[News] Israel attacks Gaza Strip following raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeasteye.net
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-attacks-gaza-strip-al-aqsa-mosque>
Israel attacks Gaza Strip following raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque
By MEE staff
------------------------------

Palestinian Islamic Jihad launches rockets towards Israel after Al-Aqsa
Mosque is raided by Israeli forces

Smoke rises above buildings in Gaza City after the Israeli military struck
the Palestinian enclave on April 5, 2023. (AFP)

Published date: 5 April 2023

Israel <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel> launched air
strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, after rockets were
fired from the Palestinian
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine> enclave in the wake of
the Israeli assault on Al-Aqsa mosque in occupied
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/occupation> East Jerusalem.

Israeli <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel> forces brutally
assaulted dozens of Palestinian
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine> worshippers inside
Al-Aqsa on Tuesday night and forcibly removed them from the site where they
were peacefully observing the holy month of Ramadan.

In response, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group launched a volley of
16-18 rockets towards Israel. Reports in Israeli media said that the Iron
Dome system intercepted eight missiles.

The Israeli army said it had targeted a weapons factory and a weapons
storage facility belonging to the PIJ.

Explosions were heard across the Gaza Strip as a result of the bombing,
which caused damage to Palestinian homes and property.

"The Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip this morning is a failed attempt to
prevent Gaza from continuing its support by all means for our people in
Jerusalem and the West Bank," the Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.
Tensions rising

According to the Israeli news website Yedioth Ahronoth
<https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjwh11dcw2#autoplay> newspaper Israeli
politicians are looking for ways to diffuse tensions on the eve of the
Jewish holiday of passover.

Dozens of heavily armed officers stormed the site, used stun grenades and
fired tear gas into the Qibli prayer hall, where hundreds of men, women,
elderly people and children were staying overnight to pray. Some
eyewitnesses said rubber-coated steel bullets were also fired.

<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestine-uk-urged-refer-israel-icc-war-crimes>


Israeli officers then beat worshippers with batons and riot guns, wounding
many, before arresting them. Their conditions were not immediately made
clear.

Videos from inside the mosque showed Israeli officers repeatedly hitting
people with batons while they appeared to lie on the floor. Meanwhile, the
cries for help from women and children could be heard in the background.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received multiple reports
of injuries at Al-Aqsa Mosque but was unable to estimate the number of
casualties as Israeli forces blocked medics
<https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1643423097461121026> from
reaching the wounded.

One medic was attacked by an Israeli police officer and wounded outside one
of the mosque's gates.

A PRCS spokesperson said they were informed that those wounded in the raid
have been evacuated but they don't know by who and where they were taken.

Local media said dozens were wounded in the assault and the injuries have
included bruises, fractures and breathlessness from inhaling tear gas. Some
videos from the scene published online showed people apparently unconscious.
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