Israel strikes Gaza, Syria after Palestinian rockets attacks
The
Israel military said early Monday that it struck Palestinian militants
targets in Gaza and Syria in response to rockets fired toward southern
Israel on Sunday evening. (AP File Photo)
The
Israel military said early Monday that it struck Palestinian militants
targets in Gaza and Syria in response to rockets fired toward southern
Israel on Sunday evening, hours after Israel said it killed a
Palestinian militant who tried to place a bomb along the Israel-Gaza
barrier fence.
The
Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group claimed responsibility for the
rocket barrages. Palestinians were furious over the image of the man's
lifeless body dangling off the front of an Israeli bulldozer that
crossed into Gaza to retrieve it. There was also criticism in Gaza of
the territory's Hamas rulers for not responding.
The
Israeli military reported air raid sirens throughout southern Israel
and said at least 20 rockets had been fired. There were no reports of
damage or injuries on the Israeli side, but it was the heaviest barrage
of rockets from the Gaza Strip in several months. Air raid sirens
continued into the evening, and Israel's Home Front Command ordered the
suspension of classes in Israeli schools in southern Israeli communities
near the Gaza Strip on Monday and prohibited large gatherings.
In
response to the rocket fire, the Israeli military said aircraft struck
"dozens of Islamic Jihad terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip" and a
facility belonging to the militant group outside Damascus.
The
Gaza health ministry reported that four Palestinians were treated at
the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City for wounds caused by the Israeli
strikes.
Islamic
Jihad said in a statement that the airstrikes on Damascus killed two of
its members, identifying them as Salim Salim, 24, and Ziad Mansour, 23.
It did not disclose their nationalities or elaborate on their roles. It
vowed to respond to the deaths of its members.
Israel
and the Islamic Jihad group engaged in a heavy round of fighting last
November after the Israeli military killed a top Islamic Jihad
commander.
Since
then, Israel and Gaza's more powerful Hamas group have been working
through Egyptian mediators to cement an informal cease-fire. But Islamic
Jihad has continued to try to carry out attacks.
Islamic
Jihad said the man killed along the border was a militant. Israel said
the man was planting explosives along the border fence. Amateur video on
Palestinian social media showed an Israeli bulldozer crossing into Gaza
and then lifting up his body.
Fawzi
Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, accused the Israeli military of abusing the
dead body, saying that it ``bears the consequences of the ugly crime.''
The military said it was removing the body in a way that prevented further danger to those around.
But
the images generated widespread anger in Gaza, where it was seen as a
provocation and violation of Islamic principles that call for respect
for the dead.
It
also sparked criticism of Hamas on social media, with people accusing
the group of appearing weak and allowing Israel to operate with impunity
inside Gaza's territory. One image on social media showed a picture of
Jesus draped with a Palestinian flag hanging off the front of a
bulldozer.
Israeli
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett rejected the criticism, noting that
Hamas has been holding the bodies of two Israeli soldiers since they
were killed in the 2014 Gaza war.
"I
back the military, which killed the terrorists and collected the body,"
he said. "That's what should be done and that is what was done."
The
incident comes amid a relative lull along the security fence separating
Israel from Gaza. Last week, Israel announced it would provide hundreds
of additional work permits for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in a new
step aimed at solidifying an informal cease-fire with the Hamas.
Tens
of thousands of Gazans used to work in Israel. But Israel virtually
sealed the border when it joined Egypt in imposing a crippling blockade
on Gaza after Hamas seized power in the strip from rival Palestinian
forces in 2007. The blockade, along with three wars between Hamas and
Israel, has devastated the economy in Gaza, where unemployment is over
50%Source: https://in.news.yahoo.com/israel-strikes-gaza-syria-palestinian-033422849.html
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