Israel-Gaza violence: Death toll rises in West Bank clashes

Palestinian health officials say 11 people have been killed in violence in the West Bank. The Israeli military says it has carried out airstrikes on a tunnel network in Gaza. (PIC-UNI)

Israeli airstrike kills at least 7 in Gaza

An Israeli airstrike targeting a house in Gaza has left at least seven Palestinians dead. The house is located near the Shati refugee camp. 

The numbers of casualties from the airstrike is likely to rise. Palestinians in the area say they were given no warning prior to the attack, according to AP news agency.

Palestinian outlet Wafa News Agency says at least 20 people are believed to be trapped in the rubble.

Hamas, Israel trade fire in the early morning

Hamas and Israel have continued to trade fire early on Saturday morning. 

Rockets have been fired from Gaza towards the southern Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod.

The Israeli air force said it struck three underground launch sites operated by Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip in retaliation.

Palestinian medics said two people were killed in airstrikes in northern Gaza early on Saturday, according to Reuters news agency.

UAE calls for ceasefire, Bahrain condemns Israeli military actions

The United Arab Emirates has called on the Israeli government and Hamas to commit to a ceasefire, according to the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM). 

"The UAE calls on all parties to take immediate steps to commit to a ceasefire, initiate a political dialogue, and exercise maximum restraint," UAE Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan said in a statement published by the outlet. He said the UAE is "alarmed by the escalating spiral of violence in Israel and Palestine."

The UAE normalized its relationship with Israel last year as part of the Abraham Accords, which was brokered by former US President Donald Trump's administration. 

Another Gulf nation, Bahrain, also commented on the recent violence. 

Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al Zayani held a phone call on Friday with Palestinian Authority Foreign Affairs Minister Riyadh al Maliki, according to a statement from Bahrain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Bahraini Foreign Minister condemned "attacks by the Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip" and expressed "brotherly solidarity" with the Palestinian people. 

Bahrain also normalized ties with Israel last year as part of the Abraham Accords.

Netanyahu says Arab leaders should condemn communal violence

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Arab leaders in Israel to condemn communal violence between Arabs and Jews, after rioting in Lod and other cities. 

"Groups of Arab rioters are attacking Jews all over," Netanyahu said in video remarks. 

"The reaction of Arab community leaders to this day has been very weak," he added. "Everyone should condemn it, any form of violence, of Arabs against Jews and also of Jews against Arabs. I do so without hesitating for a moment." 

Israeli police say several injured during arrests

Israeli police claim that nine people were injured, four seriously, when officers "encountered violent resistance" while carrying out "important arrests" of people they say were responsible for inciting violence.

The incident occurred in the city of Kafr Kanna when police and Shin Bet security agents were attacked with stones and gunfire as they arrested Kamal Khatib, a deputy in the Northern Branch of the Islamist Movement of Israel, which was outlawed in 2015. Earlier media reports said that five people were injured in the incident

Israeli military: Over 2,000 rockets fired from Gaza since Monday

Israel's military says more than 2,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza by Hamas since the militant Islamic group began its offensive on Monday. The army says it has intercepted roughly half of those rockets with its Iron Dome missile defense system, which identifies, tracks and engages potentially deadly incoming projectiles before these can reach their target. 

The military claims to be under strict orders only to engage those incoming missiles that pose a serious threat. One missile is reported to cost about €66,000 ($80,000) — one of the reasons they are only launched when a projectile is heading towards a populated area.

US to send aid to Palestinians, though does not name recipients

US President Joe Biden's administration has notified Congress that it intends to send $10 million (€8.2 million) in aid to Palestinian groups in Gaza and the West Bank. Though the administration did not identify specific groups, it said the money would go toward "people-to-people efforts to bring together conflict-affected groups" in projects fostering exchange and reconciliation with Israel. 

The US State Department says the money is part of the $130 million that the US has pledged to Palestinians since Biden took office, marking a sharp reversal to the previous Trump administration, which cut off aid almost entirely.  

Israel claims rockets fired from Syria

The Israeli military claims that it has identified three rockets fired at it from Syria. Military sources say that one of the rockets landed inside Syria Friday evening, though gave no information on the others. Damascus did not comment on the claim. 

Hezbollah member killed at Lebanese-Israeli border 

Lebanon's powerful Islamic militant group Hezbollah claims that a 21-year-old killed by Israeli forces Friday was a fighter with the group. The young man, who was Lebanese, was shot as he and others protesting in support of Palestinians attempted to breach a security fence at the the Lebanese-Israeli border.

