Israel kept up its pressure on Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, assassinating two key figures behind the ongoing rocket attacks on Israel. One rocket struck an apartment building in central Israel, killing a man — the country’s first casualty since hostilities began.
(Bloomberg) — Israel kept up its pressure on Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, assassinating two key figures behind the ongoing rocket attacks on Israel. One rocket struck an apartment building in central Israel, killing a man — the country’s first casualty since hostilities began.
The rocket hit the Israeli city of Rehovot, wounding seven others and threatening to complicate Egyptian-led efforts for a truce from the three-day old exchange of fire.
At least 26 Palestinians, including children and other civilians, have been killed and more than 80 wounded since the shooting broke out Tuesday with Israel’s assassination of three senior Islamic Jihad commanders. Four Palestinians, including three children, have been killed by Palestinian rockets that fell short and landed inside Gaza, an Israeli military official said.
Egyptian-led efforts to end the most serious clash in nearly a year continued. Israeli officials had no public comment on cease-fire talks, but senior Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed Al Hindi arrived in Cairo for discussions with Egyptian mediators.
After Islamic Jihad squads launched more than 500 rockets toward Israel on Wednesday, the head of the group’s rocket unit in Gaza was killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike, the military said. The militants then resumed fire Thursday morning after an eight-hour lull. On Thursday afternoon, both sides announced that the Israelis then killed the deputy head of the rocket unit.
Hamas, which rules Gaza and like Islamic Jihad is backed by Iran, has not joined the fray, keeping the hostilities relatively contained so far.
Israeli Jets Pound Gaza as Militant Rockets Aim for Tel Aviv (2)
Israel’s casualties have been limited by its Iron Dome missile defense systems which intercepted scores of rockets, according to the military’s tally.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Tzahi Hanegbi, overnight and emphasized the need to de-escalate tensions and prevent further loss of life. At the same time, Sullivan reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad support” for Israel’s security, and its right to defend its people from rocket attacks.
In Berlin, the foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Germany and Jordan met and expressed deep alarm at the new round of violence. They condemned the civilian casualties, urged both sides to stop and commended Egypt’s cease-fire efforts.
Israel embarked upon this latest campaign against Islamic Jihad after the militant group bombarded it with more than 100 rockets last week following the death of one of the organization’s members in an Israeli prison while on a hunger strike.
Israel has called on Hamas to stay out of the fighting, while warning that it was prepared to enter into broader hostilities if pushed.
Sullivan, Israeli Counterpart Discussed Ongoing Conflict in Gaza
Life on both sides of the Gaza-Israel border has been severely disrupted. Schools and colleges were closed in Gaza, and most businesses except banks and food stores were shuttered. Streets emptied as people took shelter from the Israeli air assaults.
Entire communities in southern Israel were evacuated north, roads were blocked, and trains to the area were halted. Several houses were hit, but no casualties were reported.
Fighting last flared this seriously along the Gaza-Israel border in August, during three days of conflict touched off by the assassination of an Islamic Jihad leader.
For the past year, Israel has also been conducting military operations in the occupied West Bank, targeting suspected militants, many of them from Islamic Jihad. It says the arrest raids are designed to preempt attacks and disrupt military operations.
More than 100 Palestinians, including dozens of militants, have been killed in the West Bank this year. Palestinian attacks against Israelis have killed at least 20 people during that time.
(Updates with details on assassinations in first paragraph, death of Israeli in second, cease-fire talks in third paragraph, details on military operations in sixth, diplomacy in eighth)
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