Gaza Strip
In his first public statement since the start of the escalation of riots, rocket attacks and IDF retaliatory strikes, the Hamas Political Bureau head says that “Jerusalem is the central axis of struggle.”
Democrat Andrew Yang on Twitter: “I’m standing with the people of Israel who are coming under bombardment attacks and condemn the Hamas terrorists.”
Israel Police Chief Kobi Shabtai said the situation harkened back to the start of the Second Intifada: “We have not seen this kind of violence since October 2000.”
The correspondence appears to be part of the Biden administration’s efforts to restore ties with the Palestinian Authority.
“We stand united against a reprehensible enemy,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
IAF sends 80 aircraft to destroy 150 rocket-launch pits in Gaza • IDF eliminates senior terror commanders, including heads of Hamas’s rocket unit and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s anti-tank unit • Military assessment: Escalation will only intensify.
Betsy Fischer, chair of JNF-USA’s Gaza Envelope Task Force, said “the return of incendiary balloons and rocket attacks is nothing less than disturbing and heartbreaking.”
It’s “unconscionable” not to condemn Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, says Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
IDF reports that one-third of rockets launched by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad are falling inside of Gaza.
As the communities in southern Israel are bombarded with rockets and incendiary devices, President Reuvlen Rivlin opens his official residence to citizens under fire.
“We are trying to locate and kill terror operatives wherever they are,” says Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus.
The U.N. Security Council called an emergency meeting that resulted in no action as tensions escalated in Jerusalem and rockets fell on Israel from Hamas in Gaza.
