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An exchange of gunfire erupted during an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing six Palestinians, officials said, while potentially risking a recent agreement. restore calm.
As tension mounted as a result of the clashes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that he would shorten his trip to Paris, where he was attending World War I commemorations, and returning home.
Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, the Islamist movement that leads the blockaded Gaza Strip, denounced a "cowardly Israeli attack".
Following the outbreak of the clashes, sirens were reported in southern Israel, indicating possible rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Two launches from Gaza to Israel have been confirmed and intercepted by Israeli anti-missile defenses, the army said.
The details of the incident, according to Palestinian officials, allegedly occurred east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, were still emerging.
Gaza's health ministry said six Palestinians had been killed.
Among the dead was a local commander of Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the brigade said in a statement.
The Israeli army did not provide details, but said that all his soldiers had returned.
"During the operational activity (of the Israeli army) in the Gaza Strip, an exchange of fire took place.More details will follow," says a statement from the Israeli army.
Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said on Twitter that the army "was operating in the Gaza Strip, an exchange of gunfire ensued".
"All IDF soldiers have returned to Israel," he wrote about the Israel Defense Forces. "Several alarms have sounded in southern Israel."
The armed wing of Hamas claimed in a statement that a team of Israeli special forces had infiltrated near Khan Younis in a civilian car.
The Israeli army did not confirm these details or describe the type of operation it conducted.
A ground operation in the Gaza Strip would be rare and would greatly increase tensions.
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Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has held security consultations at army headquarters, his office said.
The clash comes after months of deadly unrest along the Gaza-Israel border, which seemed to be calming down.
In recent weeks, Israeli decisions have allowed Qatar to provide the Gaza Strip with millions of dollars in wage aid and fuel to mitigate an electricity crisis.
Netanyahu had previously defended his decision to allow Qatar to transfer money to Gaza despite criticism from his government about this decision, saying it was wishing to avoid a war if it did not happen. was not necessary.
"I am doing what I can, in coordination with the security forces, to restore calm in the southern communities, but also to prevent a humanitarian crisis," Netanyahu said Saturday night, referring to Israeli cities near the border of the country. Gaza and the deterioration of the situation the enclave.
Naftali Bennett, Minister of Education Netanyahu and rival right, compared the cash flow to "protective money" paid to criminals.
Lieberman said that he had opposed the "transfer of money to Hamas".
Israeli and Palestinian militants in Gaza have waged three wars since 2008, and unrest in recent months has raised fears of a fourth.
Deadly clashes accompanied major demonstrations on March 30 on the Gaza-Israel border.
At least 227 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire, the majority shot dead during demonstrations and clashes since demonstrations began, while others died as a result of tank fire or air strikes.
An Israeli soldier was killed along the border with Gaza at that time.
On Friday, Palestinian officials began receiving payments after months of sporadic disbursements of salaries in Gaza run out of money, with $ 15 million delivered to the enclave by Israel in suitcases by Qatar.
A total of $ 90 million is to be distributed in six monthly installments, the Gaza authorities said, mainly to cover the salaries of those working for Hamas.
Qatar also announced that it would give $ 100 to each of the 50,000 poor families, as well as larger sums to Palestinians wounded in clashes along the Gaza-Israel border.
The Gulf emirate has also begun to buy additional fuel for Gaza's only power plant, helping to reduce downtime to its lowest level in years.
The mother of Nour Baraka, a commander of the Hamas armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, killed during an Israeli operation on Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, reacts to the morgue of a hospital where his body was transported. November 11, 2018
