THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Air strikes, rocket attacks push Israel, Gaza into second day of fighting

Air strikes, rocket attacks push Israel, Gaza into second day of fighting

Israel issued a statement on Saturday on what it called a failed Islamic Jihad rocket launch close to the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza which killed four children, as cross-border clash continued into a second day.

Hamas, the Islamist group which controls the enclave, said the children were among the dead from a blast close to the camp and blamed Israel.

Israel distributed a video which appeared to show a rocket being launched from Gaza at night and then veering immediately off course down into a built-up area. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.

While the Israeli strikes went on, hitting what the military said were weapons depots hidden in residential areas and destroying a number of houses, Islamic Jihad fired rocket salvoes as far as Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv.

At least 24 Palestinians, including six children, have been killed and 203 wounded during the two days of firing, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Palestinian militants fired more than 400 rockets at Israel - most of them intercepted, setting off air raid sirens and sending people running to bomb shelters. There were no reports of serious casualties, the Israeli ambulance service said.

Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid held a meeting of the ministerial committee on national security affairs (the Security Cabinet), at the Kirya in Tel Aviv at night, and issued a short statement saying that Israel will continue to act without hesitation in order to ensure the safety of its people.

The cross-border clash, which shattered more than a year of relative calm around Gaza, began when Israel launched a surprise attack on Friday, killing a senior Islamic Jihad commander and hitting a series of what it said were military targets.

 

 

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