West Bank death toll rises to 10

The Palestinian Health Ministry has announced that the number of people killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank had risen to 10 and that the overall death count in Gaza had climbed to 122.

Current fighting in the West Bank has been described as the most intense since the second intifada, which raged between 2000-2005.

Abbas condemns 'brutal killings' urges US and UN to help

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas holds Israel responsible for the escalating situation in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, according to a statement by his office.

The Palestinian leader condemned what he said were "brutal and programmed killings" after 10 more people were killed Friday.

A spokesperson for Abbas called on the US and the UN Security Council to, "shoulder their responsibilities to stop these attacks in order to preserve security and peace in accordance with the provisions of international law."

UN's Guterres appeals for immediate end to violence

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for the immediate "cessation of hostilities" between Hamas and Israel, warning that the conflict could, "unleash an uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis" and "further foster extremism" across the entire region. A spokesperson said the UN is "actively involved" in mediating between Palestinians and Israel to resolve the conflict as soon as possible. 

The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet Sunday. The body had planned to convene on Friday but the meeting was blocked by the US, leading China to accuse Washington of "ignoring the suffering" of Muslims.

Press freedom watchdog warns Israel on journalist safety

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Israeli forces to ensure that journalists can work safely and without fear.

It cited local media reports as saying that the destruction of the Al-Jawhara and Al-Shorouk office buildings in Gaza City had left roughly a dozen media outlets without offices in the enclave.

The statement by the CPJ made no mention as to whether any journalists had died in the strikes.

Pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Berlin

Demonstrators took to the streets in Berlin on Friday to protest Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip, the DPA news agency reports.

They waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans like "Freedom for Palestine" and "Stop the murder, stop the war."Local police said some 200 people took part in the rally. They were accompanied by more than 200 security forces.

Further rallies are set to be held on Saturday, which marks the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in 1948 from what is now Israeli territory.The Palestinians call this the Nakba, or the catastrophe.

Lebanese state media says protesters wounded by Israeli shells

State media in Lebanon report that two demonstrators have been wounded when dozens rallied on the Lebanon-Israel border to protest against Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

They were wounded "by two Israeli shells that fell near them after a number of youths tried to enter the town of Metula" in northern Israel, the National News Agency said.

The Israeli Defence Forces confirmed on Twitter its tanks had "fired warning shots at a number of rioters who had crossed into Israeli territory."

France's Macron stresses 'urgency' of peace

French President Emmanuel Macron said "the urgency of a return to peace" in the Middle East during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to a statement released by the Elysee, the president said Israel had "the right to defend itself" while stressing "his concerns about the civilian population in Gaza."

Israeli PM warns Hamas of more attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with more attacks against Hamas in Gaza.

'They attacked our capital, they fired rockets at our cities. They're paying and will continue to pay dearly for that,' he said after talks at the Israel Defence Forces headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Death toll in West Bank rises to 7

At least seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank, including one who attempted to stab an Israeli soldier, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. 

Violence in the West Bank left over 100 Palestinians injured by Israeli forces using tear gas and rubber bullets, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent cited by news agency AFP. 

Israel disperses protesters after crossing border from Lebanon

Israeli forces opened fire to disperse protesters who crossed the Lebanese border with Israel, the IDF said.

According to KAN broadcaster, dozens of Hezbollah-backed rioters had marched near the border fence. 

Jordanian protesters march near West Bank border

Crowds from Jordan gathered near the border with the West Bank to protest Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and violations in Jerusalem, Jordan's state news agency reported.

Demonstrators marched to the Al-Karameh area, near the Allenby Bridge border crossing, known in Jordan as the King Hussein Bridge.

Jordanian riot police forcibly dispersed protesters trying to reach the bridge, Reuters news agency reported. 

Pictures circulated on social media platforms showed hundreds of protesters carrying Palestinian flags amid heavy security presence. Some footage showed others marching towards the border area.

Activists had urged the Jordanian government to open the borders and let them go to support Palestinians.

Israel seeks help from social media sites

Israeli Justice Minister Benny Gantz called on social media platforms to quickly remove content from their sites that incites violence or spreads disinformation.

The current round of violence is "intentionally stirred through social media by extremist elements'' sworn to damage Israel, Gantz told executives of Facebook and Tik Tok during a Zoom meeting, according to a ministry spokesman.  

The minister described the violence as "a moment of social emergency, and we expect your assistance.''

