GAZA
\nThe Israeli army and Palestinians traded air strikesand rocket fire in and around Gaza Thursday, a day after the deadliest Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank in nearly 20 years.
\nEleven Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were martyred and more than 80 wounded by gunfire on Wednesday when Israeli troops raided the flashpoint West Bank city of Nablus, drawing international appeals for calm.
\nTop Palestinian official Hussein Al-Sheikh described the raid as a \u201cmassacre\u201d and called for \u201cinternational protection for our people\u201d.
\nBefore dawn on Thursday, Palestinians hit back firing six rockets from Gaza into Israel.
\nThe Israeli army said it managed to intercept five of them, while the sixth struck an uninhabited area.
\nPalestinian group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rockets after it called on \u201cresistance forces\u201d to respond to the \u201cmajor crime\u201d in Nablus.
\nTwo hours later, the Israeli military carried out air strikes on multiple targets in Gaza, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky.
\nThe missiles targeted \u201ca weapons factory\u201d and a \u201cmilitary camp\u201d, both run by Gaza\u2019s rulers Hamas, the army claimed in a statement.
\nUnited Nations chief Antonio Guterres appealed for calm, warning that tensions in the West Bank had reached their most dangerous level in years.
\n\u201cOur immediate priority must be to prevent further escalation, reduce tensions and restore calm,\u201d the UN chief said.
\n\u201cThe situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is at its most combustible in years,\u201d he added, pointing to \u201csky high\u201d tensions and the stalled peace process.
\nThe Israeli army said Wednesday\u2019s raid had targeted an alleged \u201chideout apartment\u201d used by suspected militants accused of shootings in the West Bank. It said one of the wanted suspects was \u201cneutralised\u201d, along with two others at the property who had opened fire on troops.
\nThe suspects and Israeli forces \u201cexchanged fire… there were also rockets that were fired on the house\u201d by the army, spokesman Richard Hecht told journalists.
\nRocks, explosive devices and Molotov cocktails were hurled at the troops, the army said, adding that nonetheless they suffered no casualties.
\nThe Palestinian health ministry said those killed \u201cas a result of the occupation\u2019s aggression on Nablus\u201d were aged between 16 and 72.
\nHours after the raid, the ministry announced the death of a 66-year-old man from tear-gas inhalation.
\nWednesday\u2019s death toll was the highest since the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, ended in 2005, surpassing that of an Israeli raid last month in Jenin, another flashpoint city in the West Bank.
\nPalestinian health officials said 82 people were admitted to hospital with gunshot wounds.
\nMostafa Shaheen, a Nablus resident, said \u201csoldiers… besieged the whole area\u201d at around 9:30 am (0730 GMT).
\n\u201cWe kept hearing the explosions and gunfire,\u201d he told AFP.
\nThe wounded include Palestine TV journalist Mohammed Al-Khatib, who was shot in the hand, his colleague told AFP.
\nThe Islamic Jihad said one of its commanders was killed \u201cin a heroic battle\u201d.
\nThe Lions\u2019 Den, a local group based in Nablus, said six of those killed were members of various Palestinian factions.
\nHailing the army\u2019s \u201ccourage\u201d, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant tweeted that Israel\u2019s \u201clong arm\u201d would reach \u201cany terrorist\u201d.
\nA huge crowd of mourners, including armed men, gathered in Nablus and the nearby Balata refugee camp in the afternoon for the funerals of 10 of those killed, AFP correspondents reported.
\nThe Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics had treated 250 cases of tear gas inhalation and dozens of gunshot wounds.
\nState Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington was \u201cextremely concerned by the levels of violence\u201d, while EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the European Union was \u201cdeeply alarmed by the spiralling violence in the West Bank\u201d.
\nBorrell called on \u201call parties\u201d to work towards \u201crestoring calm and… avoid further loss of life\u201d.
\nCondemning the acts of violence committed against civilians, France reiterated Israel\u2019s obligation to respect international humanitarian law and use proportionate force.
\nNeighbouring Jordan said it would \u201cwork intensely with all parties to achieve\u201d calm.
\nSince the start of this year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 60 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians.
\nNine Israeli civilians, including three children, a police officer and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.
\nUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and separately with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, calling on both to \u201crestore calm\u201d.
\nIsrael has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967.
\nLast year was the deadliest year in the territory since the United Nations started tracking casualties in 2005.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GAZA The Israeli army and Palestinians traded air strikesand rocket fire in and around Gaza Thursday, a day after the deadliest Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank in nearly 20 years. Eleven Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were martyred and more than 80 wounded by gunfire on Wednesday when Israeli troops raided the flashpoint West […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315650,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-315625","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n