Israel air strikes kill Hamas commander, destroy two residential buildings
Agencies | Tel Aviv
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Heavy exchanges of rocket fire and airstrikes, and rioting in mixed Jewish-Arab towns, fueled fears yesterday that deadly violence between Israel and Palestinians could spiral into “full-scale war.”
Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz vowed more attacks on Hamas and other Islamist groups in Gaza to bring “total, long-term quiet” before considering a cease-fire.
“This is just the beginning,” warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We’ll deliver them blows they haven’t dreamt of.” Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on Gaza, the Israeli-blockaded strip of two million people that Hamas controls.
Hamas said several of its top commanders were killed in Israeli strikes, including its military chief in Gaza City, Bassem Issa.
Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, also identified three other top Hamas militants who it said were killed.
Its leader Ismail Haniyeh threatened to step up attacks, warning that “if Israel wants to escalate, we are ready for it.” Since Monday, Gaza fighters have launched more than 1,000 rockets said Israel’s army, which has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Islamist groups in the crowded coastal enclave of Gaza.
In Gaza, two multi-storey residential buildings and a tower housing media outlet, including one linked to Hamas, collapsed after Israel warned occupants to evacuate. Another structure was heavily damaged in the airstrikes.
The most intense hostilities in seven years have killed at least 56 people in Gaza, including 14 children, and six in Israel, including an Israeli soldier and one Indian national, since Monday.
Three Palestinians were killed in West Bank clashes. And at least 230 Palestinians and 100 Israelis have been wounded. The bloodshed was triggered by weekend unrest at Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque compound, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.
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