Hamas militants have launched dozens of rockets at Israel after Israeli air strikes killed senior commanders and felled another tower block in Gaza. The escalation, which began on Monday, has triggered street violence in Israel between Jews and Israeli Arabs. In two incidents, a Jewish man in Acre was attacked by Arab men, and a Jewish mob pulled a Palestinian out of his car and beat him up in Bat Yam. At least 67 people in Gaza and seven people in Israel have been killed. The fighting erupted on Monday after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in East Jerusalem which culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by Muslims and Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking late on Wednesday night, said he planned to send in military forces to help police maintain order in cities ruptured by violence. Mr Netanyahu said the attacks in recent days amounted to anarchy. Nothing can justify an Arab mob assaulting Jews, and nothing can justify a Jewish mob assaulting Arabs, he said in a video statement, as reported by the Times of Israel. Palestinian militants have been firing rockets into Israel since Monday night, and Israel has responded by hitting targets in the territory. On Thursday morning, the IDF said about 1,500 rockets had been fired from Gaza into Israeli cities since hostilities escalated at the start of this week. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says that more than 400 people have been injured there since the conflict began, in addition to the 67 who have died. Mr Netanyahu said the government would use all its strength to protect Israel from enemies on the outside and rioters on the inside.
