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JERUSALEM – The Israeli army on Sunday lifted its restrictions along the Gaza border, saying that it had agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Egypt that ended a 24-hour fighting series with Hamas militants. a popular beach and set limits on large gatherings as residents stayed mostly near their homes on Saturday amid dozens of rockets that were fired from Gaza. But after several hours of calm, the army said the locals could resume their daily routine.
On Saturday, the army conducted its largest wave of air strikes in Gaza since the 2014 war, striking several Hamas military buildings and flattening a number of its residents. training camps. Two Palestinian teenagers were killed in an air strike in Gaza City, while four Israelis were injured when a rocket landed on a house.
The army announced that several mortar shells had been fired. in Israel during the night. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not accept a ceasefire unless it understands the end of all militant hostilities, including incendiary attacks. the kites and balloons of Gaza that devastated Israeli agricultural land and nature reserves nearby.
"The Israeli army has been the hardest hit against Hamas since the war of 2014. I hope they will understand it." After the fall of several balloons in Israel Sunday, the army said that it had targeted the Hamas squad that had launched them from the northern Gaza Strip.
Hamas police also announced a Sunday explosion in a house in Gaza City that killed a father and a son, aged 35 and 13. The blast seemed to be an accidental explosion related to explosive stocks of militants. Israel said it launched the Saturday barrage in response to weeks of violence along the Gaza border – including a Friday grenade attack that injured an officer – as well as Hamas-supported rocket attacks and campaign of incendiary devices floating over the border.
Hamas responded with more than 200 projectiles to Israeli communities, evoking memories of the three wars that the parties have waged over the last decade. Israel said its Iron Dome defense system shot more than 20 projectiles.
On Sunday night, the army announced that after a "situation assessment", it had reinforced Iron Dome batteries in central Israel and in the south of the country. Israel has also destroyed several Hamas attack tunnels, as well as factories involved in the production of kites and incendiary balloons, and a headquarters of the Hamas battalion in the northern Gaza Strip [[19659008]]. 19659002] "We have no intention of tolerating rockets, kites, drones or anything," said Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. "I hope that Hamas will draw conclusions and if not, they will have to pay a heavy price."
Two teenagers were killed and several others injured when Israel hit an unfinished five-storey building near a public park in Gaza City, reducing the structure to ruins. The army said that Hamas was using it as a training center and had dug a tunnel under its underground network.
The rare strike in the heart of Gaza City blew up windows in a mosque, an art gallery, government offices, a tech start-up and dozens of houses, leaving the lights and the suspended wiring. The University of Al-Azhar said that its classrooms and the dental laboratory were also damaged.
Addressing thousands of people attending the funerals of the two teenagers, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh promised to continue the protests in Gaza. He also met with UN envoy to the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, who urged both parties to remain calm.
"Yesterday we were on the brink of war and it took concerted efforts to confront," Mladenov told Gaza. "Everyone needs to step back."
Hamas tried to break out of its isolation and highlight the hardships of the impoverished gang without invoking Israel's total anger. The Israeli-Egyptian blockade was imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. More than 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire since demonstrations began on 30 March.
Fares Akram of the Associated Press.
A section on the 07/16/2018
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