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Rocket From Gaza Hits Israel, Prompting Netanyahu to Curtail U.S. Trip Hamas and Israel Exchange Fire. Cease-Fire Is Reported.
(about 5 hours later)
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel cut short his visit to the United States on Monday, hours after a rocket launched from Gaza struck a house in central Israel, injuring seven people and posing a new challenge to his bid for re-election just two weeks before Israelis go to the polls. MISHMERET, Israel — Israel and Hamas exchanged blows on Monday after a rocket launched from Gaza struck a house in central Israel.
The Israeli military said that Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, had fired the long-range rocket, and later issued a statement that it was “striking Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said that he was cutting short his visit to the United States, with the rocket attack posing a new challenge to his bid for re-election just two weeks before Israelis go to the polls.
But the lack of enthusiasm for an all-out conflict was apparent on both sides. Just hours after the fighting began, Hamas announced that Egyptian mediators had succeeded in brokering a new, albeit fragile, cease-fire.
The Israeli military said that Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, had fired a long-range rocket that wounded seven people at dawn in the pastoral village of Mishmeret, about 20 miles north of Tel Aviv.
“I heard a kind of whoosh and a second later a boom,” said a resident, Robert Wolf, 60. “I turn around and my whole house has gone.” His wife, Susan, was hospitalized for a head wound and other members of his family suffered light injuries.
Hamas neither confirmed nor denied that it had carried out the attack.
Twelve hours later, at sunset, Israeli warplanes began striking back at Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip.
Appearing at the White House with President Trump before returning to Israel, Mr. Netanyahu said, “As we speak, Israel is responding forcefully to this wanton aggression.”Appearing at the White House with President Trump before returning to Israel, Mr. Netanyahu said, “As we speak, Israel is responding forcefully to this wanton aggression.”
The Israeli military said it was deploying an additional infantry brigade and an armored brigade to bolster its forces around the territory, and was calling up a limited number of reservists from specialized units, apparently preparing for a possible escalation in the long-simmering cross-border conflict. Mr. Netanyahu appeared to be conducting the air campaign from his guest accommodation in Blair House, where aides said he was approving targets and overseeing the attacks after delaying his departure from Washington.
The rocket strike presents a test for Mr. Netanyahu, a conservative who also serves as Israel’s defense minister. Both Hamas and Israel have been avoiding another all-out conflict since 50 days of fighting ended in the summer of 2014, but Mr. Netanyahu’s political rivals have been denouncing a lack of decisive action or clear policy regarding Gaza, despite several bouts of rocket fire. Intent on deterring Hamas after several recent bouts of rocket fire, Israel scaled up its response, opening with attacks on several buildings the Israelis said Hamas had used for military purposes in populated areas of Gaza City.
A strong response could protect Mr. Netanyahu politically while helping restore his reputation as a national security hawk. But starting a bloody conflict that could put Israelis under heavy rocket fire and result in Israeli casualties with an election looming would seem to be problematic. Gaza militants fired back, launching barrages of rockets into southern Israel. The Israeli authorities had ordered bomb shelters to be opened in cities as far north as Netanya on the Mediterranean coast.
Already facing indictment for bribery and other corruption charges, Mr. Netanyahu, who has long presented himself as Israel’s security czar, is in a tight race with his chief rival, Benny Gantz, a retired military chief of staff. Earlier Monday, the Israeli military said it was deploying an additional infantry brigade and an armored brigade to bolster forces around the Palestinian coastal territory, and was calling up a limited number of reservists from specialized units.
“In light of the security events, I decided to cut short my visit to the U.S.,” Mr. Netanyahu said on Monday, soon after landing in the United States, adding that he would fly back immediately after meeting President Trump. The flare-up presented a test for Mr. Netanyahu, who also serves as Israel’s defense minister and has made his national security credentials a cornerstone of his re-election campaign.
Mr. Netanyahu called the strike, in which two children were injured, a “criminal attack,” adding, “we will respond forcefully.” Both Hamas and Israel have been avoiding another all-out conflict since 50 days of fighting ended in the summer of 2014, but Mr. Netanyahu’s political rivals have been denouncing what they call his lack of decisive action or clear policy regarding Gaza, despite several recent rounds of violence.
A strong response could protect Mr. Netanyahu politically while helping restore his reputation as a national security hawk. But a prolonged conflict that could put Israelis under heavy rocket fire and cause Israeli casualties could damage his political campaign.
