Israel launches dozens of deadly strikes as 58 children now among the dead in Gaza – World News

Israel has launched dozens more air strikes as the deadly fighting in Gaza enters its second week.

Roads, security buildings, militants’ training camps and houses were all pummelled in Israeli attacks that were focused on Gaza City, witnesses said.

The Israeli military said fighter jets struck “terror targets”, after rocket barrages from Gaza were fired at the Israeli cities of Beersheba and Ashkelon just after midnight on Monday.

The Gaza Health Ministry has put the death toll at 197, including 58 children and 34 women since the violence escalated last week.

Ten people have been killed in Israel, including two children, Israeli authorities say.

The Israeli military said civilian casualties were unintentional and that its jets attacked a tunnel system used by militants, which collapsed, bringing the homes down.

On Twitter, Israel Defense Forces said: “Our fighter jets are currently striking terror targets in Gaza.”

Hamas, which began its rocket assault last Monday after weeks of tensions following a court case to evict several Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, called the strikes “pre-meditated killing”.

It also came after Israeli police clashed with Palestinians near the city’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The attacks have sparked international concern and come after an Israeli air strike in Gaza destroyed several homes on Sunday and which Palestinian health officials said killed 42 people, including 10 children, as well as persistent rocket attacks on Israeli towns.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter : “All parties need to deescalate tensions – the violence must end immediately”, after he spoke with Egypt’s foreign minister about ongoing violence in Israel, Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

At a meeting on Sunday of the UN Security Council, the US said it has made clear to Israel, the Palestinians and others that it is ready to offer support “should the parties seek a ceasefire”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s campaign in Gaza was continuing at “full force”, and that deterrence had to be achieved to prevent future conflict with Hamas, which rules Gaza.

“We are acting now, for as long as necessary, to restore calm and quiet to you, Israel’s citizens. It will take time,” he said in a televised address after his security Cabinet met on Sunday.

US President Joe Biden said his administration is working with all parties towards achieving calm.

“We also believe Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live in safety and security and enjoy equal measure of freedom, prosperity and democracy,” he said in a video aired at an event marking the Muslim Eid holiday on Sunday.

Protests erupted over the weekend in the UK as thousands gathered outside the Israeli embassy in London in support of the Palestinian people.

The crowd gathered at Hyde Park, holding banners and chanting, with similar protests in other UK cities including Glasgow on Sunday.

Organisers said “immediate action” is needed by the UK Government to help end the “brutal” violence against the Palestinian people.

In New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council that hostilities in Israel and Gaza were “utterly appalling” and called for an immediate end to fighting.

He said the United Nations was “actively engaging all sides toward an immediate ceasefire” and urged them “to allow mediation efforts to intensify and succeed.”

The Israeli military said that Hamas and other armed factions have fired more than 2,800 rockets from Gaza over the past week.

That is more than half the number fired during 51 days in a 2014 war between Hamas and Israel, the military said, and more intensive even than Hezbollah’s bombardment from Lebanon during the 2006 war between Israel and the Iran-backed Shi’ite group.

Many of the rockets have been intercepted by an Israeli anti-missile system, while some have fallen short of the border.

Hamas said its latest attacks were in retaliation for Israel’s “ongoing aggression against civilians”, including the air strike in Gaza City on Sunday that destroyed a number of homes.