Hamas rocket attacks kill five, as Gaza death toll rises to 35 – follow live

Boris Johnson says the UK is urging both Israel and the Palestinians to step back from the brink of war.

Both sides should display restraint, the prime minister has said.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday hit out at the New York mayoral hopeful Andrew Yang for scheduling a campaign event around the celebration of Eid after tweeting in support of Israel amid the escalating violence between Israeli forces and Hamas in Jerusalem, writes Namita Singh.

Mr Yang, in his initial tweet on Monday had said, “I’m standing with the people of Israel who are coming under bombardment attacks, and condemn the Hamas terrorists.

“The people of NYC will always stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel who face down terrorism and persevere,” he said.

Just after daybreak on Wednesday, Israel unleashed dozens of airstrikes over just a few minutes.

The bombings targeted police and security installations, according to witnesses, leaving a cloud of dark gray smoke over Gaza City.

The Hamas-run interior ministry said strikes had destroyed the central police headquarters in Gaza City, a compound with several buildings.

Lt Col Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesperson, said two infantry brigades had been sent to the area, indicating preparations for a possible ground invasion.

The Middle East correspondent for The Independent, Bel Trew, filmed a frantic scene as she ran for cover after a rocket scare in the city of Ashkelon, Israel.

The reporter was in the city covering the rising tensions between Israel and Hamas in Gaza when sirens began to blare and she was forced to dive for cover.

The footage recorded by Trew during the frenzy shows her helping an elderly woman in a wheelchair as people run to take shelter within a nearby building.

Israel protests: Over 80 rockets fired at Tel Aviv from Gaza with security at ‘highest alert’, police say

Over 80 rockets have been fired toward Tel Aviv from Gaza, Israeli police have said, in an “unprecedented” attack many feared may push both sides to the brink of war, write Bel Trew and Samuel Osborne.

The extraordinary scenes captured on camera showed the barrage of projectiles light up the night sky like fireworks as they were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system.

One woman was killed in the “unprecedented ” barrage, Israel’s police spokesperson, Mickey Rosenfeld, told The Independent, adding that it struck at the “very heart of Israel”.

“One woman was killed in Rishon LeZion [ just south of Tel Aviv], “ he said adding: “It is one of most intense rocket strikes on Tel Aviv, one of the most serious and largest in years, striking into the very heart of Israel.”

Israeli airstrikes overnight have destroyed a number of key infrastructure buildings in Gaza City, including its police headquarters, the city’s authorities said.

Iyad al-Bozum, a spokesman for the Hamas-run interior ministry, said on Wednesday the police compound was blown up after being targeted by a series of Israeli airstrikes.

Israel and Gaza remained locked in war-like escalations continuing into Wednesday morning, leaving at least a total of 40 dead on both sides as they traded bombardments.

Officials in Gaza said at least 35 Palestinians have died, including 10 children, mostly in airstrikes by Israel. The Israeli military claimed 16 of those killed were militants.

In Israel, 5 people have been killed so far, with the IDF saying “Israel is under attack.”

The IDF on Wednesday claimed it targeted and killed several top Hamas intelligence leaders, including Hassan Kaogi, head of the Hamas military intelligence security department, and his deputy Wail Issa.

Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus confirmed 1000 rockets were launched by Gaza at its territories but 200 of them did not cross the border.

Unconfirmed Israeli media reports say a seven-year-old girl was among those killed in the town of Lod, near Tel Aviv, by rockets from Gaza. A fierce confrontation took place in Lod during the night as Arab and Jewish residents clashed.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday night declared a state of emergency in the town of Lod, southeast of Tel Aviv.

A state of emergency was declared after police accused Arab residents in Tel Aviv of conducting “wide-scale riots” and arson in the city in support of the Palestinians.“Wide-scale riots erupted by some of the Arab residents and endangering communities,” the police said in a statement. “Vehicles were burnt and damage caused to property.”

Border police officers were deployed in the West Bank to the city of Lod after thousands of people participated in the funeral procession of 33-year-old Musa Hassuna, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who was reportedly gunned down by a Jewish Israeli.

Netanyahu also vowed to step up the offensive as Gaza unleashed a fierce late-night barrage of rockets towards the densely populated Tel Aviv, while protests continued.

Gaza has fired 850 rockets at Israel and 200 more did not make it across the border, Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus confirmed to a briefing with foreign reporters on Wednesday morning.

A total of 1,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza, he added.

He confirmed the death of 5 Israeli civilians, out of which two were killed in Lod, two in Ashkelonand, and one in Rishon LeZion. More than 200 Israelis have been wounded, he said.

Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib condemned US State Department spokesperson Ned Price, after he appeared to equivocate on a stance about whether Palestinians have a right to self-defence.