BRUSSELS—‘’While having the right to defend itself, Israel is expected to continue to exercise restraint and do everything to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza,’’ the EU said in a statement on the latest escalation of violence between Gaza and Israel.
‘’The rocket fire from Gaza towards communities in Southern Israel as well as other violent actions and provocations against Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian militants are totally unacceptable. We wish a speedy recovery to those injured,’’ an EU spokesperson said.
The statement added that the escalation of violence in recent days ‘’has brought Gaza and Israel dangerously close to yet more conflict. The first priority now is for de-escalation and for civilians’ lives not to be put at further risk.’’
The EU called the death of a pregnant Palestinian mother and her child ‘’a tragic loss.’’
The European Union reiterated its full support to the efforts by Egypt and the UN to reduce tensions and to alleviate the situation in Gaza, including by enhancing the international response to the current crisis and easing movement and access.
‘’We will continue to work, together with our partners, to address the humanitarian situation and to support intra-Palestinian reconciliation to reunite Gaza and the West Bank under one single and legitimate Palestinian Authority,’’ the EU said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), approximately 180 rockets have been launched at Israel from Gaza since Wednesday. The Iron Dome missile-defense system has intercepted 30-plus launches, with the majority of the rockets falling in open areas.
Five people in the Gaza Belt region were wounded, including one seriously, as a missile barrage from the Gaza Strip that began Wednesday afternoon continued overnight.
One resident of the Eshkol Regional Council, a 30-year-old woman from Thailand, sustained injuries to her torso and arms when a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip the home she was in. At least eight people were treated for emotional shock and two pregnant women went into labor as a result of the attacks.
In all, more than 150 projectiles had been fired from Gaza at civilian communities in Israel between 6 pm Wednesday and 9 am Thursday, sending thousands of people running to take cover amid widespread panic. Several factories and private homes sustained damage.
The barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip continued on Thursday, with Beersheva—the largest city in southern Israel—being targeted for the first time since “Operation Protective Edge” in 2014.
The mayor of Beersheva, Ruvik Danilovich, said that Israel must act more forcefully against these rocket attacks after his city of more than 205,000 people was targeted.
“No country would let the security of its citizens be harmed. It is legitimate for the country to conduct negotiations, but there must be red lines. It is likely that we’ll need to take more drastic and aggressive action,” Danilovich told Israel’s KAN public broadcasting corporation, JNS reported.
In response to the launch of rockets, the IDF have hit more than 150 terror targets in the Gaza Strip. Among them were weapons-manufacturing and storage facilities, a complex used by Hamas’s naval force, a military compound used for rocket-launching experiments and a meeting point used by senior commanders of Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade.