Gaza violence intensifies as Jerusalem clashes resume

Israeli security forces escort a group of Jews outside Damascus Gate, in Jerusalem’s Old City, on Wednesday April 20 2022 (Mahmoud Illean/AP)

Israel’s air force and Palestinian militants have traded fire across the Gaza frontier as clashes again erupted at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, worsening an escalation similar to the lead-up to last year’s Israel-Gaza war.

Thursday’s violence along the Gaza front, fuelled by unrest between Israeli police and Palestinians in Jerusalem, appears to be the heaviest cross-border fighting since last year’s 11-day conflict and comes despite efforts to prevent a repeat.