Israeli aircraft have bombed dozens of sites in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of this morning and yesterday night, the military said.
Israeli Defence Force (IDF) troops opened fire and killed a Palestinian during an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian medics said.
The raid came hours after Israel found the bodies of three Israeli teens in the occupied West Bank who went missing on June 12. Israel blamed the Hamas for their abduction near a Jewish settlement and has arrested dozens of the group’s members in the past three weeks.
The military said that its aircraft bombed 34 sites in Gaza, most of them allegedly belonging to Hamas, in response to 18 rockets fired into Israel since Sunday. Two people were lightly wounded, Gaza medical officials said.
In the West Bank, an Israeli military spokeswoman said, troops opened fire at a man, identified by Palestinian officials as Yousouf Ibrahim abu Zagha, 19, who threw an “explosive device” at soldiers who were attempting to arrest a “militant” in the Jenin refugee camp – none of this has been confirmed
The military added that three Palestinians were detained in the West Bank on Tuesday. Palestinian officials said five were arrested.
Hamas
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On Monday night Israeli forces destroyed the homes of Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisha, two Hebron-area residents who the Israeli government has named as suspects.
The use of punitive demolitions revived a practice that was almost entirely discontinued in 2005.
The Israeli security cabinet also held an emergency meeting on Monday night, which ended with no major decisions on further actions, according to a government source. The cabinet will reconvene later today.
Some politicians have called for harsher steps against Hamas, including targeted assassinations. “I don’t know how many leaders of Hamas will remain alive after tonight,” said Tzachi Hanegbi, the deputy foreign minister.
The group dismissed the accusations in a statement, calling them propaganda. “We warn Israel against any stupid action. If Israel wants a war, the price they will pay will be greater than in previous wars,” it said.
The PLO’s Hanan Ashrawi said that the “Israeli escalation already took place, and now they have an excuse of further escalation.”
There have been no statements made by the international community regarding today’s attack against Gaza.
Western media outlets have also failed to report the retaliatory bombing by Israel.
It has become a common occurrence for Israel to attack Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan.
