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ISRAEL-STRIKE-HAMAS
Israel hits 68 Hamas targets in massive strike
JERUSALEM, July 21, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – The Israeli army hit 68 Hamas
targets throughout the Gaza Strip on Friday evening in retaliation for the
death of an Israeli soldier, according to a statement issued early Saturday
morning by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The IDF announced Friday night that an Israeli combat soldier was killed
by Palestinian gunmen during operational activity near southern Gaza.
The soldier was the first killed on the Gaza front in active duty since
the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, said an IDF spokesman. The IDF also
called it the “most serious incident” since the 2014 Gaza war.
In response, the IDF carried out massive strikes against Hamas’ military
targets across Gaza. “After hitting eight targets immediately by IDF’s tanks
and aircraft, IDF fighter jets targeted 60 other military targets,” read the
statement.
According to Israeli media report, Hamas announced a cease-fire with
Israel in the early hours of Saturday morning.
So far, Israel has not made official comment on the cease-fire
announcement of Hamas.
The Israeli army said that the strikes centered on three Hamas’ battalion
compounds, including the Zaytun battalion in the northern Gaza Strip, the
Khan Yunis battalion in the southern Gaza Strip and the Bureij battalion in
the central Gaza Strip.
The strikes eliminated about 60 buildings and infrastructure, dealing a
“severe blow” to the Hamas’ training array, command and control abilities,
weaponry, aerial defense and logistic capabilities along with additional
military infrastructure.
Among the targets were weapons manufacturing sites, a shaft to a tunnel
network, a factory used for underground infrastructure manufacturing, a UAV
warehouse, a military operations room, training facilities and observation
posts.
Four Palestinians were killed in the IDF retaliatory action and three were
members of Hamas’ armed wing, Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, according to
Israeli media.
The Israeli army noted that the IDF views Hamas offensive acts with “great
severity,” and holds Hamas accountable for all threats emanating from the
Gaza Strip, adding that the IDF is “prepared for a wide variety of scenarios
and is determined to fulfill its mission to protect and ensure the safety of
Israeli civilians.”
Israeli media reported that the Ministry of Defense will have to decide
Sunday whether to extend the harshest set of restrictions it has imposed on
Gaza since the 2014 war.
BSS/XINHUA/FI/ 1437 hrs