Violence surges on Israel-Gaza frontier
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Palestinians fired dozens of rockets into Israel from Gaza today and an Israeli air strike killed a militant in a surge of violence after the Emir of Qatar embraced the enclave's Hamas leadership with a visit.
Hamas claimed responsibility for some of the rocket and mortar bomb attacks, raising questions among Israelis over whether it had been emboldened by the Qatari visit yesterday that challenged the Islamist group's diplomatic isolation.
Hamas largely held its fire when other militant factions, including jihadi groups, had launched cross-border rocket attacks in recent months.
For its part, Hamas accused Israel of stepping up its attacks in the Gaza Strip to vent its anger over Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani's visit and pledged to "continue to hold a gun ... until Palestine is liberated".
A Hamas militant was killed today in a second day of air strikes which Israel said were intended to stop rocket firings. Yesterday, Israel killed three Hamas members, saying they had either launched attacks or were preparing to do so.
In southern Israel, three agricultural workers were wounded when a Palestinian rocket exploded near them.
Lieutenant-Colonel Avital Leibovich, a military spokeswoman, said 68 projectiles were fired at Israel by midday and that the Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted seven of them. She said several homes were damaged by Palestinian fire.
Israel kept schools shut in communities near the Gaza border and residents were urged to remain indoors.
Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments