Death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza rises to 123

The fatalities include 31 children and 19 women, while over 800 people have been injured to date

(Dunya News) – As Israel bombarded Gaza with artillery and air strikes on Friday in response to a new barrage of rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave, the death toll increased to 123.

The fatalities include 31 children and 19 women, while over 800 people have been injured to date, the Palestinian Health Ministry statement said.

Israeli warplanes on Friday resumed airstrikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip after a two-hour pause. In early morning attacks, fighter jets targeted several spots, including an iron workshop located in the Zaitun neighborhood of Gaza.

Israel on early Friday threatened a ground invasion as the army said it was massing troops along the Gaza frontier and calling up 9,000 reservists ahead of a possible ground operation. Meanwhile, Israeli artillery pounded northern Gaza which brought the front lines of the conflict closer to dense civilian areas.

Despite international calls for an immediate halt of all hostilities, including from United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged the offensive will continue “as needed to restore calm in the state of Israel”.

Hamas fired another barrage of rockets towards Israel, hitting the city of Ashkelon in the wee hours of Friday.

At least six Israelis and one Indian national have also been killed. The Israeli army said hundreds of rockets have been fired from Gaza towards various locations in Israel and they have added reinforcements near the enclave’s eastern lands.

Violence is brewing between Israeli settlers and Palestinian citizens in the West Bank as well as in Israel. In another potential escalation, at least three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards Israel.

Meanwhile, two Palestinians were also martyred by Israeli fire in the West Bank as clashes injured more than 100 people in the occupied territory.

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the man s death and that of a second man it said was shot dead by Israeli troops near Jenin.

There have been daily clashes in the West Bank since Monday, when the conflict in Gaza escalated after the territory s rulers, Hamas, fired rockets towards Jerusalem.

Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem over the past month as Israeli settlers swarmed in following a court order for the eviction of Palestinian families in the area.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 -- a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

UNSC meeting 

The United Nations (UN) Security Council has canceled a meeting to discuss the worsening situation in Israel and Palestinian over US objections.

Diplomats said that the 15-member council had met privately twice this week about the worst hostilities in the region in years, but has so far been unable to agree on a public statement.

On the other hand, the death toll in Gaza has soared in Israeli forces’ intermittent attacks and air strikes on Gaza on Friday.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 109 Palestinians, including 28 children and seven women, have been killed and more than 500 wounded in the Israeli attacks.

The fatalities in Israel include a soldier killed while patrolling the Gaza border and six civilians, including two children and an Indian worker, medical authorities said.

OIC meeting 

On the request of Saudi Arabia, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has decided to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday (May 16) to discuss the issue of Israel and Palestine.

The Jeddah-based organization added that the online open-ended meeting will be held on Sunday at the foreign ministers’ level to discuss the Israeli attacks, particularly in Jerusalem, home to Al Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites.

The meeting will be held at the request of Saudi Arabia, the president of the Islamic summit, the 57-member OIC said.

Earlier this week, the OIC condemned Israeli attacks against Palestinians in Jerusalem during this past Islamic month of Ramadan, preventing worshippers from getting access to holy sites there, Israeli forces’ storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque compound and eviction of Palestinians from their land.

The grouping also accused Israel of seeking to change the historical and legal status of Jerusalem, warning that this policy would further jeopardise the region and threaten world peace.