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| Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, on May 11, 2021. (Photo by= AP/Hatem Moussa) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] Palestinian militants Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at Israel's economic hub Tel Aviv on Tuesday (May 11) in retaliation for an Israeli strike that destroyed a tower block in Gaza, as the foes traded their heaviest fire for several years.
The sharp escalation, triggered by violence in Jerusalem, has killed at least 30 Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip and three Israelis and wounded hundreds more. "This is just the beginning" of Israel's strikes, Defence Minister Benny Gantz warned. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh vowed that "if Israel wants to escalate, we are ready for it". Hamas, which controls the Palestinian territory, said the tower block had been a residential building. AFP reporters said it also houses the offices of several Hamas officials.
The UN envoy for Middle East Peace, Tor Wennesland, warned that Israel and Hamas were heading towards "full-scale war". In the crowded, Israeli-blockaded enclave of Gaza, 10 children and one woman were among those killed since Monday night. A further 203 people were reported wounded from the ongoing Israeli airstrikes, many rescued from the smoldering ruins of buildings. In Israel, sirens sounded as Hamas rockets rained down, and some of those unable to make it to underground shelters took cover under bridges.
