20 Palestinians including 9 children killed in Israeli air strikes

PALESTINE: At least 20 people have been killed in fighting with Israel including nine children on Monday night, According to Palestinian health officials in the Gaza Strip.

At least 300 people were injured.

According to sources, the Israeli military said the airstrikes were in retaliation for Palestinian militant groups firing rockets at Jerusalem.

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Throughout the holy Muslim month of Ramzan, East Jerusalem has seen clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police.

A long-running legal case on whether many Palestinian families will be evicted from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighbourhood near Damascus Gate that was granted to Israeli settlers, was scheduled for a hearing on May 10 in the Israeli Supreme Court.

As the court hearing approached, Palestinians and left-wing Israelis started holding larger protests, claiming that further evictions could cause a domino effect throughout the predominantly Palestinian neighbourhood. The hearing has been postponed, and a new date will be set in the next 30 days.

The case has reignited tensions in the region as Israel which annexed East Jerusalem in 1967, sees the entire city as its capital, while Palestinians want the eastern part to be the capital of a future state. The international community has generally ignored Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem.

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Temple Mount Judaism's holiest site, as well as the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site, are all located in the neighbourhood.

Hundreds of Palestinians were injured last week when Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Ramzan's holiest night.

According to sources, Hamas' armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida said the group had launched "a rocket attack against the enemy in occupied Jerusalem in response to their crimes and violence against the holy city and its aggression against our citizens in Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa mosque."

The Israeli military replied with air strikes, claiming that "terrorist organisations [had] crossed a red line on Jerusalem Day," according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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