Violence erupts after Israeli operation in Gaza becomes deadly: NPR

Israel and militants in Gaza exchanged rocket and mortar fire on Monday, a resurgence of violence provoked by an Israeli military operation over the weekend that resulted in the deaths of seven Palestinians and one Israeli.

It is unclear why Israeli special forces entered the city of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip on Sunday and why a shootout erupted. "The special operation of yesterday was not intended to kill or abduct terrorists, but to enhance Israeli security," said a spokesman m said, adding that the battle was "very complex".

Israeli forces entered Gaza on board a civilian vehicle and were arrested by members of Hamas' armed wing, Izzaldin al-Qassam Brigades, according to the Islamist group, long regarded as a terrorist organization by terrorists. United States. Hamas said the Israelis opened fire on Palestinians who "tried to thwart the attack".

An Israeli officer was killed in the exchange of fire. "The citizens of Israel owe him so much," m said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who quickly withdrew from Paris, where he commemorated, with other leaders of the world, the end of the First World War.

Hamas has described the operation as "assassination of a senior official". Nour Baraka, a 37-year-old Palestinian commander, was killed and six others also died. Five of the men were affiliated with Hamas and one was a member of the Popular Resistance Committees, according to Reuters.

As their burials began, thousands of mourners stood beside camouflaged gunmen and chanted "revenge," according to the Associated Press.

"What the Palestinian resistance is doing is proving that it is ready and ready to defend the Palestinians," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said on Sunday.

Monday, more than 300 rockets from Gaza were launched in southern Israel, the country's army m said. He added that some of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Air bombing sirens sounded throughout the region, nearby schools were closed and train service stopped.

Hamas media said rockets hit a house in Israel and that the army posted a video on the social media of the "multiple Israeli homes" affected.

The Israeli army announced that it had sent fighter planes and was "hitting terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip" – comprising compounds, observation posts and a rocket launch team. The army said more than 70 militants from the Gaza Strip had been hit, reports Naomi Zeveloff for NPR in Tel Aviv.

During the day, both sides saw the number of victims increase.

Palestinian health officials said two people were killed and three wounded in Israeli strikes, Reuters reports.

In Israel, at least 10 people were wounded in rocket attacks, reports the press service, citing medical officials. 19-year-old man seriously injured after mortar shell hit the bus, whose driver had a panic attack and was also taken to hospital, according to the Times of Israel.

Monday's clashes took place days after Hamas calmed recent protests along the Israeli border and allowed Israel to allow more aid to flow into Gaza. The AP said the United Nations and Egypt were trying to find a solution to the recent outbreak of violence.