Israel, Gaza groups exchange fire
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Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza fired a barrage of rockets against southern Israel in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in the southern territory, raising fears of a further escalation of violence.
"In response to wounding civilians during the last strike in Rafah, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades and al-Quds Brigades fired a number of rockets against enemy military positions," according to a statement from the armed wing of Hamas, the Islamist movement ruling the Gaza Strip. The al-Quds Brigades are the military arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
This is the first time since the latest outbreak of violence between armed groups in Gaza and the Israeli army in June that Hamas claims responsibility for launching rockets into Israel.
"The bombing this morning is a message to the Zionist enemy that resistance will not skip on any unilateral aggression by the occupants (Israel)," said Abu Obeida, spokesman of al-Qassam Brigades.
Abu Obeida warned that "persistent aggression against the Gaza Strip will lead to a stronger response and wider Palestinian resistance", praising the "high degree of coordination" between the al-Qassam Brigades and al-Quds .
The firing did not claim lives in Israel but caused damage. According to Israeli police, some 40 rockets were fired from the Strip on Monday morning.
The Israeli army opened fire in the early morning of Monday to the east of the town of Khan Younis, injuring five Palestinians, one seriously, according to the latest report by the Ministry of Health in Gaza .
At least ten Palestinians were injured, two seriously, in a raid by Israeli air forces Sunday night in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources said.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it had targeted two militant Salafi Jihadists in Gaza. They were identified as Tala'at Halil Abdullah Muhammad and Muhammad Hassan Jarbi Maqawai.
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This news is so upsetting. What are these militant groups thinking. What gain are they trying to achieve by causing further unrest between Israel and Palestine. These groups are fueling a fire, the like of which they will not ever be able to put out. Israel is not to be threatened nor toyed with. Somewhere along the way, these two nations will need to agree that there will be occasions when they disagree, but that does not mean that one or the other is to blame, only that their opinions differ. I cannot believe that those in the Gaza strip would put their people in harm's way by giving up any hope of peace between these two countries. Don't those in the Gaza strip have better things to do for their people rather than causing problems for their neighbors?