The spokesman said that social media platforms expressed their commitment to act quickly and effectively to prevent incitement.

Israel security agency denounces domestic mob attacks

The head of Israel's domestic security agency Shin Bet says it won't tolerate ethnic violence "by Arabs nor by Jews" after nightly clashes this week in some of the country's cities.

Chief Nadav Argaman said Friday that the agency "will not allow violent lawbreakers to carry out terrorism on the streets of Israel."

The cities of Lod, Jaffa, Haifa and others have been rocked by apparent revenge attacks by Arab and Jewish mobs over the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Argaman said Shin Bet is working with Israeli police and Border Patrol in those mixed cities.

The effort is aimed at identifying, catching and prosecuting "whoever tries to hurt Israeli citizens, Jews and Arabs, until peace returns to the streets of the country."

Palestinian shot dead, airstrike targets ammunition truck

Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank after he attempted to stab a soldier, the army and Palestinian health ministry said.

The army said "the assailant arrived in his vehicle to a military post adjacent to the community of Ofra, north of Ramallah, and accelerated" towards a soldier before the attempted stabbing.

Meanwhile, an Israeli warplane attacked a vehicle near the Syrian-Lebanese border at dawn, without causing casualties, a Lebanese security source says.

The attack took place near the Lebanese Hermel region, close to the Syrian border.

Unconfirmed reports said a military vehicle carrying ammunition for the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah was targeted.

Merkel spokesman: Hamas rockets are 'terrorist attacks'

Germany has fiercely condemned the rocket attacks by militant Palestinians from Gaza on Israel and underlined the Jewish-majority state's right to self-defense.

"There are terrorist attacks," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Friday on behalf of Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Nothing justifies such terror."

A German Foreign Ministry spokesman said Israel's security was of the utmost importance to Germany.

"The goal is to end the violence as quickly as possible," the spokesman said. "For this [to happen], it is necessary that the rocket fire against Israel is stopped immediately."

Seibert also said the government would not tolerate anti-Semitic demonstrations in Germany.

"Anyone who uses such protests to scream their hatred of Jews is abusing the right to demonstrate,'' he added.

Anti-Israel protests in several cities this week have drawn concern and condemnation.

A video shot at one demo, outside a synagogue in Gelsenkirchen, showed dozens of protesters waving Palestinian and Turkish flags and yelling expletives about Jews.

US ignoring Palestinians' plight, says Beijing

China has accused the United States of "ignoring the suffering" of Muslims, after Washington blocked a scheduled United Nations Security Council meeting aimed at addressing the latest Middle East conflict.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying contrasted Washington's reluctance with calls by the US, Britain and Germany for China to end repression of its Uyghur Muslim minority —- an incendiary issue in US-China relations.

"The US should realize that the lives of Palestinian Muslims are equally precious," she said.

Washington has defended Israel's offensive, but President Joe Biden's administration has also voiced alarm over civilian casualties.

The UN says US objections to talks have been overcome and the Security Council is now due to meet on Sunday.

Palestinians flee Israeli strikes in northern Gaza

Palestinian families, many carrying supplies, sought refuge on Friday in temporary shelters in central Gaza City as Israel's military pounded northern Gaza in an attempt to destroy a network of militant tunnels.

The Associated Press reported how fleeing families arrived in pickup trucks, on donkeys and by foot at schools run by the United Nations, hauling pillows and pans, blankets and bread. 

Men lugged large plastic bags and women carried infants on their shoulders, cramming into classrooms.

The tunnels lie in heavily populated areas and the strikes destroyed or heavily damaged several homes, news agencies reported.

ICC warning to Israelis, Palestinians

Those involved in new bloodshed between Israelis and the Palestinians could face an International Criminal Court investigation now underway into alleged crimes in earlier bouts of the conflict, the court's top prosecutor said in an interview.

The ICC's Fatou Bensouda told Reuters news agency she would press ahead with her inquiry even without the cooperation of Israel, which accuses her office of antisemitic bias.

Just like its closest ally the United States, Israel has rejected membership in the treaty-based court, objecting to its jurisdiction. The court investigates genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression within member states or when referred to by the UN Security Council.

"This is just to alert people on all sides not to escalate, to be careful to avoid taking actions that will result in the commission of crimes," Bensouda said in a reference to the current hostilities.

In March her office said it was opening a formal probe into suspected crimes in the conflict after nearly five years of preliminary inquiries.