Israel also ordered roads near Gaza closed, while the mayor of the southern city of Ashkelon ordered public bomb shelters opened. Hamas escalation of the already dangerous crisis, came as the Israeli military suspended its biggest military exercise in 30 years to redeploy its forces fearing rocket attacks from Gaza. “This is a message that the enemy should understand well,” said a spokesperson for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Hamas’s military wing claimed responsibility for the rocket fire in a statement saying it struck Jerusalem in response to Israel’s “crimes and aggression in the Holy City, and its harassment of our people in Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa Mosque.” The latest violence came after Israeli police stormed the compound early on Monday firing stun grenades and tear gas and clashing with Palestinians inside following days of worsening clashes. The Hamas ultimatum followed the latest clashes around the compound on Monday that left over 300 injured. Residents in Jerusalem reported hearing air raid sirens shortly after 6pm local time when the ultimatum was due to expire, and the sound of three distant explosions, although it was not clear if the detonations were rockets exploding or anti rocket systems being deployed.
The militant group Hamas has fired rockets into Israel from Gaza just minutes after the passing of its ultimatum for Israel to withdraw its security forces from the Jerusalem compound which is home to the al-Aqsa mosque, and from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in the city’s east.
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