After five days of intense fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire has been agreed to by both sides, starting at 10 p.m. local time on Saturday. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of 33 Palestinians and two people in Israel, and hundreds of thousands of Israelis and more than two million people in Gaza had been largely confined to bomb shelters. Despite a last-minute burst of rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes, the cease-fire brings a sense of relief to the region, though it remains to be seen how long it will last.
Posts tagged as “Gaza”
For the fifth consecutive day, Israel and Palestinian militants have been exchanging fire in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of at least 28 Palestinians and four Israeli civilians. Saturday saw the Islamic Jihad militant group launch dozens of rockets, while the Israeli military responded with airstrikes and raided the Balata refugee camp near Nablus, sparking a firefight that killed two Palestinians. Missile shrapnel from the conflict also struck an agricultural community in Israel's southern Negev desert, wounding three Palestinians.
Israeli military airstrikes against the Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip have resulted in the death of a senior commander and 25 Palestinians, including fighters and civilians. The Israeli army has reported over 500 rockets fired from Gaza, with no casualties reported in Israel so far. Egypt is attempting to broker a cease-fire, but the efforts have been faltering.
Khader Adnan, a leader of the militant Islamic Jihad group, died in Israeli custody after a hunger strike of nearly three months. In response, Palestinian militants in Gaza fired 22 rockets toward populated areas in southern Israel, wounding three people. Adnan's death has sparked outrage among Palestinians and human rights groups, who have called for an investigation into his death and the conditions of his detention.
Two women were killed in a suspected terror attack near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Friday, prompting Israel to launch its biggest airstrikes on Lebanon in 17 years. In response to the attack, Israel targeted installations of Hamas in southern Lebanon and Gaza, while the Palestinian militant group has yet to comment. The violence has raised fears of a wider conflict in the region, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning of further action.
The Israel Defense Forces have announced that they will not allow Hamas to operate from Lebanon and hold the state responsible for any directed fire. This announcement follows retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza after rockets were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. The IDF has stated that they are prepared to take all necessary steps to protect Israeli citizens and have called on the international community to condemn the rocket fire and take action to prevent further escalation.
An attempted stabbing attack by a woman at the entrance of a West Bank settlement was met with fatal gunfire from security guards. In response to a rocket attack from Gaza, the IDF launched airstrikes targeting alleged weapons manufacturing and storage sites in Gaza. The incident has caused tension between Israel and the Palestinians, with the international community urging both sides to de-escalate the situation and find a peaceful resolution.