World powers urge calm as Israel-Gaza violence continues
WEB DESK
Israel and Hamas exchanged heavy fire on Tuesday, with at least 25 Palestinians including 9 childern were killed in Gaza, as clashes escalated between the bitter rivals sparked by violence at Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al Aqsa Mosque compound.
Nine children were among those killed in the blockaded Gaza Strip that is controlled by Hamas and 125 people there were wounded, local health authorities said.
Israel claims the building houses the offices of top Hamas officials. The Israeli military says it gave occupants one hour to vacate the premises prior to the airstrike.
It’s unclear if there any casualties due to the airstrike.
The leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group said it will now launch rockets towards Tel Aviv in retaliation.
Rocket alarms have went off in Tel Aviv. All flights have been halted at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
In a statement, Hamas said it shot off 130 rockets at Tel Aviv and its surrounding suburbs.
Israel’s National Ambulance Service says at least one person in the Tel Aviv area has been critically injured from the rocket fire.
Iran’s Ayatollah Khamanei criticizes Israel
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized recent actions by Israel and called on Palestinians to revolt.
“Zionists understand nothing but the language of force, so the Palestinians must increase their power and their resistance to force the criminals to surrender and stop their brutal acts,” Khamenei said in a statement aired on Iranian state-run TV.
UN calls on Israel to exercise restraint, condemns rockets from Gaza
The UN called on Israel to exercise restraint in its security operations, while also condemning rocket fire from Gaza.
“Israeli security forces must exercise maximum restraint and calibrate their use of force. The indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars towards Israeli population centers is unacceptable,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said. She claimed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “saddened” by the mounting number of casualties from recent fighting.