Violence flares around Gaza

GBNEWS24DESK//

Israel launched air strikes on Gaza in return for rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave yesterday, a day after the deadliest Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank in nearly 20 years. Eleven Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed and more than 80 wounded by gunfire on Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, when Israeli troops raided the flashpoint West Bank city of Nablus, drawing international appeals for calm. The death toll was the highest since the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, ended in 2005. It was described as a “massacre” by top Palestinian official Hussein Al Sheikh, who called for “international protection for our people”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads a new coalition government regarded as the most right-wing in Israel’s history, praised Israeli forces and vowed to “hit terrorism hard” after the army said it targeted suspected militants in Nablus. The United States said it was “extremely concerned by the levels of violence” and called for a de-escalation. UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland travelled to the Gaza Strip yesterday, his spokesman told AFP.