This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/05/world/middleeast/gaza-rockets-israel-palestinians.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Israel-Gaza Clashes Intensify as Death Toll Rises As Gaza Fighting Intensifies, Israelis and Palestinians Bury Their Dead
(about 3 hours later)
JERUSALEM — Fighting between Israel and Gaza escalated rapidly on Sunday in the worst combat since the last full-blown war in 2014. Three Israeli civilians were killed in Palestinian rocket and missile attacks and Israeli forces began to take aim at individual Gaza militants, killing at least seven. JERUSALEM — Fighting between Israel and Gaza escalated rapidly on Sunday in the worst combat since the last full-blown war in 2014, with Palestinian rocket and missile attacks killing four Israeli civilians and Israeli forces taking aim at individual Gaza militants.
The three Israelis killed were the first civilians to die in clashes with Gaza since the two sides fought a brief war in the summer of 2014. Gaza health officials said 15 people had been killed since Friday, though Israel denied responsibility for two of those deaths. Gaza officials said the two-day death toll for Palestinians had reached 22. At least nine militants and as many civilians were killed on Sunday alone. The civilians included a pregnant woman, a 12-year-old boy and 4-month-old girl, health officials said.
One Palestinian rocket struck an Israeli cement factory in the southern city of Ashkelon, killing a Bedouin worker there. A man was killed near Or Haner, a tiny kibbutz two miles from the Gaza border, when the truck he was driving in was hit by an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza. A third Israeli was killed in the early morning when he left his safe room for a cigarette break, his brother said. The outbreak of violence appears to have begun on Friday, when a sniper wounded two Israeli soldiers, a violent but localized expression of Palestinian impatience with Israel’s failure to alleviate dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Israel responded first by destroying what it said were the homes of several Palestinian militant commanders and then by following through on a longstanding threat — one heard more frequently in recent days from hawkish politicians — to start killing individual fighters in targeted attacks. By Sunday, it had mushroomed into an all-out display of firepower by both sides. The Israel army said Gazans had launched 600 projectiles in two days, with the territory’s secretive armed factions letting loose hundreds of rockets that had long been hidden away in arsenals.
An airstrike that destroyed a car in Gaza City killed a man who the Israeli military said had been responsible for large transfers of cash from Iran to Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules the territory, and to a rival faction in Gaza, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Israel said the man, Ahmad Hamed Al-Khudary, 34, owned a money exchange company that it designated a terrorist organization last June. Howling air-raid sirens and buzzing smartphone alerts kept tens of thousands of Israeli civilians hunkered down in shelters. The country’s Iron Dome antimissile batteries shot many — but not nearly all — of the incoming projectiles out of the sky as the Israeli military rumbled into action with jets, drones, tanks, artillery and attack helicopters.
Asked why Israel had resumed its long-dormant tactic of targeted killings, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said, “It’s important for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to understand the severity of the situation.” Palestinians seized every opportunity to wreak havoc, killing an Israeli civilian with an anti-tank missile when he made the mistake of driving his truck within range of Gaza. They fired another, this time unsuccessfully, at an Israeli armored personnel carrier that was only partially obscured by defensive berms.
Two other fighters with Palestinian Islamic Jihad were killed in an airstrike on the Al Buraij refugee camp early Sunday, the group said. Ratcheting up its response, Israel blew up a car carrying a Gaza man it said was a terrorist, and published video of that airstrike as a warning to others. It leveled the homes of several militant commanders, saying they were used to store weapons or as operational headquarters, and fired on a number of Palestinians it said were engaged in launching rockets.
It also attacked a building it said had been used as a base for cyberattacks against Israel, partially destroying it.
The two antagonists have warred on and off since the militant Islamic group Hamas took power in Gaza in 2007 and Israel imposed a land, sea and air blockade of the territory and its roughly two million residents.
But as much as they loathe one another, they are also codependent: Hamas uses its defiance of Israel to portray itself as the true voice of Palestinian resistance, and Israel’s right-wing government exploits Gaza’s unruliness to argue that it lacks a partner for peace talks.
