Alwaght- Latest wave of violence in the Gaza Strip caused by Israeli regime's airstrikes and Palestinians' mirror response has entered its third day, prompting the United Nations to raise alarm at the “dangerous escalation.”
Tensions erupted on Friday following the killing of four Palestinians, two in an Israeli air raid on southern Gaza and two during the regime’s live fire at anti-occupation protesters near a fence separating the blockaded coastal enclave from the occupied territories. Tel Aviv regime's airstrikes on Saturday have also killed three Palestinians including a pregnant mother and her one-year-old baby.
The body of Saba Abu Arar, a 14-month-old Palestinian baby girl, lies at the morgue of Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the Gaza Strip, on May 4, 2019. (Photo by AP)
Palestinian resistance forces fired hundreds of rockets at Palestinian territories occupied by Israeli regime.
The Tel Aviv regime says about 430 rockets have been fired at the occupied lands over the past few days. The latest rocket fire from Gaza killed a 58-year-old Israeli man. A total of some 83 Israelis have also been wounded.
The Israeli army says its warplanes have targeted some 180 sites in the Gaza Strip.
A building housing the offices of the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency in Gaza has also been targeted by Israel. The bombing of the premises has been condemned by the Turkish government.
“We strongly condemn Israel’s attack against Anadolu agency’s office in Gaza,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Twitter. “Turkey and Anadolu agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine despite such attacks.”
The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov called on all parties to "immediately deescalate and return to the understandings of the past few months".
"I am deeply concerned by yet another dangerous escalation in Gaza and the tragic loss of life," he said.
"My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of all those who were killed, and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured."
Armed factions in Gaza, who are otherwise known as the Joint Operations Room and include the military wing of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, vowed on Saturday to "extend its response" if the Israeli regime's army continued to target the strip.
In a statement on Saturday, the Joint Operations Room said: "Our response will be broader and more painful in the event [Israel's] extends in aggression, and we will remain the protective shield of our people and our land."
Tel Aviv regime and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007.
Following heavy fighting in late March, Tel Aviv agreed to ease the blockade in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. This included expanding a fishing zone off Gaza's coast, increasing imports into Gaza and allowing aid entry into the cash-strapped territory.
