The
Israeli military said it targeted four Hamas facilities in response to
rockets fired the previous day, including one that landed in the town of
Sderot without causing casualties or major damage.
The
military said it struck warehouses and weapons manufacturing sites,
after which Hamas said it recovered the bodies of two of its men.
Israel
considers Hamas responsible for all rocket fire emanating from Gaza,
which is home to other armed groups. Some residents of Sderot and other
border towns spent the night in shelters, fearful of a resumption of
rocket attacks from Gaza that have led to three Israel-Hamas wars over
the past decade.
The flare-up followed clashes Friday
between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops in dozens of West Bank
hotspots and along the Gaza border.
Two Palestinians were shot dead in Gaza and dozens were wounded in the West Bank.
In
Jerusalem, prayers at Islam's third-holiest site dispersed largely
without incident. Large crowds of worshippers across the Muslim world
staged anti-US marches Friday, some stomping on posters of Trump or
burning American flags.
Saturday marked the third
Palestinian “day of rage” following Trump's announcement and more
protests were expected. In Bethlehem, Palestinians hurled stones at
Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and stun
grenades.
Demonstrations were also taking place in
Jerusalem, Ramallah and Gaza City, where some 4,000 gathered. Israel has
mobilized troops in case violence breaks out.
Trump's
announcement on Jerusalem, and his intention to move the US Embassy
there, triggered denunciations from around the world, with even close
allies suggesting he had needlessly stirred more conflict in an already
volatile region.
The status of the city lies at the core
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Trump's move was widely
perceived as siding with Israel. Even small crises over Jerusalem's
status and that of the holy sites in its ancient Old City have sparked
deadly bloodshed in the past.
Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and other groups have called for mass
protests while its rival, the Gaza-based Islamic militant group Hamas,
is calling for a third uprising against Israel, though such appeals have
largely fizzled as Palestinians have become disillusioned with their
leaders.
Most countries have not recognized Israel's
1967 annexation of east Jerusalem and maintain their embassies in Tel
Aviv. Under a longstanding international consensus, the fate of the city
is to be determined in final status peace negotiations.
Israel
says it hopes others will follow Trump's lead, but the United States
found itself alone in the UN Security Council on Friday, fielding
criticism from the other 14 members over the proposed move.
Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the council took a strong stance against “American violations of international law.”
“They
have no mandate to give away Jerusalem to an occupying power or to
violate international law in such a blatant and egregious manner,” she
said.
While Trump's announcement was warmly welcomed in
Israel as an acknowledgement of its longtime seat of government and the
ancient capital of the Jewish people, it was greeted with outrage from
Palestinians who considered it a slap in the face and an abandonment of
the longtime American role as mediator in the conflict.
After
two decades of halting peace negotiations that have failed to bring
Palestinians closer to statehood, some in Abbas' inner circle have begun
to speak openly about abandoning the two-state formula in favor of a
single binational state.
In a sign of Palestinian
frustration with the Americans, Abbas' political adviser Majdi Khaldi
said the Palestinian president will not meet with Vice President Mike
Pence when he visits the region later this month.
“The US crossed the red line in its decision about Jerusalem,” he told The Associated Press.
