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Rocket fire, air strikes continue between Palestinians, Israelis | Israel-Palestine conflict News

STORY DEVELOPMENT,

This week’s battles began when Israel launched air strikes that simultaneously killed three Islamic Jihad commanders along with several of their wives and children while they were sleeping in their homes.

Israeli warplanes hit targets in the Gaza Strip and multiple rockets were launched by Palestinians at Israel as deadly confrontation continued for a fourth straight day.

There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side on Friday as foreign mediators pushed for a ceasefire.

Al Jazeera reporter Willem Marx, reporting from the Israeli town of Ashkelon, said sirens had sounded throughout the area, warning residents of the upcoming fires.

“Probably about two dozen rockets were fired from Gaza – out of more than 800 launched this week,” Marx said. “The Israeli military has confirmed to us that they are moving residents away from these areas to places that are less likely to be hit by this heavy missile fire.”

The sound of warplanes was heard flying over the area, indicating that Israeli air strikes were still continuing. The past few days of fighting have killed 31 Palestinians in Gaza and a 70-year-old man in central Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with military and intelligence officials early Friday. “That will show how the Israeli military will proceed in the coming hours,” Marx said.

Josh Hasten, a spokesman for the region, said a rocket landed in an open field in the settlement of Bat Ayin, south of Jerusalem. Videos show Israelis jumping out of their cars and crouching beneath highway tracks as sirens sound.

A group consisting of Palestinian factions based in Gaza known as the “joint operations room” said it had launched the rockets “in response to assassinations and continued aggression against the Palestinian people”.

Youmna El Sayed by Al Jazeera, report from Gazasaid people were out for Friday prayers but concerns about Israeli strikes echoed among worshipers.

“There is always fear here. We expect everyone to stay home after Friday prayers, but residential areas have been targeted over the past few days. The level of fear here is still very high,” she said.

INTERACT - How big is Gaza-MAY11_2023

‘We were shocked’

During the lull in fighting, the Palestinians surveyed the wreckage caused by Israeli attacks.

“The dream we built for our children, for our sons, is over,” said Belal Bashir, a Palestinian living in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. .

“Our situation is the same as any Palestinian citizen whose home was their goal and dream, built over the years, destroyed.”

He and his family could have been killed in the thunderous explosion if they hadn’t run out when they heard the screams, he said.

“We were shocked to learn our house was targeted,” he added as he pulled the dolls and blankets of his young children from a bomb crater.

Cross-border exchanges this week have pitted Israel against Islamic Jihad, the second-largest armed group in Gaza after the territory’s Hamas rulers.

As of Tuesday, Israel said its air strikes had killed five senior Islamic Jihad figures. Islamic Jihad retaliated with hundreds of rockets fired towards populated areas of Israel.

The Israeli military said it used airstrikes to hit at least 215 targets in Gaza, including rocket and mortar launch sites.

ceasefire negotiations

Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations worked to broker a ceasefire.

Hamas officials told local media early Friday that Egypt is ramping up diplomatic efforts to contain the war through “active contacts” with both Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Islamic Jihad figures have sent mixed signals about the cease-fire negotiations.

Senior official Ihasan Attaya complained early Friday that mediators “have not been able to provide us with any guarantees”. One key point, Attaya said, is that Islamic Jihad demands that Israel end its policy of targeted killing.

This week’s battles began when Israel launched simultaneous air strikes on Tuesday, killing three Islamic Jihad commanders along with several of their wives and children while they were sleeping in their homes.

Israel said it was retaliation for a series of rockets launched by Islamic Jihad last week following the death of one of its West Bank members, Khader Adnan, on a hunger strike while in Israeli custody.



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