Israel launches deadly airstrikes on Gaza following rocket attacks by Hamas

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At least 24 Palestinians, including nine children, were killed overnight and 122 others were wounded in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in a new round of escalating tensions, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The strikes were prompted by Hamas launching dozens of rockets from Gaza toward Israeli cities as far as Jerusalem. They wounded 56 people and killed two in the coastal city of Ashkelon, Israeli officials said.

The fighting erupted after days of clashes in east Jerusalem over possible evictions of Palestinian families in the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood. Violence on Monday between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police in and around the Al-Aqsa mosque led to hundreds of Palestinians injured along with 21 Isreali police. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged both Israel and the Palestinians to lower tensions while several Arab nations, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman called on Israel to respect international law and the right of peaceful worship.

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In case you missed it

Listen: Violence between Israel and Palestinians escalates

Palestinians run away from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City Monday, May 10, 2021.

Palestinians run away from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, May 10, 2021.

Credit:

Mahmoud Illean/AP

Hundreds of Palestinians were injured as Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. The latest clashes come as Palestinians protest court-ordered evictions in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. New Zealand is the latest nation to make a declaration about human rights abuses against Uyghur people in China. And trillions of cicadas that have been maturing underground for 17 years are starting to emerge in the eastern US.

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