عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Israeli Military Strikes Gaza After Border Violence

Tire smoke lit by Palestinian demonstrators (AP)
Tire smoke lit by Palestinian demonstrators (AP)
TT
TT

Israeli Military Strikes Gaza After Border Violence

Tire smoke lit by Palestinian demonstrators (AP)
Tire smoke lit by Palestinian demonstrators (AP)

The Israeli military said it launched an air strike on Gaza Friday, following violence at a border rally in which health officials said multiple Palestinians were wounded.

The strike was the first since early July, when Israel responded to rocket fire from Gaza launched after its deadliest Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank in years.

The army said it hit "a military post belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the northern Gaza Strip."

A military spokesman said the air strike hit an area where Palestinians had gathered earlier Friday, near the permanently closed Karni crossing.

A security source in the Palestinian territory told AFP that Israel "bombed a resistance observation post east of Gaza City," requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly to the media.

There were no immediate reports of injuries resulting from the air strike.

Earlier Friday, an AFP journalist at the protest saw Palestinians throwing rocks and explosives towards Israeli forces, across the frontier, and two demonstrators with gunshot wounds.

Plumes of black smoke filled the area after Palestinians set tyres ablaze.

Twelve Gazans were wounded at various rallies along the border, the territory's health ministry said.

The Israeli military said "several explosive devices and grenades" were hurled at soldiers, none of whom were hurt.

The air strike comes after an explosion killed at least five Gazans during a border rally on Wednesday.

A bomb which may have been a hand grenade detonated while being carried by a protester, a witness told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Militant Hamas group seized control of Gaza in 2007 and Israel has since imposed a crippling blockade.

There have been multiple wars fought between Gaza-based militants and Israel in recent years.

At least 34 Palestinians and one Israeli were killed in five days of cross-border exchanges in May.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

US Expresses Concern Over Escalating Middle East Conflict Risk 

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House, in Washington, DC, USA, 31 July 2024. (EPA)
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House, in Washington, DC, USA, 31 July 2024. (EPA)
TT
TT

US Expresses Concern Over Escalating Middle East Conflict Risk 

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House, in Washington, DC, USA, 31 July 2024. (EPA)
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House, in Washington, DC, USA, 31 July 2024. (EPA)

The White House on Wednesday voiced concern about the increased risk of an escalation into a broader Middle East war after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran drew threats of retaliation against Israel.

Speaking to reporters, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said, however, that Washington did not see an all-out conflict in the region as imminent or inevitable and that it was working to prevent that from happening.

"When you have events - dramatic events, violent events caused by whatever actor - it certainly doesn't make the task of achieving that outcome any easier," Kirby told a daily briefing in Washington.

He said the US still believed there was a "viable" process to reach a ceasefire deal to end more than nine months of fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, despite concerns that effort had been dealt a serious blow.

The Palestinian armed group Hamas and Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, who had participated in internationally-brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave. The Guards said it took place hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for Iran's new president.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government issued no claim of responsibility. The Israeli leader also made no mention of Haniyeh's killing in a televised statement but said Israel had delivered crushing blows to Iran's proxies of late, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and would respond forcefully to any attack.

The assassination occurred less than 24 hours after Israel claimed to have killed Hezbollah's most senior military commander in the Lebanese capital Beirut in retaliation for a deadly rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

CONCERNS OF ESCALATION

"We don't want to see an escalation," Kirby said. "Those risks go up and down every day. They are certainly up right now. They don't make the task of de-escalation, deterrence and dissuasion - which is the goal - any less complicated."

While saying he could not confirm Haniyeh's death, Kirby referred to comments by Iran’s Ali Khamenei. The Supreme Leader said Israel had provided the grounds for "harsh punishment for itself" and it was Tehran's duty to avenge Haniyeh's death.

Iranian forces had already made strikes directly on Israel earlier in the Gaza war, which was triggered by a Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

Kirby declined to say whether the US was urging restraint by Israel.

While the latest events appear to set back any prospects for an imminent ceasefire agreement in Gaza, Kirby said: "We haven't seen any indications ... that the process has been completely torpedoed."

"We still believe the deal on the table is worth pursuing," he added.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at an event in Singapore, sidestepped a question on Haniyeh's killing, saying a ceasefire deal in Gaza was key to avoiding wider regional conflict. He told Channel News Asia that the US had neither been aware of nor involved in the killing.

Blinken spoke by phone to Jordanian and Qatari leaders, and the State Department said they discussed regional tensions and efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire.

The United States will take every possible measure to protect its personnel and interests in the Middle East after recent attacks there, US State Department Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.

The US also urged its citizens to not travel to Lebanon, citing rising tensions between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah.