NBC - Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets toward Jerusalem on Monday in a major escalation after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt during earlier clashes with Israeli forces at a site sacred to both Muslims and Jews. The rockets came on the anniversary of Israel's capture of the Old City of Jerusalem and its eastern neighborhoods in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Israel responded by attacking Hamas targets in Gaza.
Health officials in Gaza told NBC News that nine people, including three children, were killed shortly after the rocket fire started. It was not immediately clear how they died and whether any of the deaths can be linked to Monday night's escalation.
Explosions and air raid sirens were heard in Jerusalem after the Hamas set a deadline for Israel to remove its security forces from flashpoints in Jerusalem and release Palestinians detained in the latest clashes.
Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said the rocket attack was a response to what he called Israeli “crimes and aggression” in Jerusalem. “This is a message the enemy should understand well,” he said.
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