War fear looms large on Gaza
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Dozens of Israeli airstrikes flattens buildings in the enclave, killing at least 7
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Militants fire more than 460 rockets, mortar rounds wounding 27
Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip announced an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel on Tuesday after a severe escalation of violence threatened to descend into full-blown war.
The groups, including Hamas, issued a joint statement saying they would abide by the ceasefire as long as Israel did the same.
What sparked the latest violence?The latest round of violence began on Sunday, when Israeli special forces were exposed operating inside the Gaza Strip. In an ensuing clash, an Israeli officer and seven Palestinian militants were killed, prompting Hamas to vow revenge. Israel said the covert operation was an intelligence-gathering mission. Its timing has raised questions since progress had been made in recent weeks toward ending months of unrest along the Gaza-Israel border, but the Israeli military said it was necessary to defend the country. |
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the military had not commented on the announcement.
Israel's hardline defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, issued a statement saying he did not support stopping the strikes.
"Egypt's efforts have been able to achieve a ceasefire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy," the statement by the Gaza groups said.
"The resistance will respect this declaration as long as the Zionist enemy respects it."
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council will meet behind closed doors later yesterday to discuss the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, the worst flareup since the 2014 war.
Kuwait, which represents Arab countries at the council, and Bolivia requested the meeting during which council members will hear a briefing from a UN official on the crisis, diplomats said.
Seven Palestinians were killed in Gaza over the course of some 24 hours as Israeli strikes targeted militants and flattened buildings while sending fireballs and plumes of smoke into the sky.
Sirens wailed in southern Israel and tens of thousands of residents had taken cover in shelters as around 460 rockets and mortar rounds were fired from the Gaza Strip, wounding 27 people, including three severely.
A Palestinian labourer from the occupied West Bank was killed when a rocket hit a building in the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
Schools were closed in the Gaza Strip and in southern Israel as both sides warned the other that it would respond forcefully to any further violence.
Egypt has negotiated ceasefires following previous flare-ups, while UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov has also been seeking a long-term truce between the two sides in recent weeks.
Mladenov had earlier called the escalation "extremely dangerous" and said on Twitter that "restraint must be shown by all".
Israeli missile defences intercepted more than 100 rockets from Gaza and most others fell in open areas, though some hit houses and other civilian structures. Israel hit back with major air strikes, with targets including Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV station and internal security headquarters in Gaza City.
The military said it struck some 160 targets in the Gaza Strip.
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008, and protests and clashes along the Gaza border since March 30 have repeatedly raised fears of a fourth.
At least 234 Palestinians in Gaza have since been killed by Israeli fire, the majority during protests and clashes. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed over the same period.
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