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The Israeli army began an exchange of fire with Hamas on Wednesday night after several Palestinian children approached the border fence in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops who arrived on the scene to drive away the children were the target of sniper fire.
In response, the army attacked several Hamas targets throughout the band. The army attributes sniper fire to organizations that are not affiliated with Hamas.
Three Palestinians were killed, according to Palestinian media. The three were identified as Ahmed Albasus (28), Abada Alfarona (29) and Mohammad Alariar (27). A Palestinian would be in serious condition.
Security officials say that Hamas' response to the exchange means the organization is not interested in an escalation.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is holding security consultations with senior IDF officials at the Tel Aviv military headquarters.
A few minutes after the start of the exchange, rocket alarms sounded in the border communities of Gaza. Residents of the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council, near the Gaza border, said they heard explosions.
Mbadive Israeli tanks and artillery fire was fired in the east of Gaza City, Palestinian reports added.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army fired on a group of Palestinians who threw incendiary balloons against Israel. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said three Palestinians had been wounded in the attack, one of them seriously.
A senior political source said over the weekend that Hamas had called for a ceasefire and had guaranteed that it would stop firing airborne incendiary bombs. However, Hamas activists told Haaretz that Hamas leaders will not be able to act publicly against balloon throwers as long as they can not secure Israeli easing of restrictions on the band. The IDF has attacked three times since the ceasefire was declared, the last time yesterday when an IDF plane attacked a group of Palestinians who were firing Molotov badtails into the Gaza Strip.
Last Friday, an Israeli soldier was killed by sniper fire in the southern Gaza Strip. The IDF responded by striking 68 Hamas targets and killing four Gazans, including three Hamas members.
Following the escalation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two security meetings with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, military leader Gadi Eisenkot, director of Shin Bet Nadav Argaman and others senior defense officials. "If Hamas continues to launch rockets, the result will be much worse than they think," Lieberman told United Nations Ambbadador to the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov.
More details coming soon …
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