JERUSALEM: Israel’s defense minister says the time has come to deliver a “heavy blow” to Gaza’s militant Hamas leaders, after weeks of border violence.
Avigdor Lieberman says he’ll recommend doing so when Israel’s security Cabinet meets the following day. The minister spoke on Tuesday during a visit to a military base near the border.
He says it’s “the only way to lower the level of violence to zero or close to zero.”
Hamas has held weekly border protests for the past six months, aimed at easing a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade.
The protests intensified as Egyptian-mediated cease-fire efforts faltered. Over the weekend, Israel halted Qatari-donated fuel shipments to Gaza’s power plant in response to escalating violence.
Since March, 155 Palestinians were killed during the protests. Israel says it’s defending its border.
Israeli defense minister: Now’s the time to strike Hamas
Israeli defense minister: Now’s the time to strike Hamas
- Israel's Netanyahu previously threatened Hamas with “heavy blow”
- Hamas has held weekly border protests for the past six months, aimed at easing a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade
UN chief says those behind ‘unacceptable’ Homs attack must face justice
- France says the "terror" attack is designed to destabilize the country
UNITED NATIONS/PARIS: United Nations chief Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the deadly attack on Friday prayers at a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs, and said the perpetrators should be brought to justice.
“The Secretary-General reiterates that attacks against civilians and places of worship are unacceptable. He stresses that those responsible must be identified and brought to justice,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
The explosion killed at least eight worshippers at a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Homs, with an Islamist militant group claiming responsibility.
France also condemned the attack, calling it an “act of terrorism” designed to destabilize the country.
The attack “is part of a deliberate strategy aimed at destabilizing Syria and the transition government,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
It condemned what it said was an attempt to “compromise ongoing efforts to bring peace and stability.”
The attack, during Friday prayers, was the second blast in a place of worship since Islamist authorities took power a year ago, after a suicide bombing in a Damascus church killed 25 people in June.
In a statement on Telegram, the extremist group Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna said its fighters “detonated a number of explosive devices” in the Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in the central Syrian city.
