Israel hits Gaza after reports of rocket attack

Israel launched a strike in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday.

The IDF said the military had attacked a weapons manufacturing site in response to an attempted attack the day before. On Monday, they had intercepted a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.

Israel sees Hamas, the militant Palestinian organization and political powerhouse in Gaza, as responsible for any rocket launches in the area.

A Hamas spokesperson said the attempted strike had "failed."

The facility was empty and no one was injured, he said. He also spoke of a "failed attempt to stop the Palestinian people from resisting the occupation."

Heightened tensions

Tensions are heightened after violence broke out at the Al-Aqsa Mosque holy site in Jerusalem over the weekend.

The site, also known as Temple Mount, is sacred to both Jews and Muslims. It is administered by Muslim authorities under Israeli security.

Palestinians have accused Israel of trying to expand rights for observant Jews to the detriment of Muslims within the compound. 

In recent weeks, sporadic violence across the Palestinian territories and Israel has seen 14 Israelis killed. Some 26 Palestinians have also been killed, including at least two civilian bystanders.

Also on Tuesday, further clashes erupted when a group of Israeli settlers were allowed to march in protest through the West Bank over the destruction of a settlement. The IDF has been making some attempts in recent months to clamp down on illegal building and "return the settlement movement to the days of the [2005] disengagement." 

Palestinian paramedics said they had treated at least eight people who had been targeted by rubber bullets and tear gas after some counterprotesters had hurled stones at soldiers protecting the marchers.

Because of the expansion of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, which is considered to be in violation of international law, as well as Israeli blockades and security "buffer zones," people in Gaza and the West Bank have been crowded into increasingly small pieces of land.

This has resulted in major shortages of medicine, water and other critical supplies, a situation exacerbated by the pandemic.

The West Bank and East Jerusalem have been under occupation since being seized by Israel in 1967.

US, UAE react

In a meeting with his Jordanian counterpart on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of "upholding the historic status quo" at the Al-Aqsa compound, according to a statement.

On the same day, the United Arab Emirates summoned the Israeli ambassador to "immediately stop" violence at the site and "provide full protection to worshipers."

es/fb (AP, AFP, dpa)

Correction: The headline of this article was changed on April 20. A previous version had not reflected the course of events in its complexity.