Palestinian militants have fired 130 rockets at Tel Aviv after an Israeli air strike destroyed a 13-storey tower block in the Gaza Strip. The building was attacked an hour and a half after residents were warned to evacuate, according to Reuters.
Israel's military says it is targeting militants in Gaza in response to earlier rocket attacks. At least 31 people have died in some of the worst violence in years, with three killed in Israeli areas and 28 Palestinians killed by Israeli air strikes.
Hamas said it launched the rockets at Tel Aviv and its suburbs in response to 'the enemy's targeting of residential towers'. A 50-year-old woman was killed by a rocket in Rishon LeZion, near Tel Aviv, and five others were injured in the suburb of Holon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had 'crossed a red line' by firing rockets towards Jerusalem for the first time in years. Hamas says it is acting to defend Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque from Israeli 'aggression and terrorism' after clashes at the site left hundreds injured.
The violence follows days of unrest in Jerusalem, fuelled by the threatened eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem and altercations between protesters and police. The UN Security Council will meet privately on Wednesday to discuss the conflict.
