Moments after an Israeli strike in Lebanon targeting a militant.
The air strikes come in the wake of a cross border attack last Monday at Sinai in Egypt that saw two armed militants kill an Israeli civilian before themselves being killed by Israeli forces. Responsibility for that attacked was claimed by an obscure militant group described by various news outlets as “al-Qaida linked”. The claims of the group remain unverified.
Israel, according to the AFP, maintains that its strikes in Gaza since last Monday are “in no way related” to the Sinai incident. Since the initial strikes that killed 3 Palestinians on Monday, there has been a flurry of rocket attacks from Gaza resulting in the wounding of an Israeli civilian. Israel has responded with more air strikes.
Hamas, which had earlier threatened to formally break the truce, said on Saturday that it was prepared to work with Egypt to salvage the cease-fire if Israel would “stop their aggression”.
But Matan Vilnai, the Israeli Civil Defense Minister, has made it clear that his government holds Hamas responsible for the violence. Hamas has not claimed responsibility for any of the rocket attacks. Palestinian reports indicate that as many as 15 Palestinians have died in the attacks including some children. Israel denies that children were harmed by its activities.
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Further reading:
AFP via Jordan Times | Hamas official pledges fresh try at ceasefire with Israel
AP | Hamas threatens to escalate attacks on Israel
Reuters | Israel kills 2 in strikes on Gaza as truce falters