The fury of the weekend’s fighting reflected pent-up Palestinian frustrations over Israel’s slow pace in easing restrictions that have sent the densely populated and impoverished territory into economic free-fall, said Tareq Baconi, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.
In November, Israel agreed to loosen the restrictions in an arrangement brokered by Egypt with Hamas.
“Hamas agreed to restrain the protests in return for concessions,” Mr. Baconi said, referring to the frequently violent border demonstrations that began in Gaza in March 2018. “Those haven’t materialized.”
Israel’s decision this weekend to resort to targeted killing and to signal its readiness for a ground war was a reminder of the country’s low tolerance for the loss of civilian life.
But as has happened in so many other rounds of fighting in recent months, the violence quickly became so intense that each side seemed to pause long enough to listen for the words “cease-fire.”
Late Sunday, it was Ismail Haniya, the political director of Hamas, who uttered them.
Mr. Haniya said that “returning to the state of calm is possible and depends on the occupation’s commitment to a complete cease-fire” and on the “immediate start of implementing the understandings” reached with Egypt’s help.
But he also threatened to escalate if Israel did not comply, and more Israeli alerts of incoming rockets soon followed.
The Israeli civilians killed were the first to die in clashes with Gaza since the brief but devastating 2014 conflict. A Palestinian man living in Israel was killed in a rocket attack on Ashkelon in November.
One Israeli man was killed well before dawn Sunday when he left a safe room for a cigarette break and a rocket exploded in the yard of the house. In the afternoon, a strike on an Israeli cement factory in the southern city of Ashkelon killed a Bedouin worker. The man killed after stopping his truck was near Or Haner, a tiny kibbutz two miles from the Gaza border.
And in the southern city of Ashdod, a rabbi was killed when he left his car and tried to run for cover.
Israel responded by following through on a longstanding threat — one heard more frequently in recent days from hawkish politicians — to start killing individual fighters in targeted attacks.
An airstrike that destroyed a car in Gaza City killed a man who the Israeli military said had been responsible for large transfers of cash from Iran to Hamas and to a rival faction in Gaza, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Israel said the man, Ahmad Hamed Al-Khudary, 34, had owned a money exchange company that it designated a terrorist organization last June.
Asked why Israel had resumed the long-dormant tactic of targeted killings, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said, “It’s important for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to understand the severity of the situation.”
All told, of the nine militants killed Sunday, only one was a Hamas member, Gaza officials said. Eight belonged to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including two killed in an airstrike on the Al Buraij refugee camp.
The attacks from Gaza mostly hit targets in southern Israel with no military value, including a building housing a kindergarten in the town of Sderot and the oncology department at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. An army post in the community of Kissufim was hit by a mortar that struck its synagogue, lightly wounding two soldiers.The attacks from Gaza mostly hit targets in southern Israel with no military value, including a building housing a kindergarten in the town of Sderot and the oncology department at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. An army post in the community of Kissufim was hit by a mortar that struck its synagogue, lightly wounding two soldiers.
More than 100 Israelis were treated at Barzilai for injuries in the day’s attacks, hospital officials said. With rockets and mortars setting off sirens across southern Israel every few minutes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered what he called “massive strikes,” and the military deployed an armored brigade and the Golani infantry brigade to the Gaza frontier to be available for a possible ground incursion. Another infantry brigade was put on standby.
With rockets and mortars setting off sirens across southern Israel every few minutes — a two-day total of 600 launches, the army said — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered what he called “massive strikes,” and the military used tanks, artillery, jets, attack helicopters and drones. Israel pushed back aggressively on Sunday against Palestinian accusations that it had killed a pregnant Gaza woman and her young daughter the day before. Army spokesmen insisted that the two had been killed by a misfired Palestinian rocket, not by Israeli munitions. Gaza officials continued to accuse Israel of what they called a war crime.
An armored brigade and the Golani infantry brigade were deployed to the Gaza frontier to be available for a possible ground incursion, and another infantry brigade was put on standby.
