UN says Israel is heading for “full scale war”

Recent clashes have now killed 36 Palestinians and five Israelis.

The United Nations has warned that Israel is heading "towards a full-scale war" as violence continues to escalate between Israeli and Palestinian forces. Israel's air force has been hitting the Gaza Srip with more rockets in response to a bombardment from Palestinian militant group Hamas. The strikes on tower blocks in Gaza on Tuesday night led to the Palestinian death toll rising to 36, including 12 children. This is according to health officials in the territory, who have also reported that a further 233 people have been wounded. Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Envoy to the Middle East Peace Process, tweeted: "Stop the fire immediately. We're escalating towards a full-scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of de-escalation. "The cost of war in Gaza is devastating and is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working with all sides to restore calm. "Stop the violence now." https://twitter.com/TWennesland/status/1392218044433420291 Rockets from suspected Hamas strongholds have killed five Israelis, including a child, per the Daily Mail. Hamas increased its rocket fire on Tuesday and, according to Israel, militants have fired over 1,000 rockets at Israel since Monday.  As a result, Israel unleashed dozens of airstrikes on Wednesday morning targeting police and security installations belonging to Hamas. And the Israeli Defence Forces then dispatched two infantry brigades to the area of a downed militant drone, perhaps indicating preparations for a possible ground invasion. This is the worst violence between Israel and Palestine since 2014, but neither side has shown any sign of stepping down. Israeli Prime Minister has vowed to "step up" attacks, whilst Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has said that "if Israel wants to escalate, we are ready for it." Tensions between the two territories flared up a month ago in Jerusalem, when heavy-handed police tactics during Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Muslim neighbourhoods ignited protests and clashes with police.