The worst military clashes in years have erupted between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Israeli military said the militants fired about 1,500 rockets in just three days, about a third of the total number fired in the 2014 Gaza war. Israel, for its part, has executed hundreds of air strikes, hitting more than 350 targets. A total of 74 people have died on both sides, including seven Israelis and 67 Palestinians.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the Palestinian death toll rose to 67, including 16 children and five women, with more than 360 injured. Israel, for its part, has killed at least seven people and wounded more than 100, including a soldier killed by an anti-tank missile and a 6-year-old child hit in a rocket attack.
The Israeli military said it conducted more raids earlier Thursday against several “strategic” Hamas facilities, including a bank and a naval forces compound.
The Israeli military also said that many more militants have died so far than Hamas has admitted. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said 30 militants have been killed since the clashes began. At least 14 militants were killed Wednesday alone, including 10 members of the “Hamas high command” and four weapons experts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said a commander in Gaza City was among the senior members of the Islamist militant group Hamas who were killed.
He added, “This is just the beginning. We will hit them in a way that they can’t imagine.”
Islamic Jihad confirmed the deaths of seven militants, and Hamas acknowledged the killing of a senior commander and several other members.
This is the worst military conflict since the 2014 Gaza war. The United Nations warned that the two countries risked an all-out war, called for an immediate cease-fire between the two sides and condemned Hamas for indiscriminately firing rockets from civilian areas in Gaza toward Israeli population centers, while also calling on Israel to exercise restraint.
White House spokeswoman Sachs said Tuesday that the U.S. condemns rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas and other terrorist groups, saying President Biden’s “support for Israeli forces exercising their legitimate right to protect themselves and their people is fundamental and will never waver.” She also said the Biden administration supports a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken also said he is sending a senior diplomat to the region to call on both Israelis and Palestinians to show restraint and stop the violence.
In addition, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency closed-door meeting Wednesday to discuss the situation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The first closed-door meeting was held on Monday, but no joint statement was issued at that time.
Russia called on the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union to hold quadripartite talks on the Israeli-Palestinian situation.
ICRC officials also urged both sides to “exercise restraint”. Ignacio Casares Garcia, head of the ICRC branch office in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that all parties to the conflict must respect international law.
So far, ceasefire efforts are underway, according to U.N. and Egyptian officials, but there are no signs of progress yet. Israeli TV Channel 12 reported late Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet authorized an expanded offensive.
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