GAZA: Israel saidit opened fire on armed Palestinians on Gaza's border overnight and Hamas'shealth ministry reported three dead yesterday, the latest in a series ofincidents along the tense barrier. Israel's tank and helicopter fire came afterPalestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired three rockets at Israel lateSaturday, the army said, the second such attack in 24 hours.
Two rockets wereintercepted by Israel's air defense systems, it said, without specifying whathappened to the third. Police reported no casualties in Israel, but said arocket fragment fell on a house in the southern Israeli town of Sderot. Israelimedics said they had treated six people, including two with minor injuriessustained while running to bomb shelters and four others with panic attacks.
Hours later,Israel's army said "troops spotted a number of armed suspects adjacent tothe security fence in the northern Gaza Strip". It added that an"attack helicopter and a tank fired towards them". The healthministry in the Palestinian enclave run by Islamist movement Hamas reportedthree dead and said another Palestinian was hospitalised following the incidentnorth of Beit Lahia. It identified those killed as Mahmoud Al-Walayda, 24,Mohammed Abu Namus, 27, and Mohammed Samir Al-Taramsi, 26.
Hamas in astatement called their deaths "another crime by the Israeli occupation tobe added to its grim toll against the Palestinian people's rights, land andholy sites." Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad issued a statementmourning their deaths, but did not claim them as members. "We affirm theright of our people to resist and confront all forms of Zionistaggression," it said. A series of incidents along the Gaza border hastested a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel in recent days.
On Friday night,a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel and was intercepted by missile defensesystems. Israel said in response it carried out strikes on two Hamas"underground targets" in the northern and central Gaza Strip, withoutproviding further details. A Gaza security source reported three Israelistrikes on a Hamas observation post, an unidentified target near Gaza City andone that hit open ground in the central part of the enclave. No casualties werereported.
Netanyahu underpressure
The rocket fireand retaliation came after a series of other incidents along the Gaza bordersince the start of the month. A week ago, a Palestinian shot at Israelisoldiers along the frontier and was killed when troops returned fire, the armyand Hamas's health ministry said.
A day beforethat, Israel's army said its troops shot dead four heavily armed Palestinianson the border, adding one had managed to cross and throw a grenade at soldiers.Earlier on August 1, a Palestinian seeking to avenge his brother's death byIsraeli fire entered Israel from Gaza and opened fire on soldiers, the armysaid. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded and the Palestinian was killed, thearmy said. Regular protests and clashes erupted along the border of theblockaded Gaza Strip in March 2018.
At least 305Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza or the border area sincethen, the majority during demonstrations and clashes. Seven Israelis have alsobeen killed in Gaza-related violence over the same period. Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely seen as wanting to avoid an escalation inthe Gaza Strip before September 17 elections, but he also faces heavy politicalpressure to respond firmly.
Israel andPalestinian militants in Gaza, including Hamas, have fought three wars since2008. Beyond the Gaza incidents, there has also been an uptick in tension inJerusalem and the occupied West Bank. On Friday, two Israelis were wounded in aPalestinian car-ramming near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank and theassailant was shot dead, authorities said. That followed an incident onThursday when two Palestinian youths attacked police officers with knives ineast Jerusalem's Old City.
One officer wasmoderately wounded, while police shot both of the Palestinians. One was killedand the second was in critical condition. Israel occupied the West Bank andeast Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War. It later annexed east Jerusalem in a movenever recognized by the international community. It views the entire city asits capital, while the Palestinians see the eastern sector, where key holysites are located for Christians, Muslims and Jews, as the capital of theirfuture state.- AFP