20 killed in Gaza airstrikes, Palestinian officials say – follow live

Among the many factors influencing the violence in recent days in Jerusalem is an attempt from Israeli settlers to evict a group of Palestinian families from the disputed—some say illegally occupied—East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

Palestinians argue Israelis illegally annexed the area following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and the UN has warned evicting residents could violate international law about transferring property in occupied territory. The Israeli government, meanwhile, maintains it is a private land dispute between Palestinians residents and an Israeli trust which bought the land in 1876, an Israeli court has ruled.

Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar sharply criticized Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians that has occured amid the broader tensions in Jerusalem over the last few days, comparing it to “terrorism” in a tweet on Monday.

Want to know the deeper reasons for the ongoing tension in Jerusalem?

The Independent’s Middle East correspondent Bel Trew has the details.

At least 520 Palestinians have been injured, with 333 hospitalised in Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, Middle East correspondent Bel Trew reports.

Among those injured were 100 medics.

At least 20 were killed in Gaza, including nine children.

Tensions have been running high in the region for days as Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets toward the Jerusalem area and southern Israel.

They were carrying out a threat to punish Israel for violent confrontations with Palestinians in Jerusalem.

Gaza’s ruling Islamist group, Hamas, had given an ultimatum demanding that Israel stand down forces in the al Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third most sacred site.

Israel “must respect international law” and work with Palestinian leaders to de-escalate tensions, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said.

“The violence against worshippers during Ramadan at the al-Aqsa mosque was shocking,” he tweeted.

“Israel must respect international law, and must take steps, immediately, to work with Palestinian leaders to de-escalate tensions.”

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said the rocket attacks from Gaza against Israel should stop “immediately,” and he urged all sides to take steps to de-escalate the situation.

“We’re very focused on the situation in Israel, West Bank, Gaza, very deeply concerned about the rocket attacks that we’re seeing now, that they need to stop, they need to stop immediately,” Mr Blinken said ahead of his meeting with Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, at the State Department.

Mr Blinken also expressed concerns about the violence and “provocative actions” in and around Haram al-Sharif, the hilltop compound in Jerusalem’€™s walled Old City known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Twenty people have been killed in airstrikes on Gaza, according to the health ministry, after Israel bombed the blockaded enclave after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets towards Jerusalem.

Gaza health officials told The Independent that nine children were among the 20 dead and the youngest victim was just 10 years old. A further 65 people were injured.

Earlier, Israel had warned that Palestinian militants would pay a “heavy price” for launching rockets towards Jerusalem.

Bel Trew, our middle east correspondent, reports:

Palestinian health officials in the Gaza Strip say a total of 20 people, including nine children, have been killed in fighting with Israel.

The death toll made it one of the bloodiest days of fighting in several years. The Health Ministry did not provide a breakdown on the cause of deaths.

At least seven members of one family, including three children, were killed in an explosion in northern Gaza whose origins were unknown.

The Isareli military said it struck a number of Hamas targets in response to continued rocket fire out of Gaza. It said eight militants were struck.

A rocket attack from Gaza was launched toward Jerusalem on Monday, following another day of violence.

The Israeli army said seven rockets were fired towards Jerusalem and nearby Beit Shemesh, one of which was intercepted by the Iron Dome defence system.

Hamas said it was responsible for firing the rockets, saying they were launched as a response to Israeli “crimes and aggression”.

Bel Trew, our middle east correspondent, reports: