Israeli planes launched two strikes in southern Gaza this Sunday, according to witnesses and media reportswhile a military officer accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire and attacking troops. Two Palestinian witnesses told AFP that clashes first occurred in a part of the city of Rafah in the southern Strip, still under Israeli control, followed by two airstrikes.
The Israeli official, who did not confirm the airstrikes, said fighters from the armed Islamist movement Hamas had attacked his forces with sniper fire and a grenade launcher. “This is a blatant violation of the ceasefire“The officer told AFP. For the moment, the Israeli Army has not commented on the matter and it is not known if there are injuries or fatalities, nor if this crossfire could endanger the ceasefire that came into force on October 10.
Operation against rival Hamas militia
According to what a source from the armed wing of Hamas told Efe, the group, embroiled in harsh internal struggles, had begun an operation in Rafah to eliminate Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of the rival militia known as the ‘Popular Forces’. But Israeli soldiers interceded to support Shabab, initiating cross attacks and causing an Israeli bulldozer to explode.
Yesterday, the United States Government already warned that it had “credible information” indicating that Hamas planned “imminent violation” of ceasefire in planned attack on Palestinian civilians. This morning, the Islamist group Hamas rejected that accusation and blamed Israel for having armed and financed those other militias that, it said, carried out “murders, kidnappings, theft of aid trucks and robberies against civilians.”
Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by both Israel and other countries, including Germany and the United States, stated that Gaza Police officers, “with broad civil and popular support,” are pursuing these gangs and holding them accountable “according to clear legal mechanisms, to protect citizens and preserve public and private property.”
Radical ministers call for more bombings
Israeli settlers and leaders of the religious Zionist parties in the coalition government urged today to resume the war offensive against the Gaza Strip, after the crossfire between troops and militiamen in Rafah. The Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, alluded with a single word to what he considers the appropriate response from Israel: “War,” he published half an hour ago on his X account.
“I urge the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) to order the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to fully resume fighting in the Gaza Strip in full force“, said the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Givr, on the other hand, in