Israel Puts Blame For Civilian Casualties In Ongoing Tensions On Palestine's Hamas

TEL AVIV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2021) The Israeli government considers Palestinian movement Hamas to be responsible for the deaths of civilians as a result of the ongoing tensions at the Gaza border, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said on Wednesday.

"The full responsibility for the people who were injured and killed in this operation... is in the hands of the leaders of the terrorist organization Hamas. They have decided to launch a terrorist attack against Israel, and they need to be held accountable for the result of this terrorist attack," Haiat said during a briefing.

The unrest in East Jerusalem has been going on for several days over an Israeli court's decision to evict several Palestinian families from the area.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been injured in clashes with the Israeli forces this month, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Israel has also reported injuries among its law enforcement officers.

At the start of this week, a major escalation began at the Gaza border with more than 1,000 rockets fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip since Monday, according to the Israeli army. In response, Israel launched strikes against Gaza.

At least 56 Palestinians were killed and over 300 were injured in Israeli airstrikes, according to Palestinian authorities. Israel reported seven fatalities and more than 200 injured as a result of rocket fire from Gaza.