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| Sniper Is Said to Prompt Clash at Gaza Border | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| JERUSALEM — The tenuous cease-fire in the 50-day war between Israel and Gaza militants was deeply strained Wednesday by a clash that Israel’s military said had been started by a Palestinian sniper attack on a routine border patrol. | |
| The clash left one Palestinian militant dead and an Israeli soldier wounded. It appeared to be the most serious direct confrontation between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic group that dominates Gaza, since fighting was halted in late August. | The clash left one Palestinian militant dead and an Israeli soldier wounded. It appeared to be the most serious direct confrontation between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic group that dominates Gaza, since fighting was halted in late August. |
| After the patrol on the Israeli side of the border came under fire, the Israeli military said, Israel responded with air and ground forces against Hamas positions in the immediate vicinity of the attack. | After the patrol on the Israeli side of the border came under fire, the Israeli military said, Israel responded with air and ground forces against Hamas positions in the immediate vicinity of the attack. |
| A spokesman for the Health Ministry of Gaza identified the Palestinian who was killed as Tayseer al-Samari, 33. The military wing of Hamas immediately claimed Mr. Samari as one of its own, and it said he was the head of the group’s reconnaissance unit in southern Gaza. | A spokesman for the Health Ministry of Gaza identified the Palestinian who was killed as Tayseer al-Samari, 33. The military wing of Hamas immediately claimed Mr. Samari as one of its own, and it said he was the head of the group’s reconnaissance unit in southern Gaza. |
| But Hamas did not take responsibility for the initial sniper attack and Israel did not specifically blame Hamas for it, indicating a smaller group may have been responsible. Still, Israel said it held Hamas accountable. | |
| The Israeli military said the wounded soldier, from the Bedouin Reconnaissance Battalion, suffered a serious chest injury. | |
| Israel and Hamas each issued stern warnings, pointing to a possible escalation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel promised “a strong and vigorous response in the face of any attempt to violate the quiet in the south.” | Israel and Hamas each issued stern warnings, pointing to a possible escalation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel promised “a strong and vigorous response in the face of any attempt to violate the quiet in the south.” |
| Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, described the sniper attack in a statement as “a lethal violation of the relative quiet along the Gaza border” and “a blatant breach of Israel’s sovereignty.” | Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, described the sniper attack in a statement as “a lethal violation of the relative quiet along the Gaza border” and “a blatant breach of Israel’s sovereignty.” |
| Hamas held Israel responsible. “This is a dangerous escalation,” Ismail Radwan, a Hamas official in Gaza, told a news website associated with the group. | Hamas held Israel responsible. “This is a dangerous escalation,” Ismail Radwan, a Hamas official in Gaza, told a news website associated with the group. |
| “The occupation is playing with fire,” Mr. Radwan continued, referring to Israel, “and it will bear full responsibility for the consequences.” | “The occupation is playing with fire,” Mr. Radwan continued, referring to Israel, “and it will bear full responsibility for the consequences.” |
| Hamas evacuated its police stations and other institutions in Gaza City, as well as elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, in anticipation of Israeli airstrikes. | Hamas evacuated its police stations and other institutions in Gaza City, as well as elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, in anticipation of Israeli airstrikes. |
| Mr. Radwan called on Egypt, which brokered the cease-fire in late August, to intervene and “curb the aggression and the violations” by Israel. | Mr. Radwan called on Egypt, which brokered the cease-fire in late August, to intervene and “curb the aggression and the violations” by Israel. |
| Tensions have been building since Gaza militants fired a rocket into Israeli territory on Friday and Israel carried out a retaliatory airstrike against a Hamas site in Gaza, the first since the August cease-fire. Israeli officials said that rocket probably had not been fired by Hamas but by a smaller militant group; Israel nevertheless said it held Hamas accountable. | Tensions have been building since Gaza militants fired a rocket into Israeli territory on Friday and Israel carried out a retaliatory airstrike against a Hamas site in Gaza, the first since the August cease-fire. Israeli officials said that rocket probably had not been fired by Hamas but by a smaller militant group; Israel nevertheless said it held Hamas accountable. |