Israel also pushed back aggressively on Sunday against Palestinian accusations that it had killed a pregnant Gaza woman and her young daughter in the first day of fighting on Saturday. An army spokesman insisted that the two were killed by a misfired Palestinian rocket, not by Israeli munitions, though Gaza officials continued to accuse Israel of responsibility for what they called a war crime.
The latest round of violence began much like several others since last summer.The latest round of violence began much like several others since last summer.
Israel and Gaza have been locked in a cycle of clashes quickly followed by de-escalations, with Egyptian-brokered talks repeatedly achieving a temporary cooling off along the border.Israel and Gaza have been locked in a cycle of clashes quickly followed by de-escalations, with Egyptian-brokered talks repeatedly achieving a temporary cooling off along the border.
In November, there appeared to be a breakthrough. Israel promised to ameliorate conditions in Gaza by allowing in cash supplied by Qatar, fuel and humanitarian aid despite its blockade, expanding the zone in the Mediterranean in which it would allow Gaza fishermen to operate, and easing the movement of people in and out of the impoverished seaside territory. Hamas agreed in return to restrain protests along its frontier with Israel that have often devolved into violence. In November, there appeared to be a breakthrough. Israel promised to ameliorate conditions in Gaza by allowing in cash supplied by Qatar, as well as fuel and humanitarian aid; expanding the zone in the Mediterranean in which it would allow Gaza fishermen to operate; and easing the movement of people in and out of the impoverished seaside territory.
But a truce has never taken hold, and indeed the cease-fires have only lasted a number of weeks. Hamas agreed in return to restrain protests along its frontier with Israel that have often devolved into violence. But a truce has never taken hold, and indeed the cease-fires have only lasted a number of weeks.
Some resumptions of violence have been unforeseeable. In October, a freak of nature — a lightning strike — was said to have caused a rocket to be launched at Israel. In November, an Israeli undercover team was discovered inside Gaza, setting off a firefight as it made its escape and then two days of rocket attacks and airstrikes. And a rocket attack in mid-March was said to be a result of “human error” rather than Hamas policy. Some resumptions of violence have been unforeseeable. In October, a freak of nature — a lightning strike — was said to have caused a rocket to be launched at Israel. In November, an Israeli undercover team was discovered inside Gaza, setting off a firefight as it made its escape and then two days of rocket attacks and airstrikes.
But Israel has also accused Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, its more radical ally, of resorting to violence for political advantage. In late March, two weeks before Israel’s parliamentary elections, a rocket hit a house northeast of Tel Aviv and caused Mr. Netanyahu to cut short a trip to Washington. A rocket attack in mid-March was said to be a result of “human error” rather than a Hamas decision.
Now, with Israeli Memorial Day and Independence Day celebrations coming this week, and a stream of international singers arriving to compete in the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv later this month, the Gaza militant groups may have gambled that Mr. Netanyahu would pay an even higher price for quiet in the short term. But Israel has also accused Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad of using violence for political advantage. In late March, two weeks before Israel’s parliamentary elections, a rocket hit a house northeast of Tel Aviv and caused Mr. Netanyahu to cut short a trip to Washington.
“Both of them believe that only pressure and force will force Israel to ease the restrictions of the blockade,” said Tareq Baconi, an analyst with International Crisis Group. “And Israel has done nothing but reinforce that lesson.” Now, with Israel’s Memorial Day and Independence Day celebrations coming this week, and a stream of international singers arriving to compete in the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv later this month, the Gaza militant groups may have gambled that Mr. Netanyahu would pay an even higher price for quiet in the short term.
Indeed, the two Gaza factions have accused Israel of forgetting its promises as soon as violence gives way to calm. “Both of them believe that only pressure and force will force Israel to ease the restrictions of the blockade,” said Mr. Baconi, the analyst. “And Israel has done nothing but reinforce that lesson.”
“Hamas agreed to restrain the protests in return for concessions,” Mr. Baconi said. “Those haven’t materialized.” Sunday night, on the eve of Ramadan, the monthlong Muslim holiday of daylong fasting and nighttime feasts, Israel tightened its chokehold on Gaza. It said it would cut off the supply of all fuel to the territory through Israel.
