07 April 2023 , 16:30
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Two sisters believed to be British nationals have been killed in the occupied West Bank after Israel bombed Lebanon and bombarded the Gaza Strip in a massive escalation.
One girl aged 15 and her elder sister in her 20s died and their mother, believed to be in her 40s, was seriously injured in a shooting incident.
Their car was hit in the Israeli settlement of Hamra, 30 miles north of Jerusalem. The family is said to have moved to Israel from the UK in 2005.
Israel's military said: "A shooting attack was carried out on a vehicle at the Hamra Junction. IDF [Israeli army] soldiers are searching the area."
It followed days of violence focused on Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque and a massive rocket salvo from southern Lebanon and Gaza.
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As many as 34 rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon and dozens more were launched from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
Two sisters believed to be British were killed and their mother was seriously injured at the Jordan Valley (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Early today, Israel's military hit sites in Lebanon and Gaza. The cross-border fighting follows two nights of police raids at the iconic al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
The shooting in the West Bank may spark a wider conflict, it is feared.
Daniel Levy, president of the US/Middle East Project, told Al Jazeera: "Endless denial of freedoms and rights for the Palestinians under occupation – living under the repressive Israeli regime – is inevitably going to lead to people taking up whatever forms of resistance – that’s what happens across the board, globally, historically."
Israel's bombing of Hamas sites in Lebanon and the militant barrage it followed is believed to be the biggest flare-up across that border since the 2006 Hezbollah - Israel War.
The shooting came as Israel bombed Lebanon targets in a massive escalation (Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock)Israel has stressed that its warplanes struck sites belonging to only Palestinian militant groups.
But the barrage risks drawing in Israel's bitter Shia foe Hezbollah, which holds sway over much of southern Lebanon and has links to the Palestinians.
A fresh war with Iran-backed Hezbollah risks a massive outbreak of violence in the region as Tehran already supports both that network and Gaza rulers Hamas, even though it is a Sunni organisation.
It is believed links between Hezbollah and Hamas have grown in recent years, with Hamas developing bases in southern Israel.
Israeli soldiers gather near the Hamra junction (afp/AFP via Getty Images)In 2006 Israeli tanks rolled over the border into Lebanon, targeting Hezbolla rocket teams and warplanes bombed large areas of the capital Beirut.
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The West Bank shooter who killed the two women is suspected to be a Palestinian militant.
The Israeli military said it was boosting infantry and artillery forces in a defensive move "to prepare for all possible scenarios".
A Palestinian official said Egyptian security officials were working with Hamas and Israel to de-escalate the situation.