Palestinian militants have fired a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv after an Israeli air strike destroyed a 13-storey tower block in Gaza. The attack on the Hanadi Tower, which housed offices used by Hamas's political leadership, came after residents were warned to evacuate.
Hamas said it launched 130 missiles at the Israeli city and its suburbs in response to what it called 'the enemy's targeting of residential towers'. At least 31 people have been killed in some of the worst violence in years, with 28 Palestinians and three Israelis dead.
In Tel Aviv, pedestrians ran for shelter and diners fled restaurants as sirens sounded. A 50-year-old woman was killed by a rocket in Rishon LeZion, and a bus was hit in Holon shortly after being evacuated, injuring a five-year-old girl and two women. Ben Gurion Airport briefly halted flights, and an energy pipeline between Eilat and Ashkelon was struck.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had 'crossed a red line' by firing rockets at Jerusalem for the first time in years. Hamas said it was acting to defend Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque from Israeli 'aggression and terrorism' after clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians at the site on Monday left hundreds injured.
The violence follows days of unrest in Jerusalem, triggered by the threatened eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem by Jewish settlers. The UN Security Council is due to meet privately on Wednesday to discuss the conflict.
