With the Israeli legislative election only 2 weeks away, tensions between Israel and Gaza militants escalated last night, with rockets being fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, while the Israeli army launched airstrikes on various targets in the densely populated strip.
Gaza is controlled by Hamas and has been subject to a stringent blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007. Over the last decade, Hamas and Israel have fought three wars, in 2008-2009, 2012 and 2014. Since last year, Hamas has regularly organized protests along the Israeli border for the past year in hopes of easing the blockade. During those protests, Israeli troops have killed at least 189 Palestinians. Last month, a panel of United Nations (UN) experts concluded that some of those incidents may constitute war crimes.
Read more: Fighting Between Israel and Hamas Quiets After a Night of Heavy Fire
