GAZA CITY: Calm returned to the Gaza Strip and nearby Israeli communities on Wednesday after the worst military flare-up since a 2014 war raised fears of yet another full-blown conflict in the beleaguered Palestinian enclave.
The exchange of fire on Tuesday and into the early hours of Wednesday began with a barrage of rocket and mortars into Israel from Gaza.
Israel said it targeted some 65 sites in the Gaza Strip. It also said around 100 rockets and mortars fired from Gaza either exploded in Israel or were intercepted by air defenses.
Three Israeli soldiers were wounded, one moderately and two lightly, the military said. There were no reports of casualties in Gaza.
Late Tuesday, an Islamic Jihad spokesman said a cease-fire had been reached, and on Wednesday senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya also spoke of an accord.
Though Israeli officials denied being part of a cease-fire, calm was maintained on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military had delivered the “harshest blow” in years to Gaza.
“Since yesterday, the army has responded forcefully to fire from the Gaza Strip with attacks against dozens of targets of terrorist organizations in the harshest blow that we have dealt them in years,” Netanyahu said at an event in Tel Aviv, according to his office.
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. Islamic Jihad is the second-largest armed group in Gaza after Hamas.
The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet later on Wednesday to discuss the violence, following a US 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.”
Early Tuesday, some 28 mortar shells were fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Israel said most were intercepted by its air defense 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.
Israel’s military began air strikes soon after.
Later in the day, further rockets and mortar rounds from Gaza were intercepted or exploded in Israel, the army said.
It said some of the mortars fired were supplied by Iran.
On Tuesday night, a rocket hit an Israeli home near the Gaza border, but no one was hurt, the military said.
Israel’s military said it hit “military targets” including a tunnel stretching into its territory, weapons stores and bases.
Hamas said in a statement Tuesday that “what the resistance carried out this morning comes within the framework of the natural right to defend our people.”
The military flare-up followed weeks of deadly demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza-Israel border, beginning on March 30.
The protests demanded that Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation be allowed to return to their former homes, now inside Israel.
They peaked on May 14, when at least 61 Palestinians were killed in clashes as tens of thousands of Gazans protested the US transfer of its embassy in Israel to the disputed city of Jerusalem the same day.
Low-level demonstrations and clashes have continued since.
At least 122 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the unrest. No Israelis have been killed.
Israel says its actions are necessary to defend its borders, accusing Hamas of encouraging thousands of Palestinians to break through the border and attack Israelis.
But Israel has faced international criticism and calls for an independent investigation over its use of live fire during the protests and border clashes.
Calm returns after most severe Israel-Gaza flare-up in years
Calm returns after most severe Israel-Gaza flare-up in years
Egypt warns against consequences of Israeli escalation in Gaza
- During talks with Ayman Al-Safadi and Fuad Hussein, FM Shoukry said that there would be negative repercussions for regional stability if Israel continued to escalate its activities in Gaza
- Discussions in Manama took place on the sidelines of an Arabian foreign ministers’ meeting being held in preparation for the Arab Summit
CAIRO: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has warned of dire consequences as a result of Israel escalating its activities in the Gaza Strip.
During talks with his Jordanian and Iraqi counterparts, Ayman Al-Safadi and Fuad Hussein, he also said there would be negative repercussions for the security and stability of the whole region.
The discussion in Manama on Wednesday took place on the sidelines of an Arabian foreign ministers’ meeting being held in preparation for the Arab Summit.
Shoukry talked about Egypt’s efforts to reach an immediate, comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and its call for allowing immediate delivery of humanitarian aid.
He also stressed his country’s categorical rejection of any attempts to displace Gazans or kill the Palestinian cause.
He underlined the need to stop targeting civilians, halt Israeli settler violence, and allow aid access in adequate quantities “that meet the needs of our Palestinian brothers.”
During the meeting, Shoukry also reaffirmed Cairo’s support for the stability of Iraq and Jordan and emphasized the importance of implementing directives from the three countries’ leaders to boost cooperation within the framework of the tripartite mechanism.
He said Egypt viewed tripartite cooperation as a way to link the interests of the three countries and maximize common benefits. The discussion also underlined the importance of putting into effect agreed joint projects as soon as possible.
During a separate meeting with Iraqi minister Hussein, Shoukry reiterated the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to develop relations between the two countries in various fields.
The Iraqi minister highlighted close historical ties with Egypt that required continued coordination on the various challenges plaguing the region. Hussein also hailed the key role played by Egypt to bring about an end to the crisis in Gaza.
