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Deadly Gaza flare-up threatens to derail peace efforts
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, Nov 13, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Renewed
violence in Gaza threatened to thwart efforts to end months of unrest as
Israeli air strikes killed three Palestinians and destroyed a Hamas TV
building while a barrage of rocket fire from the enclave left one dead on
Tuesday.
The flare-up came after a deadly Israeli special forces operation in the
Gaza Strip on Sunday that led Hamas to vow revenge.
Israel’s military said it had so far struck more than 70 militant sites in
response to over 300 rockets fired from the Hamas-run territory Monday
afternoon into the night.
Missile defences intercepted dozens of rockets from Gaza and most others
fell in open areas, though some hit houses and other civilian structures, the
military said.
One man was pulled dead from the ruins of a building in southern Israel,
emergency services organisation United Hatzalah said, adding that a woman
recovered from the same building in the city of Ashkelon was in a critical
state.
Medics had earlier reported around 20 Israelis wounded, while Gaza’s health
ministry said three Palestinians were killed and nine wounded in the Israeli
strikes.
Militant group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said two
of those killed were its members and the third was from Islamic Jihad’s armed
wing.
The outbreak of violence came after months of deadly unrest along the Gaza-
Israel border had appeared to be calming.
Recent weeks have seen Israel allow Qatar to provide the Gaza Strip with
millions of dollars in aid for salaries as well as fuel to help ease an
electricity crisis.
Before the flare-up, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had defended his
decision to allow Doha to transfer the cash despite criticism from within his
own government, saying he wanted to avoid a war if it was not necessary.
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008,
and deadly clashes in recent months have raised fears of a fourth.
– Warning shots –
The army said Monday an Israeli bus was hit by an anti-tank missile from
the Gaza Strip, causing several injuries. A soldier was severely wounded, it
added.
Palestinian militant groups in Gaza, including Hamas, claimed
responsibility for the rocket fire and the missile attack on the bus, which
they said was being used by Israeli soldiers.
Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said he could not yet provide
further details on the bus or its passengers.
The building for Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV was destroyed in an Israeli strike
after a series of warning shots, with the Israeli army saying the station
“contributes to Hamas’s military actions”.
No injuries were reported and workers were believed to have evacuated after
the warning shots.
A former hotel in Gaza City used by Hamas as an internal security office
was also hit in an Israeli strike, AFP journalists reported.
Gaza militants threatened another harsh response after the strike on the TV
building and, according to police, more rockets landed in Ashkelon.
Hamas said the initial rocket fire was in revenge for the deadly Israeli
operation late Sunday in the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, a clash erupted during the covert operation that killed seven
Palestinian militants, including a local commander for Hamas’s armed wing, as
well as an Israeli army officer.
– ‘Extremely dangerous’ –
Netanyahu cut short a trip to Paris and rushed home as tensions rose, and
on Monday convened a meeting of security chiefs.
UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov, who along with Egypt has been
seeking a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas, called the escalation
“extremely dangerous” and said on Twitter that “restraint must be shown by
all”.
Israel had stressed its covert operation on Sunday was an intelligence-
gathering mission and “not an assassination or abduction”, but Hamas strongly
denounced it and vowed revenge.
Israel’s military signalled that Sunday’s mission did not go as planned and
resulted in the clash, which Palestinian officials said included Israeli air
strikes.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said the Israeli
special forces team had infiltrated near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza
Strip in a civilian car.
An exchange of fire followed in which local Al-Qassam commander Nour Baraka
was killed along with another militant, it said.
The car then attempted to flee and Israeli aircraft provided covering fire.
Israel’s military declined to comment on the Al-Qassam account “because of
the sensitive nature of the operation”.
A funeral was held for the seven Palestinian militants on Monday, attended
by thousands, including masked Al-Qassam members carrying rifles, some firing
into the air.
Violent clashes have accompanied major protests along the Gaza-Israel
border that began on March 30.
At least 231 Palestinians have since been killed by Israeli fire, the
majority shot during protests and clashes, while others died in tank fire or
air strikes.
Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that time.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0942 hrs