An alarmed United Nations has warned of the possibility of “all out war” in the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas as a third consecutive day of violence saw the death toll climb above 70.
World leaders urged both sides to pull back from the edge and Joe Biden, facing his first major foreign policy test as US president, backed Israel and said he was hopeful the trading of airstrikes and rocket fire would end soon, following a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“My expectation and hope is this will be closing down sooner than later, but Israel has a right to defend itself,” Mr Biden told reporters after the call.
Events on the ground though could undermine any ทางเข้าjoker optimism about a swift end to the violence, the worst since 2014.
Earlier, Mr Netanyahu said his country would inflict blows on Hamas “that they couldn’t even dream of”. Benny Gantz, the Israeli defence minister, said his country was not preparing for a ceasefire and would stop military action only when it had achieved “complete quiet”.
Meanwhile, Hamas called for a full-scale intifada, or uprising.
Adding to the sense of a worsening situation getting further out of control, a state of emergency was ordered in the city of Lod, close to Tel Aviv, after protests by Israeli Arabs. Tensions on the streets were visible after shocking television footage on Wednesday night showed an Israeli Arab being dragged from his car and brutally attacked by a mob in the town of Bat Yam.
The death toll in the conflict reached 72, with 17 children among the lives lost.
All but two of the children were killed in Gaza, where 65 people have died during Israeli military action over the last three days. Palestinian health officials said another 365 have been wounded as a result of airstrikes.