Palestinians fire rockets at Israel; Netanyahu threatens war

Gaza militants resumed their intense bombardment of southern Israel on Monday, with some rockets slipping through Israel's vaunted Iron Dome defense system and one landing in the yard of a kindergarten.

There was no word of casualties, but the second day of violence threatened to unleash a new round of hostilities just a week before Israel heads to elections. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Gaza's Hamas rulers with a “war” if the new round of rocket fire continued, ramping up his rhetoric amid the stretch drive of his campaign.

Speaking to Israel's Army Radio, Netanyahu said he'd conveyed a message to Hamas that if it did not stop Gaza militants behind the attacks, Israel would target Hamas directly.

A masked Palestinian militant checks the damage following overnight Israeli airstrikes on an Islamic Jihad military base in the town of Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. (AP PhotoKhalil Hamra)

“If you don't shoot them, we will shoot you. I'm talking about a war,” he said. “I'm not looking for a war. But we have prepared something you can't even imagine."

Netanyahu's interview was interrupted with news of fresh air raid sirens warning of incoming rockets, as Palestinian militant fire resumed midday after a morning lull.

The Islamic Jihad militant group fired at least 20 rockets on Sunday after Israeli forces killed a Palestinian militant who had tried to place a bomb along the Israel-Gaza barrier fence, and then removed his body with a bulldozer. The image outraged Palestinians who fired rockets. Israel responded by striking militants targets in Gaza and Syria.

An explosion by Israeli airstrikes is seen in Gaza City early Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. Israel's military says it struck Palestinian militants in Gaza and Syria after they fired some 20 rockets toward southern Israel. The rockets on Sunday evening came hours after Israel said it killed a Palestinian militant who tried to place a bomb along the Israel-Gaza barrier fence. (AP PhotoAdel Hana)

Israel and Hamas have engaged in three wars between 2008 and 2014 and several intense rounds of violence after that. Israel and the Islamic Jihad group engaged in a heavy round of fighting last November after the Israeli military killed a top Islamic Jihad commander. Since then, Israel and Gaza's more powerful Hamas group have been working through Egyptian mediators to cement an informal cease-fire. But Islamic Jihad has continued to try to carry out attacks.

The sudden exchanges after months of relative calm put Israel's tense security situation back on the agenda a week before the the country's third election in less than a year. The campaign has thus far largely focused on domestic issues and Netanyahu's precarious legal situation after he was indicted on corruption charges.

An explosion caused by Israeli Iron Dome air defense system missiles intercept rockets fired from Gaza Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. (AP PhotoKhalil Hamra)

Israeli police and Palestinian youths clashed again at a major Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday despite a temporary halt to Jewish visits to the site, which are seen as a provocation by the Palestinians.

Palestinians and Israeli police have regularly clashed at the site for the last week at a time of heightened tensions in the region following a string of deadly attacks inside Israel and arrest raids in the occupied West Bank. Three rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Palestinian youths hurled stones toward police at a gate leading into the compound, according to two Palestinian witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. The police, in full riot gear, then entered the compound, firing rubber bullets and stun grenades.

Israeli police clash with Palestinian protesters at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP PhotoMahmoud Illean)

The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said nine Palestinians were wounded, two of them seriously.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City is the third holiest site in Islam. The sprawling esplanade on which it is built is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of two Jewish temples in antiquity. It lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and clashes there have often ignited violence elsewhere.

Tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers are expected at the site later in the day for the main weekly prayers.

Israeli police move behind riot shields during clashes with Palestinian protesters at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP PhotoMahmoud Illean)

Palestinians and neighboring Jordan, the custodian of the site, accuse Israel of violating longstanding arrangements by allowing increasingly large numbers of Jews to visit the site under police escort.

A longstanding prohibition on Jews praying at the site has eroded in recent years, fueling fears among Palestinians that Israel plans to take over the site or partition it.

Israel says it remains committed to the status quo and blames the violence on incitement by the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza. It says its security forces are acting to thwart rock-throwers in order to ensure freedom of worship for Jews and Muslims.

Visits by Jewish groups were halted beginning Friday for the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as they have been in the past.

This year, the fasting month coincided with the Jewish Passover and major Christian holidays, with tens of thousands of people from all three faiths flocking to the Old City after the lifting of most coronavirus restrictions.