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Deaths From Israeli Strikes in Gaza Rise to 65, Palestinian Health Official Says

GAZA (Sputnik) - The death toll from Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza exclave rose to 65 by Wednesday night, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said.
Sputnik

"Sixty-five Palestinians died in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in the past two days, including 16 children and five women, while 365 others were wounded," he said.

Israel has reported seven deaths, including a soldier and a six-year-old. It responded to barrages of rockets fired from Gaza by pounding Gazan cities with airstrikes and leveling three high-rises.

Israel and Palestine's Hamas have exchanged hundreds of rocket strikes since cross-border violence erupted on Monday night. It was sparked by days of clashes in East Jerusalem and the eviction of several Palestinian families from their homes in the disputed city.

Tensions that have been simmering during the holy month of Ramadan boiled over after Israeli police and Palestinian protesters clashed at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. Separately, an Israeli court sparked anger when it backed Jewish settlers' legal effort to evict several Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem.

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