Houthis claim 2 attacks on ships in Red Sea
- Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said that the militia’s naval forces launched an “accurate” missile strike on the US Navy destroyer USS Mason in the Red Sea
- Statement comes a day after US Central Command said that the USS Mason shot down an incoming anti-ship ballistic missile launched by the Houthis
AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Houthi militia claimed responsibility on Wednesday for two drone and missile attacks on a US warship and a commercial ship in the Red Sea, vowing to continue striking ships in international seas, mostly near Yemen’s borders, in support of Palestinians.
In a televised broadcast, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said that the militia’s naval forces launched an “accurate” missile strike on the US Navy destroyer USS Mason in the Red Sea, as well as a combined attack on the Destiny in the Red Sea. Sarea did not specify when Houthis forces assaulted the two ships, or if the militia caused any human casualties or damage. The statement comes a day after US Central Command said that the USS Mason shot down an incoming anti-ship ballistic missile launched by the Houthis from areas under militia control in Yemen on Monday evening.
According to marinetraffic.com, which provides information on ship locations and identities, the Destiny is a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier that left Bangladesh’s Port of Chittagong on March 31 and landed at the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah on April 17. The Houthis said they attacked the ship when it reached Israel’s Eilat on April 20, defying militia warnings to ships sailing the Red Sea to avoid the port.
The Houthis have sunk one ship, seized another and launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones, and explosive-laden drone boats at International commercial and naval ships in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and, more recently, the Indian Ocean. The militia claimed its strikes were intended to push Israel to cease its blockade of the Gaza Strip, and that they targeted US and UK ships after the two nations blasted Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen.
On Tuesday, Houthi media said that jets from the US and the UK had launched four strikes on Hodeidah airport in the Red Sea city, the second round of airstrikes on the same airport this week. The US and UK replied to the Houthi Red Sea campaign by unleashing hundreds of airstrikes on Sanaa, Saada, Hodeidah and other Houthi-controlled Yemeni regions. According to the two nations, the strikes prevented many Houthi missile, drone, or drone boat assaults on ships in international seas while significantly weakening Houthi military capabilities.
The US-led Combined Maritime Forces said on Tuesday that Lebanon and Albania joined the international marine coalition as the 44th and 45th members, respectively. “It is a pleasure to welcome both Lebanon and Albania to the Combined Maritime Forces,” US Navy Vice Admiral George Wikoff, the CMF commander, said in a statement. The Bahrain-based CMF is made up of five task teams that protect major maritime waterways such as the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.
Netanyahu says he hopes Israel can get aid, overcome US disagreements
- Sources said the US State Department moved a $1 billion weapons aid package for Israel into the congressional review process
WASHINGTON: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped to receive US military aid and to overcome US President Joe Biden’s pause on certain weapons, vowing to fight Hamas without American support amid what he called a disagreement with Washington.
On Tuesday, sources said the US State Department moved a $1 billion weapons aid package for Israel into the congressional review process. Asked in a CNBC interview that aired on Wednesday if he could confirm the $1 billion package movement, Netanyahu declined to say but added that he appreciates US assistance.
Blinken says Israel needs a clear and concrete plan for Gaza’s future
- “We do not support and will not support an Israeli occupation. We also of course, do not support Hamas governance in Gaza...” Blinken said
- Israel says it intends to keep overall security control and has baulked at proposals for the Palestinian Authority to take charge
KYIV: Israel needs a clear and concrete plan for the future of Gaza where it faces the potential for a power vacuum that could become filled by chaos, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
Washington and its ally Israel say Hamas cannot continue to run Gaza after militants from the group ignited the conflict with attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7.
“We do not support and will not support an Israeli occupation. We also of course, do not support Hamas governance in Gaza... We’ve seen where that’s led all too many times for the people of Gaza and for Israel. And we also can’t have anarchy and a vacuum that’s likely to be filled by chaos,” Blinken said during a press conference in Kyiv.
The US top diplomat has held numerous talks with Israel’s Arab neighbors on a post-conflict plan for Gaza since Israel vowed to root out Hamas from the Palestinian enclave more than seven months ago.
But Israel says it intends to keep overall security control and has baulked at proposals for the Palestinian Authority, which governs with partial authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to take charge.
“It’s imperative that Israel also do this work and focus on what the future can and must be,” Blinken said. “There needs to be a clear and concrete plan, and we look to Israel to come forward with its ideas.”
Turkiye tells US that Israel’s attack on Rafah unacceptable, Turkish source says
- Fidan also told Blinken that it was important to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible
ANKARA: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his US counterpart Antony Blinken in a call on Wednesday that Israel’s attack on the Gazan city of Rafah is unacceptable, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Fidan also told Blinken that it was important to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible, while emphasising that obstacles to the access of humanitarian aid into the enclave must be removed, the source said.
