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Another long night of uninterrupted barrages of rockets by Palestinian militants from Gaza into Jerusalem was met with another round of air strikes by Israeli military forces Tuesday.
At least 22 people were killed in Gaza by Israeli airstrikes during the night. An Israeli military spokesman says 15 Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were believed to have been killed in the airstrikes, which targeted hundreds of Hamas-controlled sites. The military also says six Israeli citizens were injured by rocket fire.
Tuesday's pre-dawn violence came hours after at least 20 people, including nine children, were killed in Gaza by Israeli military airstrikes on Hamas targets. The airstrikes were in response to 150 rockets fired into Israel from Gaza, according to the Israeli army, with six of them targeting Jerusalem.
Hamas fired the rockets minutes after a 6 p.m. local deadline given to Israel to pull its security forces from the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City had passed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas crossed a "red line" with the rocket attacks. It is believed to be the first time the group fired rockets toward Jerusalem since a 2014 war.
"Israel will respond very forcefully. We will not tolerate attacks on our territory, our capital, our citizens and our soldiers. Whoever strikes us will pay a heavy price," he said.
A spokesman for Hamas' military wing, Abu Obeida, said the rocket attacks were a response to what he called Israeli "crimes and aggression" in Jerusalem.
Earlier, witnesses said Israeli security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades into the mosque while worshippers threw stones and other projectiles at the Israeli forces. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said more than 300 Palestinians were injured, including 228 who were taken to nearby hospitals. Israeli police said 21 officers were hurt in the clashes.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he was "deeply concerned about the rocket attacks" on Israel and that they should stop "immediately."
"All sides need to de-escalate, reduce tension, take practical steps to calm things down," he said in brief remarks ahead of a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at the State Department.
Safadi said that "maintaining peace and stability in Jerusalem is key" and that the focus is to ensure that escalation stops.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the White House is closely monitoring the situation in Israel and that the Biden administration has serious concerns about the escalating violence.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned the rocket attacks and said, "The ongoing violence in Jerusalem and Gaza must stop. We need an immediate de-escalation on all sides."
To avoid the clashes, Israeli organizers of a march to celebrate the Jewish state's 1967 capture of east Jerusalem altered its parade route to avoid the Muslim Quarter of the Old City.
Monday's violence follows weeks of mounting tensions and confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli troops in the city, sparked in part by Israeli plans to carry out evictions of Palestinian families in a neighborhood of east Jerusalem.
A lawsuit over the evictions has reached Israel's Supreme Court. However, the court postponed a key ruling in the case Monday, citing the "circumstances."
Saturday night into Sunday, dozens of Palestinians were wounded in violent confrontations with police in Jerusalem, when Muslims marked Laylat al-Qadr, or the "night of destiny," the holiest period of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The skirmishes occurred at the gates of the al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City, a site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, considered the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam.
The United Nations Security Council held a private meeting Monday on the rising tensions. Nine of the council's 15 members called for the session. Tor Wennesland, U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, briefed them on the situation.
Diplomats said council members were discussing issuing a statement, which would require a consensus of all 15 members.
"Our view is that the Security Council should urgently speak out, and we hope that it will be able to do so today," said Ireland U.N. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason. "We need to see an immediate de-escalation and an end to violence."
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said Guterres is following developments with "deep concern" and is worried they could trigger "yet another dangerous escalation, leading to further violence and loss of lives."
The U.N. has also strongly condemned Hamas' launching of rockets from Gaza into Israel and called on Israel to halt the evictions of Palestinians in east Jerusalem.
Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its unified capital. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of a future state.