83 Palestinians, including 17 children, 7 women, dead; 7 killed in Israel
Gaza City (Gaza Strip): Hamas sent a heavy barrage of rockets deep into Israel in a matter of minutes on Thursday and Israel pounded Gaza with more airstrikes. The relentless escalation of hostilities came even as Egyptian negotiators held in-person talks with the two sides, intensifying efforts at mediation.
Gaza's Health Ministry said the death toll has climbed to 83 Palestinians, including 17 children and seven women, with more than 480 people wounded. Islamic Jihad confirmed the deaths of seven militants, while Hamas has acknowledged 13 of its militants killed, including a senior commander.
Israel says the number of militants dead is much higher.
Seven people have been killed in Israel.
Among them were a soldier killed by an anti-tank missile and a 6-year-old child hit in a rocket attack.
Previous fighting between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, including a devastating 2014 war, was largely confined to the impoverished and blockaded Palestinian territory and Israeli communities on the frontier. But this round seems to be rippling farther and wider than at any time since the 2000 Palestinian intifada, or uprising, and is tearing apart the country at its seams.
While some rocket attacks have reached the Tel Aviv area, Arab and Jewish mobs have rampaged through the streets, savagely beating people and torching cars. Flights have been cancelled or diverted away from the country's main airport.
Weary Palestinians, meanwhile, somberly marked the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Thursday as militants fired one barrage of rockets after another and Israel carried out waves of bone-rattling airstrikes. Since the rockets began Monday, Israel has toppled three high-rise buildings that it said housed Hamas facilities after warning civilians to evacuate.
A visit by Egyptian security officials was a significant development in international mediation efforts, which have been key to ending past rounds of fighting. The officials met first with Hamas leaders in Gaza before holding talks with the Israelis in Tel Aviv, two Egyptian intelligence officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the press.
Still, both Israel and Hamas seemed determined to press ahead.
Even as word came of the mediators' presence, Gaza militants fired a volley of some 100 rockets nearly simultaneously, raising air-raid sirens around southern and central Israel.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties but the barrage appeared aimed at demonstrating that Hamas' arsenal was still full even after three nights of airstrikes and the killing Wednesday of several Hamas leaders involved in the rocket programme.
The decision to bomb Tel Aviv, Dimona and Jerusalem is easier for us than drinking water, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing declared in a video message. Dimona is the site of Israel's nuclear reactor. Our conflict will reach you whenever you turn any aggression against our people, he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited batteries of the Iron Dome missile defence system, which the military says has intercepted 90% of the 1,200 rockets that have reached Israel from Gaza so far.
It will take more time, but with great firmness ... we will achieve our goal to restore peace to the State of Israel, he said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the indiscriminate launching of rockets from civilian areas in Gaza toward Israeli population centers, but he also urged Israel to show maximum restraint.
US President Joe Biden called Netanyahu to support Israel's right to defend itself, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was sending a senior diplomat to the region to try to calm tensions. The current eruption of violence began a month ago in Jerusalem, where heavy-handed Israeli police tactics during Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers ignited protests and clashes with police. A focal point of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police was Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, built on a hilltop compound that is revered by Jews and Muslims.
Israel regards Jerusalem in its entirety as its capital, while the Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state.
Hamas, claiming to be defending the city, launched a barrage of rockets at Jerusalem late Monday, in a dramatic escalation. Hamas banners could be seen outside Al-Aqsa on Thursday as thousands gathered there for Eid prayers.
