Deadly Gaza Strikes After Rockets Hit Israel

Three Palestinians have reportedly been killed in Gaza, as Israel carried out dozens of air strikes in response to a barrage of rocket fire by militants.

Gaza health officials said a pregnant woman and her daughter, aged one, were killed in the Jaafari area. A Hamas militant also died in the north.

At least seven civilians were injured by rocket fire in southern Israel.

The violence came as the UN and Egypt tried to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which dominates Gaza.

UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov said he was “deeply alarmed”.

“Our collective efforts have prevented the situation from exploding until now. If the current escalation, however, is not contained immediately, the situation can rapidly deteriorate with devastating consequences for all people,” he warned.

What triggered the escalation?

This is the third serious flare-up in violence in the past month.

On Monday, two militants were killed after an Israeli tank shelled a Hamas border post in northern Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the tank had responded to shots fired at soldiers from the post. But Hamas said its fighters had been taking part in a live-fire exercise and that Israel would pay for their deaths.

On Wednesday afternoon, the IDF said militants had fired shots at civilians constructing an underground barrier along the border fence, damaging a vehicle. In response, a tank targeted a Hamas post in northern Gaza, it added.

What happened overnight?

After sunset, militants in Gaza launched rockets and mortars at Sderot and other towns in southern Israel, triggering sirens and sending civilians running for shelters.

The IDF said that approximately 180 projectiles were fired towards Israeli territory in total overnight. The Iron Dome aerial defence system intercepted more than 30 of them, while most of the others landed in open fields, causing no damage, it added. But some hit houses, cars, factories and a playground.

Why is the UN trying to broker a ceasefire?

There has been an upsurge in violence since the end of March.

More than 160 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces – most during protests along the border at which thousands have expressed their support for the declared right of Palestinian refugees to return to their ancestral homes in what is now Israel.

Human rights groups have accused Israeli troops of using excessive force at the protests, but the military said they only opened fire in self-defence or on people trying to infiltrate its territory.

One Israeli soldier has been shot dead by a Palestinian sniper during the same period, while incendiary devices attached to balloons and kites launched by Palestinians have sparked hundreds of fires in southern Israel.

Source: BBC