Omar Shaban, an economist who runs PalThink for Strategic Studies, a Gaza think tank, said that some of the recriminations between Israel and Gaza officials over measures meant to ease the deprivations in Gaza had been missing the point. Omar Shaban, an economist who runs Pal-Think for Strategic Studies, a Gaza think tank, said that some of the recriminations between Israel and Gaza officials over easing the deprivations in Gaza had been missing the point.
“There’s no shortage of food in Gaza, but people don’t have purchasing power because there are no jobs,” he said. “There are some demands by the political factions that cannot be implemented: If you open the crossings while people don’t have cash for the private sector to operate, it’s pointless. Gaza needs a package of assistance.”“There’s no shortage of food in Gaza, but people don’t have purchasing power because there are no jobs,” he said. “There are some demands by the political factions that cannot be implemented: If you open the crossings while people don’t have cash for the private sector to operate, it’s pointless. Gaza needs a package of assistance.”
On the Israeli side, even some critics of Mr. Netanyahu said that the cycle of violence with Gaza was only strengthening his hand politically.On the Israeli side, even some critics of Mr. Netanyahu said that the cycle of violence with Gaza was only strengthening his hand politically.
“His view — which, incidentally, is logical — is that the division between Gaza and the West Bank, which stems from the chronic conflict between Hamas and Fatah, weakens the national Palestinian movement and is worth the headache inherent in dealing with two semi-functional political entities,” Shimrit Meir, an Israeli analyst of Palestinian politics, wrote in the daily Yediot Ahronot.“His view — which, incidentally, is logical — is that the division between Gaza and the West Bank, which stems from the chronic conflict between Hamas and Fatah, weakens the national Palestinian movement and is worth the headache inherent in dealing with two semi-functional political entities,” Shimrit Meir, an Israeli analyst of Palestinian politics, wrote in the daily Yediot Ahronot.
The two Palestinian territories, Gaza and the West Bank, are governed by the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah.The two Palestinian territories, Gaza and the West Bank, are governed by the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah.
In Ashkelon, a concrete factory that makes large pipes for underground sewers and other equipment for the army was struck by a rocket around 1 p.m. on Sunday. A worker there who refused to give his name said he was standing between two of the workers who were hit by the rocket when the siren went off. He ran for shelter, but the others either didn’t try or didn’t make it. On Sunday, as the family of one of the Israelis killed in the attack, Moshe Agadi, 58, prepared to bury him, it asked the public to avoid his funeral for fear of another strike from Gaza. Hundreds of Israelis came anyway, and home-front soldiers wearing orange berets passed out instructions on what to do if the cemetery came under attack.
“There weren’t many seconds,” he said.
With rockets still arcing toward Israel, and Iron Dome antimissile systems knocking out a good number of them but not all, the family of Moshe Agadi, 58, who was killed in Ashkelon at around 2 a.m., asked the public to avoid his 4 p.m. funeral. They feared that those attending could be subjected to another strike from Gaza.
But hundreds of Israelis packed the funeral hall anyway, and then streamed outside for Mr. Agadi’s burial, as home front soldiers wearing orange berets passed out instructions on what to do if the cemetery came under attack.
“We came to honor him, and to show that we’re not afraid of them,” said Tzipi Ben-David, 56, as distant blasts could be heard in the direction of Gaza. “Look how many came, even with this situation.”“We came to honor him, and to show that we’re not afraid of them,” said Tzipi Ben-David, 56, as distant blasts could be heard in the direction of Gaza. “Look how many came, even with this situation.”
At Mr. Agadi’s residence, a golden-painted suburban dream house, large shrapnel divots in the exterior wall, a felled tree and grapefruits strewn on the ground all testified to the weapon that had killed him. At the home were Mr. Agadi had been staying, a golden-painted suburban dream house, large shrapnel divots in the exterior wall, a felled tree and grapefruits strewn on the ground all testified to what had killed him.