9 Palestinians, including 3 kids, martyred in Gaza

By Muhammad Majid

GAZA, Palestine – (AA) – Nine Palestinians, including three children, were killed in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

“Bodies of nine martyrs, including three children, and several other people injured have been brought to the Beit Hanoun Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip,” Ashraf al-Qudra, a ministry spokesperson, said in a statement.

While the official did not give details about how the people were killed or injured, there were reports circulating of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier in the day, Palestinian groups shot rockets at Israeli locations in response to continued Israeli aggression at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the eviction of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem.

According to the Palestine Red Crescent, at least 305 people were injured on Monday as Israeli forces fired rubber-coated bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at Palestinians who were on guard to prevent possible raids by extremist Jews.

The Israeli army reported that seven rockets were fired from Gaza towards Jerusalem.

Tensions have run high in the Sheikh Jarrah area since last week as Israeli settlers swarmed in after an Israeli court ordered the eviction of Palestinian families.

Palestinians protesting in solidarity with the residents of Sheikh Jarrah have been targeted by Israeli forces. Hundreds of protesters have been injured in the process.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 – a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

* Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara