Netanyahu to cut short US visit over Gaza strike

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short his visit to the US on Monday, hours after a rocket launched from Gaza struck a house outside Tel Aviv, injuring seven people.

"In light of the security events I decided to cut short my visit to the US," Netanyahu said, adding that he would fly back immediately after meeting President Donald Trump "in the coming hours", The New York Times reported.

The rocket launched from Gaza struck the house at 5.20 a.m. on Monday, the Israel Defence Forces said on Twitter.

In a statement, Netanyahu called the strike, in which two children were injured, a "criminal attack".

Netanyahu was expected to address a policy conference organised by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as Aipac, on Tuesday in Washington. His appearance at the conference has now been cancelled.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The home that was hit was in the pastoral community of Mishmeret, about 20 miles north of Tel Aviv.

On Sunday, sirens had started blaring in several Israeli locations adjacent to the Palestinian enclave after some 300 grenades and explosives were launched against the Israel-Gaza barrier by young Palestinians forming part of the "Night Confusion Units" that participated in the so-called Great March of Return, Efe news reported.

One Palestinian died and three others were wounded by Israeli gunfire during riots that took place on Saturday night, according to the Palestinian ministry of health.

On March 30, Palestinians in Gaza will celebrate the 'March of the Million' to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Great March of Return, which demands an end to the blockade imposed by Israel on the Strip and claims the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland in what is now the Israeli state.

Over the past year, more than 260 Palestinians have died in clashes with the Israeli army and about 29,000 have been provided medical care, 40 percent of them for gunshot wounds, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

--IANS

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