Israel’s Foreign Ministry criticized a United Nations (UN) official Wednesday for predicting a full-scale war between the nation and Gaza while allegedly “ignoring” the barrage of rockets fired by Hamas.
Tor Wennesland, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process called Tuesday for a ceasefire and claimed the situation would escalate toward a full-scale war if the fire did not stop “immediately.”
“Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of deescalation,” Wennesland tweeted. “The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now.”
Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of deescalation. The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now
— Tor Wennesland (@TWennesland) May 11, 2021
Israel’s Foreign Ministry called out Wennesland for allegedly “ignoring [the] 1,000 rockets fired by terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad at Israeli towns in the past 36 hours.”
You speak of “the cost of war in Gaza” while ignoring 1,000 rockets fired by terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad at Israeli towns in the past 36 hours
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) May 12, 2021
Hamas has fired more than 1,000 rockets into central and southern Israel since Monday, the Israeli Defense Forces announced Wednesday morning.
Five Israeli citizens have been killed since the attacks began and more than 200 injured, CNN reported. Meanwhile, at least 48 are dead in Gaza and more than 300 injured, according to the report. (RELATED: US Protests Over Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Ignite In Major Cities)
Hamas began firing rockets indiscriminately around 6:00 p.m. Monday, with most rockets having been intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system known as the Iron Dome. Israel has conducted several targeted airstrikes in retaliation against the rocket barrages.
Israelis and Arabs have also clashed in the streets, with videos posted to Twitter showing violent riots.
A footage from the riots in Lod, a mixed city in centeal #Israel, where a Jewish resident shot dead an Arab resident during clashes. He is arrested and claims he was acting in self-defense pic.twitter.com/xty2cyjJk7
— Guy Elster (@guyelster) May 11, 2021
לוד מאבדת שליטה pic.twitter.com/DznEpQJN9W
— Roie Simhi ???????? רועי שמחי (@RoieSimhi) May 11, 2021
One video appears to show a restaurant being burned to the ground.
מסעדת אורי בורי בעיר העתיקה בעכו הוצתה@CBeyar pic.twitter.com/mB9y8GI9ol
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 11, 2021
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Hamas will pay for the attacks and declared a state of emergency in the city of Lod.
“Hamas and Islamic Jihad have paid and will pay a very heavy price for their aggression,” Netanyahu said, according to The Times of Israel. “I say here this evening: their blood is on their own hands.”