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Israeli warplanes attacked tall buildings and other targets in the Gaza Strip when Palestinians woke up in the besieged enclave on Thursday to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday amid relentless airstrikes.
Since the Israeli attack began late Monday, the Gaza Ministry of Health says at least 83 people, including 17 children, have been killed. More than 480 others were injured.
At least six Israelis were also killed. The Israeli army said hundreds of rockets were fired from Gaza into various places in Israel and they added reinforcements near the enclave’s eastern lands.
There were also more violent confrontations between Jewish Israelis and Palestinian citizens of Israel in various cities in Israel. The German airline Lufthansa has said it will suspend all flights to Tel Aviv until Friday 14 May.
“Lufthansa is closely watching the current situation in Israel and constantly maintains a close interaction with the authorities, security service providers and our own staff on the ground,” reads a statement from the company.
Lufthansa said it expects flights to Israel to resume on Saturday, May 15. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has ordered a “massive reinforcement” of security forces to curb deadly internal unrest that has shocked mixed Jewish and Arab communities across the country.
“We are in an emergency situation due to national violence and it is now necessary to have a massive reinforcement of the forces on the ground, and they must be sent immediately to enforce law and order,” he said.
He specified that the forces would be reservists of Israel’s border police, a force that operates largely in the occupied West Bank.