By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@AP.
The Israeli military has continued its bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip on Tuesday, targeting several areas after rockets were fired from the enclave.
Health authorities in Gaza said at least 28 Palestinians – including 10 children – were killed in Israeli air strikes on the strip since late on Monday, after Hamas launched rockets from the coastal territory towards Israel.
The rocket fire came after Hamas, which rules Gaza, issued an ultimatum demanding Israel stand down its security forces from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem after days of violence against Palestinians.
Israeli police stormed the compound on Monday for a third consecutive day, firing rubber-coated steel rounds, stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinian worshippers inside the mosque in the final days of the holy month of Ramadan.
More than 700 Palestinians were hurt in Jerusalem and across the occupied West Bank in recent days.
German foreign minister condemns rocket attack on Israel:
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas condemned rocket attacks on Israel, saying they must end immediately after Hamas said it fired more than 130 rockets towards Tel Aviv in response to an Israeli air strike on Gaza.
“The rocket attack on Israel is absolutely unacceptable and must end immediately. Israel has in this situation the right to self-defence. This escalation of violence can be neither tolerated nor accepted,” Maas tweeted.
US deeply concerned by escalating violence:
US State Department spokesman Ned Price has called for calm in Israel-Palestine saying: “We are deeply concerned about the escalation between Israel and those launching rockets from Gaza and we call for restraint and for calm.”
Israel has a right to defend itself and to respond to rocket attacks. The Palestinian people also have the right to safety and security, just as Israelis do,” said Price.
“We are deeply concerned about the reported loss of life in Gaza, in Israel, including the deaths of children as well as many innocent civilians injured,” he added.
Hamas says launched 130 rockets towards Tel Aviv:
Hamas said they launched 130 rockets towards the Israeli city of Tel Aviv in retaliation for an air strike that levelled a 12-storey building in Gaza.
Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, had warned it would retaliate over the strike on the tower near Gaza’s coast, before confirming it had launched an attack on “Tel Aviv and its suburbs with 130 missiles”.
Rocket-warning sirens sound in Tel Aviv:
Rocket-warning sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and explosions were heard, said the Israeli military.
The al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, said it launched dozens of rockets towards Tel Aviv.
The group had threatened to strike Tel Aviv if Israel continues to target residential buildings in Gaza.
Arab League condemns Israeli air strikes on Gaza:
The head of the Arab League has condemned deadly Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip as “indiscriminate and irresponsible” and said Israel had provoked an earlier increase in violence by its actions in Jerusalem.
“Israeli violations in Jerusalem, and the government’s tolerance of Jewish extremists hostile to Palestinians and Arabs, is what led to the ignition of the situation in this dangerous way,” Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.
Source:News Agencies.