Sat 16 July 2022:
As US President Joe Biden continued his trip to the Middle East, which included Israel and Saudi Arabia, Israel launched multiple missile strikes against Gaza in response to rocket launches from the region.
The Hamas-run rocket factory in central Gaza was struck early on Saturday, according to the Israeli military, which controls the blockaded territory.
Al Jazeera’s Youmna ElSayed, reporting from Gaza, said people were woken up by the sound of the explosions and that more than a dozen missiles had targeted two separate locations in the territory.
She added that while no one had been reported injured, “there was a lot of material damage. We could see a lot of fires at the site and the land surrounding it.”
Most of the area around the site was agricultural, she said.
Israeli warplanes strike Gaza City#Gaza pic.twitter.com/AJFHwyIPqk
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) July 16, 2022
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said it was no coincidence that the Israeli raids took place right after Biden’s visit to Israel.
“This escalation, which came immediately after US President Biden’s visit to the Zionist entity, reflects the amount of American support and encouragement that the Israeli occupation has received for the continuation of its aggression and the perpetration of its crimes,” he said in a statement.
Earlier, sirens sounded in southern Israel twice, to warn residents of incoming rockets.
Israeli warplanes target several sites in Gaza Strip at dawn. pic.twitter.com/MFnjzR5256
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) July 16, 2022
One was intercepted and three landed in open spaces, the Israeli military said.
No group has claimed responsibility for launching the rockets.
After a brief period of relative calm, Israel launched missiles into Gaza last month, this time following rocket launches from the besieged territory. Although it claimed to have targeted Hamas military installations, the missiles, according to Palestinian authorities, fell on farmland.
Israeli warplanes target several sites in Gaza Strip at dawn. pic.twitter.com/k7HVEESWZJ
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) July 16, 2022
Israel attacked Gaza for 11 days in May 2021, killing 253 Palestinians, including 66 children, and injuring over 1,900 others.
During the same period, rockets fired from Gaza by Hamas and other armed groups killed at least 12, including three foreign workers and two children.
US President Joe Biden vowed on Friday during a trip to Israel and the occupied West Bank to continue working toward peace, but he made no fresh suggestions to restart the process.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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