Seven rockets were fired from the Gaza strip to Jerusalem, activating sirens in and around the city. (Picture via @IsraelArabic Twitter account May 10, 2021).
This is a developing story, and we will continue to update this article as events unfold.
Last updated: Tuesday May 11, 2021 10:05 IDT
On Monday evening, May 10, 2021, sirens sounded in downtown Jerusalem as rockets launched from Gaza towards central Israel. Hamas took credit for the attack, saying it was in response to “Israeli crimes and aggression.” This marked the largest escalation of the conflict since Operation Protective Edge in 2014.
Several elements have contributed to this latest rise in hostilities. It is the final week of Ramadan, Israel is celebrating Jerusalem Day, and there have nearly a week of rioting at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Damascus Gate regarding the evictions of Palestinians in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Over the course of the evening and into the morning of May 11, over 250 rockets of various kinds were launched from Gaza, and Israel responded by conducting 130 strikes at various targets in the Gaza Strip, mainly rocket launchers and targeted eliminations of Hamas and Islamic Jihad leadership. So far, 24 deaths and 103 injuries are reported in Gaza, 9 of whom are children. Israel is reporting some property damage, one injury from rocket fire, and one Arab Israeli killed in riots. Rocket attacks and Israeli responses are ongoing.
Israel had anticipated that its center would be vulnerable to rocket attacks, and after a tense weekend with incendiary balloons, rioting, and threats of bombardment, they shut down roads, stopped all farm work near the Gaza border, cancelled trains running in communities near to Gaza, and redirected flights that would have flown over Gaza to land at Ben Gurion airport.
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We ask the global Maranatha family to be in prayer for the people of Israel today, both Israeli and Palestinian. We pray that the truth would be heard, and that the lies and violent schemes of the enemy to stoke hatred of the covenant people or their Arab neighbors would be exposed and come to nothing. As always, we pray for conflict and upheaval to open new doors for Good News of the Prince of Peace, who has “torn down the dividing wall of hostility” and made “one new man” from His body which includes both Isaac and Ishmael.
Maranatha.
Sources:
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/cogat-announces-closure-of-gaza-border-crossing-over-rocket-fire-667730
https://www.dw.com/en/jerusalem-tensions-explosions-heard-as-hamas-claims-rocket-attack-live-updates/a-57479412