Perhaps seeking a balance, the military bombed high profile buildings in Gaza that appeared to have been vacated by Hamas ahead of the attacks. They included Hamas’s Internal Security offices, a five-story building in the Rimal neighborhood where the group interrogates Palestinians belonging to extremist groups or suspected of collaborating with Israel. Israeli bombers also destroyed the office of Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniya.
There were no immediate reports of fatalities on either side.
Already facing indictment for bribery and other corruption charges, Mr. Netanyahu, who has long presented himself as Israel’s security czar, is in a tight election race with his chief rival, Benny Gantz, a retired military chief of staff.
Mr. Gantz, who was also visiting Washington, criticized Mr. Netanyahu for allowing the situation in Gaza to fester.
“The reality in which Hamas turned Israel into a hostage is unprecedented and unfathomable,” he wrote on Twitter. “Netanyahu has to pack up now and return to Israel to handle this serious escalation.”
At the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for Secretary General António Guterres, called the rocket strike on Israel “a serious and unacceptable violation,” and urged all sides to “exercise maximum restraint” in the long-simmering conflict.At the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for Secretary General António Guterres, called the rocket strike on Israel “a serious and unacceptable violation,” and urged all sides to “exercise maximum restraint” in the long-simmering conflict.
“A further escalation is likely to make a bad situation worse,” Mr. Dujarric said. “A further escalation is likely to make a bad situation worse,” he said.
After their White House meeting, Mr. Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967 — a break with five decades of American policy — and denounced the rocket attack. Magen David Adom, an Israeli rescue service, said it had treated seven people for burns, blast injuries and shrapnel wounds in Mishmeret, as well as several others suffering stress symptoms. The wounded included two children and an infant, the service reported.
“The United States recognizes Israel’s absolute right to defend itself,” the president said. Eli Bin, the director of Magen David Adom, said at the scene that the event had ended “miraculously with only light to moderate injuries.”
While in Washington this week, Mr. Netanyahu had been expected to address a policy conference organized by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as Aipac, on Tuesday. His appearance at the conference has now been canceled. Mr. Gantz was in Washington and addressed the conference Monday. Maj. Mika Lifshitz, a spokeswoman for the Israeli military, said the rocket had been manufactured by Hamas, had a range of about 75 miles and was fired from Rafah at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, meaning it probably had reached its maximum range.
The rocket fire also abruptly changed the agenda in Gaza, where Hamas has come under harsh criticism for its recent violent crackdown on protesters demonstrating against harsh living conditions in the Palestinian coastal territory. Though incoming rocket sirens sounded in Mishmeret, sending residents rushing to bomb shelters shortly before the rocket struck, there was no interception attempt by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.
Yehya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, canceled a speech he was scheduled to deliver on Monday afternoon.
The rocket struck a house at 5:20 a.m. in the village of Mishmeret, about 20 miles north of Tel Aviv and just southeast of the Mediterranean coastal resort of Netanya.
Magen David Adom, an Israeli rescue service, said it had treated seven people for burns, blast injuries and shrapnel wounds, as well as several others suffering stress symptoms. The wounded included a man and a woman in their 60s, two children, and an infant, the service reported. Eli Bin, the director of Magen David Adom, said at the scene that the event had ended “miraculously with only light to moderate injuries.”
There was no immediate claim of responsibility in the attack, nor any immediate denial from Hamas.
Maj. Mika Lifshitz, a spokeswoman for the Israeli military, said the rocket had been manufactured by Hamas, had a range of about 75 miles and was fired from Rafah at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, meaning it probably went as far as it could have gone.
Though incoming rocket sirens sounded in Mishmeret, sending residents rushing to bomb shelters shortly before the rocket struck, it was not intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.
“Iron Dome protects the areas in which it is deployed,” Major Lifshitz said, refusing to elaborate, but suggesting that the system did not cover Mishmeret.“Iron Dome protects the areas in which it is deployed,” Major Lifshitz said, refusing to elaborate, but suggesting that the system did not cover Mishmeret.
Television images showed the one-story house that was hit as having been almost destroyed. The rocket crashed through the roof. The blast shattered the windows of nearby houses and caused a large swath of damage. Paramedics who arrived on the scene said that six members of the family living in the house had managed to get out. They said the family had been on their way to their safe room when they heard the explosion and part of the building collapsed. The rocket attack came less than two weeks after Israel and Hamas worked to de-escalate tensions after two rockets from Gaza were fired at Tel Aviv. One struck open ground near the suburb of Holon. The other may have exploded in midair or fallen into the sea.
