Egypt mediators in Gaza after week of clashes

They aim to reduce tensions and prevent new conflict between Israel and Hamas

Egyptian mediators entered Gaza yesterday seeking to calm tensions after a week of clashes in which Israel has launched military strikes in response to airborne incendiary devices that have ignited wildfires. Israel has targeted positions of Hamas and which it holds responsible for all crossborder attacks from the coastal enclave.

The delegation from Egypt, which has traditionally played the role of mediator in the restive Palestinian enclave, entered Gaza at around midday, according to security sources and eyewitnesses.

Israeli tanks pounded Hamas targets earlier yesterday in what has become a daily response to Palestinian rockets, firebombs that are carried by bunches of balloons into southern Israel, and more recently to clashes on the border.

Israel has said that since August 6, fire-scene investigators have identified 149 blazes in southern Israel caused by incendiary balloons floating across from Gaza.

The army also reported violent protests on Saturday, as “rioters burned tyres, hurled explosive devices and grenades towards the security fence and attempted to approach it”.

There were more frontier riots on Sunday, the army said.

Israel has also closed the Kerem Shalom goods crossing to Gaza and shut the strip’s fishing zone.

With fuel imports blocked, Gaza’s electricity authority announced that more service cuts would be implemented from yesterday, adding to frustrations for Gazans who already endure irregular power supply.