[ad_1]
Palestinian militants in Gaza have launched dozens of rocket attacks and Israeli fighter planes have bombed sites across the Strip during a series of intense fights unleashed by a botched Israeli Special Forces raid. which cost the lives of eight people.
At least 200 rockets and mortar shells were fired Monday from the coastal enclave, illuminating the sky with traces of missiles, and the Israeli police shared photos of a damaged building and one of them. fire in the city of Sderot, in the south of the country.
Israeli media reported that a mortar bomb hit a bus, seriously injuring a 19-year-old man. According to the national emergency services, at least seven people were injured by the strikes. Palestinian officials said at least three people, including two militants, had been killed by Israeli attacks, including tank fire, and nine others wounded.
The leaders of Gaza, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group have claimed responsibility for the rocket barrage. The outbreak followed an Israeli operation that appeared to have gone awry Sunday, during which soldiers killed seven Hamas militants and lost a lieutenant-colonel in a subsequent gun battle.
Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shehab said the groups had decided to retaliate "so that the occupation and its supporters know that our sons' lives have a price."
The day of violence, which began with Gaza's first known land incursion into Gaza since the last war in 2014, threatens to destroy an unofficial ceasefire that, according to both parties, is needed to prevent a new one. war.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh presided at a funeral on Monday, when masked gunmen in uniform wearing coffins and mourners chanted "revenge".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu curtailed a visit to Paris, where he attended the commemorations of the First World War.
Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, issued a statement at the end of the alleged attack, claiming that Israeli forces "had infiltrated tonight into a "civilian car" and had opened fire on a group of armed men near the town of Khan Younis, killing one of their own. commanders, Nour Baraka.
His fighters started chasing the vehicle, he added. During the pursuit, Israeli planes "bombed to cover the withdrawal of this force," he added.
Israel had largely abandoned its tactic of targeting senior Hamas officials in recent years. His army said in a brief statement: "During an IDF operation [Israel Defence Forces] The special forces' operational activity in the Gaza Strip has resulted in an exchange of fire. "
L & # 39; IDF m said later, this operation "was not intended to kill or kidnap terrorists, but to strengthen Israeli security," without specifying how.
Israeli media reported that the operation was aimed at gathering intelligence. The public radio station Kan announced that the Israeli army special forces had stolen their cover as a result of technical malfunction and remained stuck.
Residents in the area where the fighting took place said that the car driven by the soldiers, some dressed as women, had been stopped by Baraka, who had requested a piece of identity. The soldiers shot him with a silenced firearm before going to an olive grove where they were rifled off by helicopter.
Hamas militants in pursuit were bombed by air, residents said, and an Israeli plane destroyed the car used by its forces after their departure.
Last week, Israel, which blocks Gaza, has authorized fuel deliveries to the Gaza Strip to power power plants and reduce crippling power cuts. It also allowed Qatar to provide $ 15 million (£ 12 million) in aid to thousands of unpaid agents.
Violence has frequently erupted at the border since the Palestinians started demonstrating weekly in March. Israel fought back with lethal gunfire, killing about 170 protesters and wounding thousands of others.
The bloodshed has been going on for seven months, with Hamas and Israel fighting a war of airstrikes and rockets. Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations are working to negotiate a long-term ceasefire.
Netanyahu's cabinet, dominated by hawk politicians from rival factions, was split over the policy to be applied in Gaza, even as Israeli military commanders warned of escalation.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
[ad_2]Source link
