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Israeli fighter jets struck targets in Gaza in response to salvos of rockets launched by Palestinian militants at Israeli territory on Tuesday. But after sunrise, the violence seemed to subside as both sides signaled they wanted to avoid a wider conflict.in Israeli custody after an 87-day hunger strike.
Palestinian militants in Gaza fired 100 rockets into southern Israel late Tuesday, seriously wounding a foreign worker at a construction site. The Israeli military said its warplanes struck tunnels, arms production sites and military installations belonging to the ruling Hamas militant group in Gaza.
The U.N.'s envoy to the Mideast, Tor Wennesland, said he welcomed “the restoration of calm" after a violent 12 hours. “Had our efforts failed, we would risk being in the midst of another deadly escalation,” he said. Ben-Gvir's party, called Jewish Power, announced its members would boycott all parliament voting on Wednesday in protest.
The spike in violence comes at a time of heightened tensions in the occupied West Bank under Israel's most right-wing government in history. On Wednesday, Israeli security forces demolished the family houses of two Palestinians who carried out deadly attacks against Israelis last fall.