We are closing in on operation in Gaza,’ IDF senior official says – IDF hits more than 140 Gaza targets; three Gazans said killed, including pregnant woman and child – U.S. Mideast envoy Greenblatt: Hamas ‘subjecting people to war conditions’
A fireball exploding during Israeli air strikes in Gaza City, August 8, 2018 AFP
The Israeli military said Thursday morning that it struck more than 140 targets in Gaza in retaliation to a massive barrage of rockets that was fired at Israel overnight. More than 150 rockets were fired at Israel, the military said, with 25 rockets intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. The rest landed in open areas.
“We don’t see the end of the escalation. We are closing in on operation in Gaza,” a senior IDF official said Thursday. Israel is approaching a battle in Gaza, the official said.
“The way things continue to play out is significant. Hamas will understand in the coming hours, as in the past months, that this is not the direction it wants to chose,” according to the military’s Twitter account.
IDF strikes in Gaza overnightHaaretz
The military started striking in the Strip overnight Wednesday after six rockets were fired from Gaza, landing in the southern Israeli town of Sderot and wounded 11 Israelis. Nine Sderot residents were evacuated to a hospital; one is in moderate condition, and 13 others were treated for shock trauma.
Aftermath of a rocket attack from Gaza, Sderot, August 8, 2018Eliyahu Hershkovitz ????? ????????
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported Thursday that three Palestinians were killed in the attacks, including a pregnant woman, 23, her 16-month-old toddler and a man, who was identified as 30-year-old Ali Alrandur. Alrandur is the son of one of the commanders of Hamas’ armed wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam. Six other people were wounded in the attack.s center, the Health Ministry reported.The woman was identified as Ines Hamash. Her husband, according to a statement by the ministry, was wounded in the attack and is in moderate to serious condition.
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Israel attacked over 140 targets in Gaza, including a factory for tunnel components, a coastal attack tunnel and Hamas targets, the IDF said.
Emergency medical responders stated a 30-year-old Israeli woman was in moderate to serious condition and had been evacuated to a hospital to receive further medical care after she was wounded when a rocket landed near her in the Gaza-border community Eshkol Regional Council. Another man is being treated for mild injuries, Magen David Adom said.
The Israeli army said strikes on Gaza were ongoing, and that the latest round hit over 20 Hamas military targets, including army training facilities, an area used by Hamas’ naval commando, a weapons storage facility and a meeting point for senior group members in Khan Yunis.
The army said Thursday it struck a terrorist group that launched rockets from the southern Strip. The Israeli army started backing up its aerial defense batteries, and began deploying more Iron Dome missile defense batteries in the south to prepare for a scenario in which Gaza rockets could reach deeper into Israeli territory.
The IDF also attacked a vehicle in northern Gaza that was used by a terror cell that launched rockets towards Israel.
A Palestinian source told Haaretz that against the backdrop of the serious escalation, Egypt is failing to achieve a calm and a cease-fire between the two parties.
The first barrage from Gaza consisted of eight rockets, two of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome, the IDF said. Four rockets exploded in Sderot, causing injuries and damage.
Three Palestinians were lightly wounded in the Israeli strikes on Gaza and have been transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the Strip’s Health Ministry said.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is discussing the escalation on the southern border with senior military and defense officials at the IDF’s headquarters in Tel Aviv.
U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt critcized Hamas actions early Thursday morning. In a tweet posted to his official handle, Greenblatt wrote: “Hamas regime again is launching rockets at Israeli communities. Another night of terror and families huddling in fear as Israel defends itself.”
“This is the Hamas regime’s choice. Hamas is subjecting people to the terrifying conditions of war again,” he continued.
The United Nations’ Middle East envoy, Nikolay Mladenov, released a statement late Wednesday night concerning the escalation between Israel and Gaza. “I am deeply alarmed by the recent escalation particularly by today’s multiple rockets fired towards communities in southern Israel.”
