians and Israelis deserve equal measures of freedom, security, dignity and prosperity,” she said.