On Monday night, nine civilians, including three teenagers, were killed in Beit Hanoun, North Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The deaths were confirmed after blasts were heard in Jerusalem just after 6 p.m. local time on Monday evening.
The Israeli army said Hamas had launched a barrage of rockets into Israel and that its troops were ready to respond.
Hamas, Gaza’s ruling militant group, had previously delivered an ultimatum to Israel.
Israel usually responds to rocket fire in Gaza with air strikes and artillery fire, but there was no official comment from the Israeli army on the civilian casualties.
Images shared on social media showed lines of white smoke in the sky near the Israeli border, but the video could not be checked right away.
“Seven rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory, following the previous storey about the sirens that sounded in Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem. The Iron Dome Aerial Defense System intercepted one of the rockets “According to an Israeli army statement.
Anti-tank missiles were also launched over the Gaza border, according to the Israeli army.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad also alleged to have launched a missile barrage into Israel, shortly after the Israeli military put several Israeli towns on “Red Alert.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad also alleged to have launched a missile barrage into Israel, shortly after the Israeli military put several Israeli towns on “Red Alert.”
As tensions with Palestinians in Jerusalem rise, the Israeli military announced on Monday that it was halting a big exercise for a day to concentrate on preparation for a potential outbreak of conflict.
On Sunday, Israel’s armed forces started their largest training exercise in 30 years, codenamed “Chariots of Fire.”
However, after conducting a strategic review, Chief of Staff Lt Gen Aviv Kohavi agreed to call off the exercise for the day, instructing troops to “base all resources on preparations and readiness for escalation scenarios,” according to the military.
In Gaza, a Hamas spokesman said the leadership of the Palestinian enclave’s joint command of armed movements had given Israel “until 6 p.m. an ultimatum to remove its security forces from Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque compound and the city’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.”
Earlier in the day, hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli police at Al Aqsa, and many Palestinian families face eviction from homes in Sheikh Jarrah claimed by Jewish settlers, escalating tensions in Jerusalem.