“For months I have been warning that the humanitarian, security and political crisis in Gaza risks a devastating conflict that nobody wants. The UN has engaged with Egypt and all concerned parties in an unprecedented effort to avoid such a development,” Mladenov continued.
“Our collective efforts have prevented the situation from exploding until now. If the current escalation however is not contained immediately, the situation can rapidly deteriorate with devastating consequences for all people,” he warned.
Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi said that rescue services had been sent to homes “to check as to whether there are more shock victims” as a result of the rocket fire. “I recommend that everyone remain near protected spaces,” Davidi said. “We are in constant contact with the army and security forces.”
Opposition lawmakers blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for failing to achieve a lasting truce in Egyptian-mediated ceasefire talks with Hamas.
“Netanyahu and Lieberman! You have failed!” Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay tweeted. “Is this the way to hold a negotiation? Our hearts are with the residents of the Gaza border region and we support the IDF in its mission of restoring security to residents of the area.”
The first round of rockets was fired after the IDF attacked a Hamas target in the northern Gaza Strip in response to gunmen opening fire at a civilian vehicle involved in the construction of a barrier along the border. The gunfire caused damage to the vehicle.
Earlier Wednesday, the military increased its alert level and closed several traffic arteries in the Gaza region after Southern Command spotted the evacuation of several Hamas outposts in the Strip.
According to the military, the evacuations signalled Hamas was getting ready to launch an attack. Such an attack would provoke a response from Israel, prompting Hamas to evacuate targets the IDF might strike. The military said no special instructions had been issued for civilians on the homefront.
The developments came a day after the Israeli military fired at a Hamas facility in northern Gaza in response to fire from the Strip aimed at Israeli security forces. The tank fire killed two members of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades’ al-Nukhba elite unit and wounded six others, reports in Gaza said. The al-Qassam Brigades is the military wing of Hamas.
According to the IDF, the incident occurred due to a misunderstanding: The military believes that the shots that prompted an Israeli response were not deliberately aimed at IDF soldiers, but were part of a ceremony of the al-Qassam Brigades.
An IDF engineering corps force was operating in the area when the shots fired from Gaza were heard. The IDF thought it was an attempted sniper attack, and it was decided to fire a tank shell at the position in response.
An initial investigation has found, however, that the shooting took place two kilometers away from where the soldiers were operating. At this stage, it remains unclear whether the IDF knew of the ceremony, during which weapons were being fired. The assessment is that if any information had been received earlier about the event, senior IDF officers would not have approved the tank fire.
Nevertheless, the security establishment assesses that Hamas is still interested in reaching a cease-fire agreement with Israel, but that the organization faces a dilemma. While Hamas works toward signing a deal, the organization must keep responding to incidents in such a way as to show it has not shifted its policy toward Israel. At the same time, Hamas is trying to strengthen its links with other groups in Gaza – such as Islamic Jihad – to restore control and muster support behind any deal that may be reached.
A Hamas official told the Turkish state news agency Anadolu on Wednesday that the two parties are expected to sign an agreement by the end of August. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the first stage of the deal would include a two-week trial. The deal would lift restrictions on the entry of goods into the Gaza Strip and at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the coastal enclave.
“Hamas works towards signing a deal…The deal would lift restrictions on the entry of goods into the Gaza Strip and at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the coastal enclave.” Insanity continues… Hamas and Islamic Jihad are getting what they want – the land of Israel has been burnt, civilians were wounded, houses destroyed. Does it have any sense? It will not stop. Again Israel looks weak and it is very dangerous…
@ Bear Klein:
I absolutely agree – another barrage, another hudna giving Hamas time to regroup and re-arm, then another barrage, and then another hudna, over and over again. It is time for Israel, that is demonized by the world community for defending itself anyway, to invade Gaza and carry out what you suggest. Is not the sending of a barrage of rockets an act of war? Is not a defensive war considered a reason to take over and take ownership of conquested lands?