Hamas vows revenge for Israel’s covert operation in Gaza
Hamas, the rulers of Gaza, have vowed revenge for a covert Israeli mission that killed eight people, including one of its commanders, on Sunday.
Undercover Israeli officers penetrated about two kilometres into the territory in a civilian car near the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, opening fire when they were discovered, said Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing.
The clash killed seven Palestinians, including local commander Noor Baraka, and one Israeli officer. It was unclear if all of the Palestinans killed were Hamas fighters.
The gunfight prompted dozens of Israeli air strikes on Gaza and returning rocket fire into Israel. The strikes killed several people, allowing the Israeli officers to flee the area.
Hamas said “the blood of the martyrs won’t be without price” and “the battle between us and the enemy is continuing”.
Mosheer Almasry, a Hamas leader, said the operation represented the “establishment of a new stage of our struggle with the occupation”.
Israeli military chief Lt Gen Gadi Eisenkot said a “special force” carried out “a very meaningful operation to Israel’s security” but gave no details.
The clash threatened to further escalate tensions between the two sides that have fought three wars since 2008 and put a nail in Egyptian-led efforts to secure a long-term truce.
Both agreed to indirect cash and fuel deals with Qatar and Egypt last week and it was not clear if they would continue.
Another Hamas leader, Ismael Radwan, said the attack “let the mediators know that the real murderers are the Israeli occupiers who keep attacking our people”.
Mr Radwan said that Israel “does not care about the Egyptian efforts”.
Hussam Aldejani, a political analyst in Gaza, told The National that the clash showed the preparedness of the Hamas fighters to respond to an Israeli operation.
“The Israeli army intended to commit a silent operation in Gaza and not leave any impact of it, only to befuddle the unity of Palestinian street fighters,” Mr Aldejani said. “But the operation failed.”
Yesterday, thousands of Palestinians attended the funerals of the seven Gazans killed in the attack, burying them and calling for revenge against Israel. The burials of several of those killed were led by the Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh.
Hamas bolstered its checkpoints in the territory after the incursion.
At least 15 rockets were fired into southern Israel late on Sunday. Yesterday, a rocket fired from Gaza struck a bus, injuring a man aged 19. Israel said it was carrying out strikes across Gaza in response.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a visit to Paris because of the flare-up, and returned to Israel yesterday for consultations with security officials.
In a tweet after his arrival in Israel, Mr Netanyahu praised the dead officer, saying: “Our forces acted courageously.”
Clashes between Israel and Hamas have brought fears of another war in the territory.
Weekly protests since March 30 against Israel’s siege of the enclave have turned deadly, with Israeli forces killing at least 220 people, most of them unarmed and targeted by snipers, while others have been killed in air strikes and tank fire.
The rallies were a call to return to lands lost to Israel at its creation in 1948.
Israel severely restricts the access of goods and the crossing of Gazan residents through Israel.
It maintains a blockade on Gaza’s coastline and has destroyed its airport, preventing any movement of air traffic in the territory.
But Mr Netanyahu allowed $15 million (Dh55m) in Qatari money to enter the territory last week, a move criticised by several ministers. The money was to help pay salaries.
A sum of $90m is to be distributed in six monthly instalments, Gaza authorities said.
“I’m doing what I can, in co-ordination with the security establishment, to return quiet to the southern communities,” Mr Netanyahu said on Saturday.