Israel on Thursday launched another airstrike on Gaza after militants from the enclave fired several rockets at the southern Israeli city of Sderot. Meanwhile, violent clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians resumed in Jerusalem near the Temple Mount complex and the Al Aqsa Mosque.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) stated that “terrorists from Gaza fired another four rockets” into Israel. “In response to the first rocket attack on Israel tonight, we struck an underground complex in Gaza used to produce rocket engines,” the IDF said, adding that the airstrike “will significantly impede rocket manufacturing capabilities in Gaza.”
In response to the 1st rocket attack on Israel tonight, we struck an underground complex in Gaza used to produce rocket engines.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 20, 2022
This will significantly impede rocket manufacturing capabilities in Gaza.
We hold Hamas responsible for all terrorist activities emanating from Gaza.
One of the rockets landed in Sderot and another fell short and landed in Gaza, while the rest were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system. Although it was not clear which group launched the rockets, the IDF said that it will “hold Hamas responsible for all terrorist activities emanating from Gaza.” Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since 2007.
The Times of Israel quoted IDF spokesperson Ram Kochav as saying that the exchange of fire between Israel and Gaza “is the most significant since Operation Guardian of the Walls,” referring to the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in May last year.
Kochav noted that the Israeli Air Force employed “special means” to target a rocket manufacturing plant and underground targets, but did not offer any further detail. He added that militants also fired anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli planes but failed to make an impact. He claimed that Gazan militants were using “outdated weapons” and as a result “the chance of them hitting our fighter jets is low, but is always possible.”
No casualties were reported on either side.
On the same day, clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces once again erupted in Jerusalem as both sides accused the other of provoking tensions. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that 20 Palestinians were injured in Thursday’s clashes.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of trying to change the status of the Temple Mount complex, also known as the Haram as-Sharif. During a meeting with Tor Wennesland, the United Nations’ special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Abbas said that Israel carried out “brutal assaults against worshippers in the [Al Aqsa] mosque compound” and accused Israeli settlers of trying to provoke a confrontation by “encroaching” on Islamic holy sites.
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Tensions further escalated when Israeli ultranationalist groups threatened to march near Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate near the Muslim Quarter on Thursday. Israeli police have said that such a move could result in more confrontations and that it would be imposing a curfew on any demonstrations in the area.
“We know what happened last year during the march and the firing of the rockets from Gaza that led to Operation Guardian of the Walls, and we don’t want a Guardian of the Walls 2, so the police will not approve the march and will act according to the law in this case,” a senior police officer told Haaretz.
However, several right-wing groups have vowed to defy the curfew and march to Damascus Gate.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also warned people not to march toward the area. In this respect, Bennett’s office issued a statement that the PM was preventing ultra-conservative MP Itamar Ben-Gvir from leading a march to the Damascus Gate. “I have no intention of allowing petty politics to endanger human lives. I will not allow a political provocation by Ben-Gvir to endanger IDF soldiers and Israel Police officers, and render their already heavy task even heavier,” he said.
Furthermore, during an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Bennett blamed Palestinian miscreants for desecrating Al Aqsa and preventing thousands of Muslims from praying. He said, “My responsibility as PM of Israel is to provide freedom of prayer for everyone in Jerusalem, including Muslims, which is why I had to send in policemen to remove the rioters and it worked.”
Israel has also blamed rioters for hurling stones at Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall, which is located outside the Haram as-Sharif.
Tensions have escalated in East Jerusalem since last week as Israeli security forces and Palestinians engaged in violent clashes near the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Temple Mount. Over 150 Palestinians and several Israelis have been injured in the fighting.
Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinians at the Temple Mount and surrounding areas are a regular affair and at times escalates into a wider conflict. In fact, Israel and Hamas fought an 11-day war in Gaza over Israeli raids in East Jerusalem in May 2021.