In the latest attack 20 people have been treated for shock as three houses were damaged hit the yard of a house in the southern Israeli city of Netivot. Three houses were damaged. Two more rockets fired towards Ashkelon were intercepted by Israel's Iron Drone missile defence systems.
Israeli security forces report that southern Israel is still under attack from rockets this morning. The recent cross-border escalation continues despite a mediation attempt by Egyptian intelligence services to get Hamas and Israel around the table and end current hostilities.
This morning all schools Netivot that do not have rocket defence measures are closed and people have been advised to be on their guard and take measures to protect themselves from more possible Hamas rocket attacks.
israeli Defense forces have not been slow to respond with lethal force. On Saturday they responded to an attack on one of their vehicles which wounded five Israeli soldiers with a bombardment of the Gaza Strip which killed four Palestinians and wounded 36 more. Hamas claim that the dead and injured were civilians. Some believe that the Israeli response led to the escalation of Hamas rocket attacks towards Israel across the weekend.
Haaretz reports that both Israel and Hamas have said that they will commence a the Egyptian led cease fire as soon as the other side stops firing. This 'we will meet quiet with quite' approach is good except someone surely has to 'cease firing first' and in the dangerous game of brinkmanship that clouds the area neither side seem willing to step down first.
Diplomatic talk, never mind actions, seem right now as far away as ever. Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defense Minister, said that Israel was prepared to 'act' if they felt a 'broader' operational response be needed. Prime Minister Netanyahu continued the war-like dialogue saying that the IDF will respond 'aggressively' to attacks in the Gaza Strip.
No comments:
Post a Comment