The escalating battle between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza is the region’s worst violence since 2014.
Six Israeli and 53 Palestinians have been killed in the recent conflict as Israeli airstrikes are leveling buildings in Gaza and hitting a barrage of Hamas rockets in Tel Aviv and other cities overnight .
On Wednesday, an anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip killed a 21-year-old Israeli soldier in Israeli-Hamas violence, officials said.
The Israel Defense Forces identified the dead soldier as Staff Sergeant. 931 member of Nahar Infantry Brigade, Omer Tabibscheduled tribe Battalion, The Times of Israel reported.
Officials said the strike also wounded two other soldiers.
In response to the ongoing bloodshed and violence, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz carried out further attacks to bring “total, long-term calm” on Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza before considering a cease-fire.
“The army will continue to attack to bring total, long-term calm. When we reach that goal, only then will we be able to speak about a truss, ”said Gantz, who is in the southern Israeli city of Escalan, surrounded by Palestinian rocket fire.
His remarks came as the Israel Defense Forces continued to fire in Gaza in response to a rocket barrage by Hamas and other militants over Tel Aviv and Beersheba.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official has called on residents of Jerusalem to buy “five shekel knives” to “cut off the heads of Jews” in a recent video.
“People of Jerusalem, we want you to cut off the heads of the Jews with a knife.” With your hand, let his artery be cut from here, “Fathi Hammad, a member of our political bureau and former interior minister, says in the clip, which was Translated by Middle East Media Research Institute.
The Gaza Health Ministry said the dead Palestinians included 14 children and three women, adding that 320 residents of the region were injured in the attack, including 86 children and 39 women.
Israel came under scrutiny during the 50-day 2014 conflict, which saw the bombing of residential buildings under investigation by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
More than 2,100 Palestinians and 73 Israelis – seven of them civilians – were killed during the 2014 war, BBC reported.
Israel is not related to the ICC and has condemned the investigation, while the Palestinians joined in 2015 and made a long push for the investigation.
In the investigation, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the investigation would include a review of Hamas rockets fired into Israel during the 2014 conflict.
In a new statement, Bensouda expressed “great concern” over the current escalation of violence, and warmed to a “possible commission of crimes”.
With post wires
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