A father and daughter have been killed in the Israeli city of Lod after a rocket fired from Gaza hit the courtyard of their home. The 16-year-old girl’s mother was seriously injured in the attack early on Wednesday.
The victims were Palestinian citizens of Israel, also known as Israeli Arabs. Lod, a city with both Jewish and Arab residents about 15 miles south of Tel Aviv, has been the scene of serious rioting as violence that started in Jerusalem has escalated across Israel and triggered military conflict in and around Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared a state of emergency in the city as protesters threw rocks at police, who responded with stun grenades. He pledged to use “an iron fist if needed” to “stop the anarchy”.
It was the first time the government had used emergency powers over an Arab community since 1966, according to local media. Border force police were redeployed to Lod from the West Bank.
Heavy clashes erupted after thousands of mourners joined a funeral for an Arab man killed by a suspected Jewish gunman on Tuesday. A synagogue, a Muslim cemetery and dozens of vehicles were set on fire, according to Israeli media reports. Paramedics said a 56-year-old man was seriously hurt after his car was pelted with stones.
The mayor of Lod, Yair Revivo, said “civil war” was breaking out. “The day after, we still have to live here together,” he added.
He called for the Israeli military to restore order. “An intifada [uprising] erupted in Lod, you have to bring in the army,” he said. Commenting on the deaths of the father and daughter, he added: “Hamas missiles do not differentiate between Jews and Arabs.”
Shiloh Fried, a resident of Lod, told Israel’s Channel 12: “Gangs of Arab youths are going street to street, burning stores, smashing windows … Jewish families are huddled at home, terrified of going out … Police are nowhere to be seen.”
Channel 12 also showed footage of Jewish residents of Lod hurling rocks at cars of Arab residents.
Kobi Shabtai, the national police commissioner, said the unrest in cities with Jewish and Arab residents was unprecedented. “We are seeing a situation in the mixed cities that we have never seen before,” he said.
Attacks were reported on Jewish homes in Ramle, near Lod, where cars were also stoned. In the northern city of Acre, a restaurant and a hotel were set ablaze. Confrontations were also reported in the historic port of Jaffa, next to Tel Aviv.