Israel hits more Hamas sites, denies ceasefire claims

Israel said it struck 25 more Hamas sites overnight after a barrage of rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip, denying Palestinian claims of a ceasefire yesterday after the worst flare-up since a 2014 war.

The exchange of fire raised the possibility of yet another war in the beleaguered Palestinian enclave run by Islamist movement Hamas, which would be the fourth since 2008.

Israel has targeted more than 60 military targets in the Gaza Strip over 24 hours, saying some 70 rockets and mortars were fired into its territory throughout the day Tuesday, a number of which were intercepted by air defence systems.

Three Israeli soldiers were wounded, one moderately and two lightly, the military said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in Gaza.

But after Tuesday’s flareup, followed by sirens and explosions into the night, there were Palestinian claims of a ceasefire.

Late Tuesday, an Islamic Jihad spokesman said a ceasefire agreement had been reached, and yesterday senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya also spoke of an accord.

There was relative calm in the Gaza Strip yesterday morning.

Israel’s military had not commented, but Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz denied talk of a deal.

“Israel does not want the situation to deteriorate, but those who started the violence must stop it,” he told Israeli public radio.

“Israel will make ( Hamas) pay for all fire against Israel.”

Tuesday’s violence followed weeks of deadly unrest along the border between Israel and the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

In a rare joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad declared shared responsibility for the rocket and mortar fire, saying it was in retaliation for Israeli attacks targeting their positions.

Three Islamic Jihad members were killed in an Israeli strike Sunday, and the group vowed revenge.

Early Tuesday, some 28 mortar shells were fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Israel said most were intercepted by its air defence systems but put residents in the area on high alert, ordering them to stay within 15 seconds of shelters.

One mortar shell exploded near a kindergarten building, a military spokesman said, damaging the structure. No children were present at the time.

It was the largest barrage fired from Gaza into Israel, and Israel’s biggest response, since a 2014 war.

The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet Wednesday to discuss the violence, following an American request for an urgent meeting.

“The Security Council should be outraged and respond to this latest bout of violence directed at innocent Israeli civilians,” US ambassador Nikki Haley said.

Kuwait, a non-permanent council member representing Arab countries, circulated a draft resolution calling “for the consideration of measures to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilian population”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed Tuesday to “respond to these attacks powerfully.”

Shortly after he spoke, Israel’s military began air strikes in Gaza. Explosions shook the Palestinian enclave and smoke rose from the sites hit.

Later in the day, further rockets or mortar rounds from Gaza were intercepted, the army said. It said some of the mortars fired were supplied by Iran.

Israel’s military said it had responded by hitting “military targets” including a tunnel stretching into its territory, weapons stores and militant bases. — AFP

The Czech Republic on Tuesday reopened its honorary consulate in Jerusalem, the CTK news agency reported, after President Milos Zeman voiced his wish to move the Czech embassy to the city from Tel Aviv.

The CTK named Dan Propper, a 78-year- old Israeli businessman of Czech origin, as the new honorary consul.

“I see my contribution as being especially focused on economic relations because I have links to the local entrepreneurial community,” Propper told the CTK.

Opened in the early 1990s, the Czech honorary consulate in Jerusalem was closed in 2016 due to the death of the honorary consul.

The Czech Foreign Ministry vowed in April that the decision to reopen the honorary consulate had “no influence on the final agreement on Jerusalem” adding that Prague “fully respects the common position of the European Union that considers Jerusalem as the future capital of both states, that is to say, the State of Israel and the future state of Palestine.”

US President Donald Trump broke with decades of policy, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, infuriating Palestinians and intensifying protests on the Gaza border, with 60 killed in clashes with Israeli forces that day.

Trump’s move ruptured generations of international consensus that Jerusalem’s status should be settled as part of a two- state peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Authority recalled its envoys to Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria after their ambassadors attended an Israeli reception marking the US embassy’s move to Jerusalem.

Czech President Zeman, known for his pro-Israel stance, has repeatedly said he also wants to see his country’s embassy transferred to Jerusalem.

The Czech Embassy ( of Czechoslovakia then the Czech Republic) has been in Tel Aviv since 1949, except during the interruption of diplomatic relations under the former communist regime in Prague between 1967 and 1990.

Any decision to move the embassy would first need to be approved by the Czech government. — AFP