Israel strikes Palestinian weapon making facilities on Gaza strip

Israel says its jets hit two targets in the Gaza Strip after rockets were fired into southern Israel, according to international news reports.

The BBC reports that Israel's military said it targeted Hamas weapon-making facilities and Palestinian officials say a woman and child in a nearby house were killed in the attack.

West Bank officials further add that a boy of 13 was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes near a Jewish settlement, and later four Israelis were injured in the latest stabbing attack as tensions continue to escalate.

The BBC adds that earlier in the West Bank, a Palestinian woman was seriously injured after setting off an explosion at a checkpoint .

News agencies report that at least 24 Palestinians, including attackers, and four Israelis have been killed in violence so far this month after weeks of tension over access to a site in East Jerusalem sacred to both Jews and Muslims.

Palestinians fear Israel plans to change arrangements at the al-Aqsa mosque/Temple Mount compound, where Jews are allowed to visit but not allowed to pray.

The Guardian reports that imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti on Sunday has urged the international community to tackle the root causes of violence between Palestinians and Israelis, as he praised the “new Palestinian generation” for resisting the Israeli occupation.

Late on Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed "deep concern" over the situation and  made separate phone calls to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas where he "stressed the importance of upholding the status quo in word and deed" at the site.

The violence has spurred talk from Hamas, which dominates Gaza, of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising, but the clashes have not yet reached the scale of previous intifadas, with no clear mass movement or leadership so far emerging.