One resident, Varda Chen, held up a torn and bloody shoe on television, saying it belonged to her granddaughter, 12, who had been injured by shrapnel. In that attack, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a more militant group in Gaza that also possesses long-range rockets, distanced themselves from the rocket fire, and the Israeli military accepted an explanation that the two rockets had been launched “by mistake,” possibly because of a technical error.
The rocket attack comes less than two weeks after Israel and Hamas worked to de-escalate tensions after two rockets from Gaza were fired at Tel Aviv. One struck open ground near the suburb of Holon. The other may have exploded in midair or fallen into the sea. Neither were intercepted by the Iron Dome system.
At the time, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a more militant group in Gaza that also possesses long-range rockets, distanced themselves from the rocket fire, and the Israeli military accepted an explanation that the two rockets had been launched “by mistake,” possibly because of a technical error.
After a rocket from Gaza hit a house in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba in October, there was speculation on both sides that it may have been set off by lightning in a storm. That suspicion was never confirmed, though a military official said it was technically possible.
Hamas officials could not immediately be reached after Monday’s attack. Islamic Jihad issued a statement warning Israel “against any aggression against the Gaza Strip.”
Eran Lerman, a former deputy director of Israel’s National Security Council and now vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, a research group, said the latest rocket attack was “no longer something that can be explained away as a mistake or a technical failure.”Eran Lerman, a former deputy director of Israel’s National Security Council and now vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, a research group, said the latest rocket attack was “no longer something that can be explained away as a mistake or a technical failure.”
He told reporters that the militant groups in Gaza may have come to “the very dangerous conclusion that Israel’s hands may be tied because of the impending elections on April 9 and that the prime minister and his government would be very wary about taking action so close to an election which could lead to a broad-scale confrontation.” Hamas, he warned, was “playing with fire.”He told reporters that the militant groups in Gaza may have come to “the very dangerous conclusion that Israel’s hands may be tied because of the impending elections on April 9 and that the prime minister and his government would be very wary about taking action so close to an election which could lead to a broad-scale confrontation.” Hamas, he warned, was “playing with fire.”
In Gaza, Hamas has come under harsh criticism for its recent violent crackdown on protesters demonstrating against harsh living conditions in the territory.
Mr. Netanyahu came under immediate attack from political rivals from the right, left and center.Mr. Netanyahu came under immediate attack from political rivals from the right, left and center.
“The reality in which Hamas turned Israel into a hostage is unprecedented and unfathomable,” Mr. Gantz, of the centrist Blue and White coalition, wrote on Twitter. “Netanyahu has to pack up now and return to Israel to handle this serious escalation.”
The New Right party, led by the ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, said in a statement, “Israel’s deterrence has collapsed and it has to be said in all honesty, Netanyahu has failed against Hamas.”The New Right party, led by the ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, said in a statement, “Israel’s deterrence has collapsed and it has to be said in all honesty, Netanyahu has failed against Hamas.”
The leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Avi Gabbay, and his No. 2, Tal Rousso, a retired general, went to Mishmeret, where Mr. Gabbay denounced Mr. Netanyahu as a “failed prime minister and defense minister” and a man of “talk and not actions.”The leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Avi Gabbay, and his No. 2, Tal Rousso, a retired general, went to Mishmeret, where Mr. Gabbay denounced Mr. Netanyahu as a “failed prime minister and defense minister” and a man of “talk and not actions.”
After several recent bouts of rocket fire, the military has responded with airstrikes against militant targets in Gaza but has struck facilities already evacuated by Hamas ahead of time, avoiding casualties. Some of Mr. Netanyahu’s rivals have been pushing for more aggressive action, including a return to targeted killings of militant leaders. Mr. Wolf, whose house in Mishmeret was destroyed, was wandering around in a daze on Monday, a bottle of beer in hand. The roof was blown off his single-story house and the yard was strewn with rubble. A lemon tree heavy with fruit and a plastic children’s swing were untouched.
On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said explosives had been “hurled” during riots in Gaza, near the Israeli border, and that Israel had struck two Hamas posts in response. His son, Daniel, 30, had fallen asleep watching a soccer game on television. He heard the incoming rocket siren at around 5:20 a.m. and woke up the rest of the family, who rushed into a safe room.
“He saved our lives, no doubt,” Mr. Wolf said.
Mr. Wolf said he did not want to talk politics. But he said: “I don’t want anyone killed because of me. Nobody. I don’t look for revenge.”