The Latest: Johnson urges Israel, Hamas away from 'brink'
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Latest on confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians as Israel signals a widening military campaign:
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants to see an “urgent de-escalation of tensions” between Israel and Hamas amid the most severe outbreak of violence since the 2014 Gaza war.
Johnson tweeted on Wednesday that the United Kingdom is “deeply concerned” and urged leaders to “step back from the brink.”
He was one of many leaders around the world offering up advice after longtime tensions in contested Jerusalem erupted into rocket-fire from the Gaza Strip and an intense response from Israel.
British Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly told Parliament that Britain “unequivocally condemns the firing of rockets at Jerusalem and other locations in Israel.” He called Hamas' conduct “terrorism” and called on militants to “end their incitement and rocket fire against Israel.”
Cleverly said Israel has a “legitimate right to self-defense," but added that in doing so, ”it is vital that all actions are proportionate, in line with international humanitarian law and make every effort to avoid civilian casualties."
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JERUSALEM — Israel’s firefighting service says it has almost completely extinguished a blaze at a petroleum facility in southern Israel that was set alight by a rocket fired by Hamas militants.
The rocket landed Tuesday night near a Petroleum and Energy Infrastructures Ltd. facility south of Ashkelon during a major barrage by Gaza militants. The result was a massive fire in a storage tank that blazed through the night and into Wednesday.
Israel Fire and Rescue Services said that 20 teams have been working for 25 hours to extinguish the inferno that issued a column of thick black smoke....