Jerusalem Under Attack As Rockets Are Fired By Hamas — Netanhayu Says “Israel Will Respond Very Forcefully”
Jerusalem came under attack on Monday as Hamas, the militant group ruling the Gaza Strip, launched rockets at the city.
Gaza health officials said at least 20 people, including nine children, were killed by the air strikes which was reportedly launched after Palestinian militant groups fired rockets close to Jerusalem.
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Footages of the incident spread on social media as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the rocket attacks from Gaza against Israel — an ally of the United States — should stop “immediately.”
US Secretary of State: ‘I’m very deeply concerned about rocket attacks that we’re seeing now that need to stop.’ pic.twitter.com/BjOP8NDhPm
— The National (@TheNationalNews) May 10, 2021
“Shocking footage out of Israel — children and their mothers scramble for shelter as rocket sirens go off. In the last hour alone, more than a dozen rockets have been fired from Gaza, including at Jerusalem,” @StopAntisemitism org tweeted.
Shocking footage out of Israel – children and their mothers scramble for shelter as rocket sirens go off.
In the last hour alone, more than a dozen rockets have been fired from Gaza, including at Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/IBMjVvHO0t
— StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) May 10, 2021
BREAKING: Seven rockets have apparently been fired from Gaza toward Jerusalem. The Iron Dome air defense system intercepted one.
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) May 10, 2021
“BREAKING: Seven rockets have apparently been fired from Gaza toward Jerusalem. The Iron Dome air defense system intercepted one.”
VIDEO: Hamas fires multiple rockets toward Jerusalem and central Israel.pic.twitter.com/9N9krg6GPP
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) May 10, 2021
“VIDEO: Hamas fires multiple rockets toward Jerusalem and central Israel.”
Military & Defense correspondent of Jerusalem Post Anna Ahronheim also made a series of social media posts about the attacks — noting that initially, seven rockets were fired.
#BREAKING: Incoming rocket sirens activated in several areas including Jerusalem
— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) May 10, 2021
At least 6 rockets fired towards Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh area
— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) May 10, 2021
An inhabited building was hit in a community outside of Jerusalem
— Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) May 10, 2021
She later on retracted one of her tweets and clarified that “7 rockets were fired, only 1 was intercepted.”
Fires are currently raging in several areas near Jerusalem due to the Hamas rocket fire from Gaza. Emergency services are on the scene.
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) May 10, 2021
Other tweets described how “fires are currently raging in several areas near Jerusalem due to the Hamas rocket fire from Gaza” as emergency services are on the scene.
The rocket attacks took place on the same day as the Yom Yerushalayim celebration — which commemorates the Jews taking Jerusalem back in 1967. It also celebrates the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli rule over the Old City, which includes the Temple Mount.
Several updates noted that a fire also broke out on the Temple Mount — the site of the two ancient Temples of Israel and the current site of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
Tree on fire on the Temple Mount pic.twitter.com/tTAmClOWVT
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 10, 2021
Video of the fire on the Temple Mount pic.twitter.com/6NX9D5QE40
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 10, 2021
🔴Jerusalem
Moment when the fireworks (central right part of the screen) that were launched by Palestinians near the Al Aqsa mosque had caused a fire #Israel #Gaza
— Gabriel Hébert-Røuillier (@Gab_H_R) May 10, 2021
“Moment when the fireworks (central right part of the screen) that were launched by Palestinians near the Al Aqsa mosque had caused a fire.”
Dramatic images of the Western Wall Plaza being evacuated as a tree catches fire outside Al Aqsa Mosque, apparently as Palestinians shoot fireworks there. pic.twitter.com/AI7ait6IJb
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) May 10, 2021
“Dramatic images of the Western Wall Plaza being evacuated as a tree catches fire outside Al Aqsa Mosque, apparently as Palestinians shoot fireworks there.”
“Israel’s military said it carried out strikes against armed groups, rocket launchers and military posts in Gaza after militants there crossed what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “red line” by firing on the Jerusalem area for the first time since a 2014 war,” Reuters reported.
150 rockets fired
“The rocket fire and Israeli air strikes continued late into the night, with Palestinians reporting loud explosions close to Gaza City and across the coastal strip,” it added.
Israel’s military said later on that the Palestinian rebels “had launched about 150 rockets into Israel,” with hundreds intercepted by the country’s missile defense systems.
Explainer: Jerusalem tense over evictions and holidays https://t.co/kH5M6I1fFW pic.twitter.com/X0OdcKzHai
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 10, 2021
A spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, Abu Ubaida, was quoted in news reports as saying that it had launched “a rocket strike against the enemy in the occupied Jerusalem in response to their crimes and aggression against the holy city and its aggression against our people in Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa mosque.”
In response, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the group “crossed a red line” and Israel will “not tolerate” such attacks.
“The terrorist organizations crossed a red line on Jerusalem Day and attacked us, on the outskirts of Jerusalem.”
“Israel will respond very forcefully. We will not tolerate attacks on our territory, our capital, our citizens and our soldiers. Whoever strikes us will pay a heavy price,” Netanhayu added.
