Rockets from Gaza, airstrikes from Israel end cease-fire, talks
JERUSALEM — Another Gaza cease-fire collapsed Tuesday when Palestinian militants fired rockets into southern Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes from Israel and prompting the Israeli government to withdraw its delegation from Egyptianbrokered talks in Cairo for an agreement to end the latest conflict.
Fire and response
At least six rockets landed in open ground near the cities of Ashdod, Beersheba and Netivot, causing no damage or injuries, and two more were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, according to the Israeli military. The military added in a statement that it was “targeting terror sites across the Gaza Strip” in response. The airstrikes targeted open spaces, but the Health Ministry in Gaza said that five people, including three children, had been wounded in the attacks.
Israel has repeatedly said it will not negotiate under fire. As a five-day cease-fire expired at 11:59 p.m. Monday, Israeli and Palestinian officials had announced a 24-hour extension to allow the negotiations in Cairo to continue.
“Today’s rocket attack on Beersheba is a grave and direct violation of the cease-fire to which Hamas committed itself,” said Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli government. “This is the 11th cease-fire that Hamas has either rejected or violated.”
Within minutes of the first rockets landing, Israel instructed its negotiators to leave Cairo. The Palestinian delegation to the talks planned to leave Wednesday. The Palestinian negotiators said they had given Egypt their final offer and were waiting for Israel to accept or reject it by 11:59 p.m. But Israel appeared unlikely to accept the draft, which it had rejected in the past, and the talks appeared on the verge of collapse.
Claimed not to know
Hamas, the militant group that dominates Gaza, denied responsibility for the latest rocket fire and blamed Israel for the escalation.
“Hamas does not have any information about the launching of any rockets from Gaza,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for the group in Gaza. “The Israeli occupation is aiming through this escalation in the region to abort the talks in Cairo.”
Smaller groups in Gaza may have been behind the rocket fire, with or without Hamas’ blessing.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have engaged in indirect talks in Egypt for about two weeks in an effort to find more durable solutions to end the hostilities, in which more than 1,900 Palestinians were killed as well as 64 Israeli soldiers and three civilians, one of them a guest worker.