| Israeli officials later said the target of the airstrike was a factory producing concrete meant for the rehabilitation of the Hamas tunnels that Israel destroyed or damaged during the war. | Israeli officials later said the target of the airstrike was a factory producing concrete meant for the rehabilitation of the Hamas tunnels that Israel destroyed or damaged during the war. |
| More than 2,100 Palestinians were killed in the fighting over the summer, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Sixty-seven Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel were killed. | More than 2,100 Palestinians were killed in the fighting over the summer, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Sixty-seven Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel were killed. |
| The cease-fire that halted the summer war was supposed to have been followed by further Egypt-mediated talks to reach more lasting understandings between Israel and Hamas and longer-term solutions for Gaza. | The cease-fire that halted the summer war was supposed to have been followed by further Egypt-mediated talks to reach more lasting understandings between Israel and Hamas and longer-term solutions for Gaza. |
| Those talks have not taken place, and reconstruction efforts in Gaza have proceeded slowly, adding to the pressure on Hamas, which has struggled to show tangible results from the war, and to an increasing sense of frustration among Gaza’s population. | Those talks have not taken place, and reconstruction efforts in Gaza have proceeded slowly, adding to the pressure on Hamas, which has struggled to show tangible results from the war, and to an increasing sense of frustration among Gaza’s population. |
| A Palestinian government jointly backed by Fatah and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority and their longtime rivals in Hamas, the fruit of a reconciliation pact reached in April, has also made little impact in Gaza. | A Palestinian government jointly backed by Fatah and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority and their longtime rivals in Hamas, the fruit of a reconciliation pact reached in April, has also made little impact in Gaza. |
| Robert Turner, the director of operations in Gaza for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which assists Palestinian refugees, told reporters last week that more than 96,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed over the summer — many more than initially estimated. | |
| Palestinians say that a mechanism for importing construction materials into Gaza that meets Israel’s security requirements and is supervised by the United Nations has proved cumbersome. | Palestinians say that a mechanism for importing construction materials into Gaza that meets Israel’s security requirements and is supervised by the United Nations has proved cumbersome. |
| And though an international donors’ conference in Cairo in October achieved $5.4 billion in pledges for the reconstruction of Gaza, Mohammed Mustafa, the Palestinian deputy prime minister for economic affairs, told the Palestinian news media this week that the disbursement of funds to the Palestinian Authority had been sparse. | And though an international donors’ conference in Cairo in October achieved $5.4 billion in pledges for the reconstruction of Gaza, Mohammed Mustafa, the Palestinian deputy prime minister for economic affairs, told the Palestinian news media this week that the disbursement of funds to the Palestinian Authority had been sparse. |
| In a telephone interview, Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas official in Gaza, said, “Gaza is under pressure, and this will lead to a big explosion.” | In a telephone interview, Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas official in Gaza, said, “Gaza is under pressure, and this will lead to a big explosion.” |
| “We don’t want to push into a new war, but the Israelis will not be safe as long as our people are not safe,” he said. | “We don’t want to push into a new war, but the Israelis will not be safe as long as our people are not safe,” he said. |
| Giora Eiland, an Israeli general in the reserves and a former national security adviser, said: “Hamas is preparing itself, and so are we. It is clear we did not reach eternal peace with them, and this is why they are preparing militarily.” | Giora Eiland, an Israeli general in the reserves and a former national security adviser, said: “Hamas is preparing itself, and so are we. It is clear we did not reach eternal peace with them, and this is why they are preparing militarily.” |
| “What is more worrying,” he told Israel Radio, “are incidents when they fire, like today, with an element of provocation and they take into account that it could lead to escalation.” | “What is more worrying,” he told Israel Radio, “are incidents when they fire, like today, with an element of provocation and they take into account that it could lead to escalation.” |