Region braced for escalation in violence as attacks from both sides follow deadliest Israeli army raid in decades in Nablus
Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip have exchanged fire just hours after the deadliest Israeli army raid in decades killed 11 Palestinians and wounded more than 100 more in the occupied West Bank, leaving the region braced for an escalation in violence.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said early on Thursday morning that it had carried out airstrikes on two military sites operated by Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the strip, after the launch of six rockets from the blockaded enclave towards southern Israel.
Five of the six rockets were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system, and no casualties were reported on either side. Neither Hamas nor the smaller militant groups operating in the strip have claimed responsibility for the attack, but several factions vowed that the Israeli army’s deadly raid would be met with a response.
The attack carried out by the IDF in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday was a rare daytime raid, which turned exceptionally bloody even by the standards of recent rapidly deteriorating security in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The UN’s Middle East envoy, Tor Wennesland, was scheduled to meet the leadership of Hamas in Gaza on Thursday in an effort to de-escalate the situation.
“I am deeply disturbed by the continuing cycle of violence and appalled by the loss of civilian lives,” he said before leaving Jerusalem. “I urge all sides to refrain from steps that could further inflame an already volatile situation.
