Explosions light up the skies over Gaza amid cross border violence, clashes in the West Bank

Violent clashes over Jerusalem escalated dramatically on Monday with Gaza health officials saying at least 20 people, including nine children, were killed by Israeli air strikes launched after Palestinian militant groups fired rockets close to Jerusalem.

Israel's military said it carried out strikes against armed groups, rocket launchers and military posts in Gaza after militants there crossed what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a "red line" by firing on the Jerusalem area for the first time since a 2014 war.

The rocket fire and Israeli air strikes continued late into the night, with Palestinians reporting loud explosions close to Gaza City and across the coastal strip. Shortly before midnight local time, Israel's military said Palestinian militants had fired around 150 rockets into Israel, of which dozens were intercepted by its missile defense systems.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the rocket attacks from Gaza against Israel should stop "immediately." He urged all sides to take steps to reduce tensions.

International efforts to stem the violence appeared to have already begun. A Palestinian official told Reuters that Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations, which have mediated truces between Israel and Hamas in the past, were in contact with the group's leader Ismail Haniyeh.

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