Tue 19 April 2022:
Israeli airplanes began an airstrike on the Gaza Strip, claiming to have hit a weapons manufacturing facility linked to Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs the coastal enclave.
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported no casualties or injuries on Tuesday.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, stated they fired surface-to-air missiles in retaliation.
“Our air defence responded to Zionist warplanes in the skies of the Gaza Strip with surface-to-air missiles at exactly 01:35 local time (10:35 GMT) Tuesday morning,” it said in a statement.
Israeli warplanes launch a rocket attack on a position in Khan Yunis, southern of Gaza Strip.#Gaza #Palestine pic.twitter.com/qGxbQR7iju
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) April 19, 2022
The strike comes after a missile fired from Gaza into southern Israel was intercepted on Monday, the first such incident in months as tensions over the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem have risen.
There were no early reports of injuries or property damage, and no Palestinian group claimed responsibility for the rocket, which Israel claimed was intercepted by its Iron Dome interceptor.
BREAKING: Israeli warplanes are bombing Gaza, like they do almost every Ramadan. pic.twitter.com/rOg5z3CJ0d
— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) April 19, 2022
Another video showing the Israeli airstrikes targeting Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/a93xsZFDn5
— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) April 18, 2022
After Israeli police entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem multiple times in recent days, arresting hundreds of Palestinians and injuring dozens more, Hamas warned that any event there would be a “red line.”
Palestinians accuse Israel of encroaching at Al-Aqsa during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Israel says Palestinian protesters seek to disrupt Muslim prayer for political ends and to prevent visits by Jews, who are celebrating Passover.
The site is revered by Muslims and Jews. Israeli police have said they were committed to ensuring that members of all faiths could celebrate the holidays safely.
Prior to the rocket attack, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Hamas of waging a “wild harassment campaign” against Israel.
According to state media, Jordan’s King Abdullah II declared on Monday that Israel’s “unilateral” actions against Muslim pilgrims at Al-Aqsa Mosque had significantly harmed regional peace prospects.
The monarch was speaking with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when he made remarks blaming Israel for “provocative acts” in the mosque compound that violated “the legal and historic status quo” of the holy shrines.
At least 152 Palestinians were injured by Israeli police inside the mosque compound on Friday, the latest incident in a wave of violence that has sparked worries of a return to wider bloodshed.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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