Israelis, militants in Gaza exchange fire after strikes
KUWAIT CITY, Aug 6, (Agencies): Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced in the strongest terms the deadly air attacks launched by the Israeli occupation forces against the Gaza Strip in sisterly Palestine.
“The brutal attacks that left scores of casualties were a continuation of a chain of crimes being perpetrated by the occupation forces in a blatant violation of the rules of international laws and international legitimacy,” the Ministry stressed in a statement on Saturday.
It urged the international community to shoulder their responsibilities, respond urgently to the Israeli aggressions, and ensure respect by the occupation authorities for the rules of the UN Charter, the international law and legitimacy.
The Ministry reiterated the call for provision of international protection for the Palestinian people, expressing sincere condolences to the families of the Palestinian martyrs and wishing the wounded a quick recovery.
Israeli airstrikes flattened homes in Gaza on Saturday and rocket barrages into southern Israel persisted, raising fears of an escalation in a conflict that has killed at least 15 people in the coastal strip.
The fighting began with Israel’s killing of a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group in a wave of strikes Friday that Israel said were meant to prevent an imminent attack. A 5-year-old girl and two women are among those killed in the strikes.
So far, Hamas, the larger militant group that rules Gaza, appeared to stay on the sidelines of the conflict, keeping its intensity somewhat contained. Israel and Hamas fought a war barely a year ago, one of four major conflicts and several smaller battles over the last 15 years that wreaked a staggering cost to the impoverished territory’s 2 million Palestinian residents.
Whether Hamas continues to stay out of the fight likely depends in part on how much punishment Israel inflicts in Gaza as rocket fire steadily continues.
On Saturday afternoon, Israeli warplanes stepped up strikes with hits on four residential buildings in Gaza City, all locations apparently linked to Islamic Jihad militants. The destruction was the heaviest yet in the current exchange within the densely packed city, but there were no reports of casualties. In each case, the Israeli military warned residents ahead of the strikes.
Another strike Saturday hit a car, killing a 75-year-old woman and wounding six other people.
In one of the strikes, after the warnings, fighter jets dropped two bombs on the house of an Islamic Jihad member. The blast flattened the two-story structure, leaving a large rubble-filled crater, and badly damaged surrounding homes.
Women and children rushed out of the area. “Warned us? They warned us with rockets and we fled without taking anything,” said Huda Shamalakh, who lived next door. She said 15 people lived in the targeted home.
The lone power plant in Gaza ground to a halt at noon Saturday for lack of fuel as Israel has kept its crossing points into Gaza closed since Tuesday. With the new disruption, Gazans can get only 4 hours of electricity a day, increasing their reliance on private generators and deepening the territory’s chronic power crisis amid peak summer heat.
Throughout the day, Gaza militants regularly launched rounds of rockets into southern Israel, but there were no reports of casualties. Most barrages were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system, hit in empty areas or fell short into Gaza. Rocket shrapnel damaged the roof of a home in the city of Sderot, but the family was in a shelter.
On Friday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a televised speech that “Israel isn’t interested in a broader conflict in Gaza but will not shy away from one either.”
“This government has a zero-tolerance policy for any attempted attacks - of any kind - from Gaza towards Israeli territory,” he said. “Israel will not sit idly by when there are those who are trying to harm its civilians.”
Palestinian Health Spokesperson Dr. Ashraf Al-Qadra warned on Saturday against the escalating aggression by the Israeli occupation in Gaza Strip after the Palestinian death toll topped 13.