Hani al-Shaer
20 May 2021•Update: 20 May 2021
GAZA CITY, Palestine
The Israeli army said Thursday it has launched air and ground offensives on the Gaza Strip.
In a statement on Twitter, the army asked Israeli citizens to stay in protected areas until further notice.
An Anadolu Agency correspondent reported that the industrial zone in the east of Gaza was targeted and a huge fire broke out in a factory.
It was also reported that a house in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Tel al-Zaatar region of northern Gaza Strip was completely destroyed in the attacks.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ armed wing Qassam Brigades said in a statement that in response to the intense Israeli attacks it targeted Israel's Tselem land base with rockets.
They also announced that rockets were sent to the food and fuel base near Be'er Sheva, as well as the Mishmar HaNegev logistics base.
At least 230 Palestinians have been killed, including 65 children and 39 women, and over 1,700 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since May 10, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Health centers, media offices and residential neighborhoods have been targeted.
Recent tensions that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to Gaza as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. In 1980 it annexed the entire city, a move never recognized by the international community.
*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev
