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It would not be an exageration to say this is being under-reported in western (especially, American) media.
Israel launches massive air raid on Gaza – IDF
Israel launches massive air raid on Gaza – IDF
RT,
20
July, 2018
The
Israeli military has started a broad air attack on Hamas position in
the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. It
comes after one IDF soldier was killed in serious border clashes on
the Gaza border.
IAF jets recently conducted a wide-scale attack against Hamas military targets throughout the Gaza Strip following a severe shooting attack against IDF soldiers this afternoon. The IDF is currently conducting the attack in various locations
IAF jets recently conducted a wide-scale attack against Hamas military targets throughout the Gaza Strip following a severe shooting attack against IDF soldiers this afternoon. The IDF is currently conducting the attack in various locations
Later,
the IDF also confirmed that one Israeli soldier died after coming
under fire on the Gaza border earlier on Friday. The soldier was
“severely injured” during operational activity near the southern
Gaza strip and then succumbed to his wounds, the IDF statement says.
Today an IDF combat soldier was killed during operational activity near the southern Gaza Strip. A terrorist squad shot at IDF troops and the IDF soldier was severely injured. He later succumbed to his wounds. His family has been notified pic.twitter.com/V0ppoDyKZV
“The
IDF views today's attack and the hostile activity orchestrated by
Hamas throughout the last months with great severity. Hamas chose to
escalate the security situation and will bear the consequences for
its actions,” the Israeli military stated.
The
statement said earlier in response to the border clashes the IDF used
aircraft and tanks to attack Hamas fighters.
Friday’s
raid comes as a deadline given by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman
to Hamas to stop kite attacks or face consequences expired. Israel’s
top security officials reportedly held a meeting, after which the
country may launch a full-scale military operation similar to the one
in 2014, RT’s Paula Slier reported.
“This
flare-up comes four years after the last Gaza war, which is known as
Operation Protective Edge. That war lasted seven weeks and in it
thousands of people killed, and the concern on the ground as tension
escalates is that we may be witnessing another war unfolding in the
coming hours,” she said.
Meanwhile,
the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process,
Nickolay Mladenov, called on “everyone in Gaza” to take a “step
away” from what he called the “brink” of another war. The
tensions should be eased “not next week” and “not tomorrow”
but “right now!” he wrote in a Twitter post, adding that “those,
who want to provoke Palestinians and Israelis into another war, must
not succeed.”
Everyone in #Gaza needs to step back from the brink. Not next week. Not tomorrow. Right NOW! Those who want to provoke #Palestinians and #Israelis into another war must not succeed.The threats issued by Liberman might, however, indicate that the Israelis are actually “preparing the environment for a new war,” Mohsen Abu Ramadan, a Palestine-based political analyst, told RT, commenting on the issue. He then said that “Israel just wants to have a justification to strike Gaza” in what he called “collective punishment.”
The
Israeli defense and political commentator, Amir Oren, said, on the
contrary, that “both sides show no enthusiasm to be drawn into a
larger conflict and they are trying to limit either the [number of]
targets or the means that they employ.” Oren then went on to say
that Israel is actually “not interested in occupying Gaza but it
could still be drawn into military action as it cannot protect its
citizens along the border.” At the same time, he said that the
current Israeli strikes “are not excessive” and expressed his
hope that everything would “get back to normal.”
The
escalation comes after months of tension in the Gaza Strip, where
thousands of protesters gathered weekly at a fence erected by the
Israeli forces for the so-called Great Return March. Dozens of
civilians have been killed by Israeli snipers in what Israel called a
measured response to Hamas attempts to break through the wall.
As
the number of casualties piled on the Palestinian side, the
confrontation became increasingly violent on their part as well.
Protesters went from burning tires and throwing rocks to launching
incendiary kites and balloons towards the Israeli-controlled
territories. Lately, militant groups in Gaza escalated launches of
rockets.
Israel
blames Hamas for instigating the protests, which have lasted for over
100 days now, and is routinely using airstrikes and tanks to strike
what it calls Hamas targets.
The latest
Israel
and the Palestinian authority Hamas have agreed to restore calm after
a day of armed confrontation, which saw one Israeli soldier killed
and dozens of airstrikes launched by Israel, killing four
Palestinians.
Hamas
spokesman Fawzi Barhoum has attributed the armistice to the mediation
of Egypt and the UN. "With Egyptian and United Nations efforts
it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between (Israel) and
Palestinian factions," he said, as cited by Reuters.
Israel
has given no official confirmation of agreeing to any ceasefire so
far.
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