Attacks in Tel Aviv and the West Bank as emotions are still high after Israeli strikes

The Israeli strikes in the West Bank and Tel Aviv killed three people on Friday after Israel struck Palestinian militant targets in southern Lebanon and Gaza. The barrage from Lebanon was the largest since a 2006 war between the two countries. Two sisters, aged 16 and 20, with dual British-Israeli citizenship, were killed and their mother was seriously wounded in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank. Later in the evening, a group of tourists was hit by a vehicle during an attack in Tel Aviv. An Italian man was killed and seven people were wounded, including three British tourists and an Italian citizen.

The US strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in the West Bank and Tel Aviv, and the United Arab List and Palestinian-Israeli Knesset member Mansour Abbas rejected any use of violence against any citizen. The attack in Tel Aviv is not the way of the Arab community and citizens in Israel, Abbas said on Saturday. The IDF has blamed Hamas, the militant group which controls Gaza, for the rocket launches. Some regional countries have intervened to de-escalate tensions. Qatari officials have been mediating to “deescalate the situation on all sides” and are trying to prevent unnecessary bloodshed and avoid destructive consequences for Palestinians and civilian populations. It is unclear which of the warring parties Qatari officials have been communicating with, as Qatar does not have official diplomatic relations with Israel.