Hamas will receive blows it did not expect, says Israel PM Netanyahu

The cross-border violence, which erupted on Monday following weeks of rising tensions in the contested city of Jerusalem, is the worst the region has experienced in years

Hamas will receive blows it did not expect, says Israel PM Netanyahu

Rockets are launched towards Israel from Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Palestinian Hamas movement, on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

Hundreds of rockets were fired upon Israel from Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip throughout Tuesday, as Israel pummelled the tiny coastal territory with airstrikes and the death toll mounted on both sides.

The cross-border violence, which erupted on Monday following weeks of rising tensions in the contested city of Jerusalem, is the worst the region has experienced in years. More than two dozen Palestinians have been killed in the last day, including several children. Three Israelis died from Gaza rocket fire on Tuesday, DPA news agency reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks on Gaza, which have targeted some 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad positions since Monday, would intensify. “This operation will take time, but we will bring security back to the citizens of Israel,” he said late on Tuesday. Hamas, which rules the coastal strip, would “receive blows it did not expect,” Netanyahu had said hours earlier in remarks after a meeting with military officials.

An Israeli military spokesperson said that at least 20 members from the two groups have been killed so far in Gaza, including senior officials, and some 150 missile-launchers had been destroyed. Many of the targets were located in places where civilians reside, spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said, so civilian casualties could not be ruled out, though the army was trying hard to avoid them. Rocket warning sirens were a persistent sound across Israeli communities. The greater Tel Aviv area was in the cross-hairs of Palestinian militants, who sent a barrage of rockets towards the coastal metropolis, marking the heaviest attack the city has faced so far.

Pakistan PM reiterates support for Palestine

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday took to Twitter to reiterate his support for the people of Palestine, denouncing atrocities being committed by Israel. The death toll from the Israeli air strikes in Gaza strip has risen to 35. The tense atmosphere in Jerusalem over the past couple of days reached a crescendo on Tuesday when Israeli planes bombed Gaza following reports of rockets being fired into Israeli territory, Geo TV reported.

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