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Israel Begins Striking Hamas after Rocket Attack

A police sapper inspects a damaged house that was hit by a rocket north of Tel Aviv Israel March 25, 2019. REUTERS/ Ammar Awad
A police sapper inspects a damaged house that was hit by a rocket north of Tel Aviv Israel March 25, 2019. REUTERS/ Ammar Awad
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Israel Begins Striking Hamas after Rocket Attack

A police sapper inspects a damaged house that was hit by a rocket north of Tel Aviv Israel March 25, 2019. REUTERS/ Ammar Awad
A police sapper inspects a damaged house that was hit by a rocket north of Tel Aviv Israel March 25, 2019. REUTERS/ Ammar Awad

The Israeli military said Monday it started striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip after a rocket hit a house in central Israel earlier in the day, wounding seven people.

The military said that Israeli forces "started striking Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip."

It accused Hamas of firing the rocket that destroyed a house in Mishmeret, a village north of Tel Aviv.

Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said it treated seven people, including an infant, a 3-year-old boy, a 12-year-old girl and a 60-year-old woman who was suffering from blast injuries, burns and shrapnel wounds.

There was no claim of responsibility for the early morning strike.

Monday's rocket was the second launched toward central Israel in recent weeks.

Local authorities in southern Israel started readying bomb shelters ahead of possible hostilities.

Israeli media reported that flights to and from Israel's main international airport were diverted from their normal flight paths, and train services to several southern cities near the Gaza Strip have been canceled.

The Israeli military has also closed several roads around Gaza.

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US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
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US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)

Recent statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his willingness to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to normalize relations between the two countries have sparked mixed reactions.
While the Syrian opposition sees the possibility of such a meeting despite the challenges, Damascus views the statements as a political maneuver by the Turks. Meanwhile, the United States has tied the normalization process to achieving a political solution in Syria based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, issued in 2015.
Turkish media reported on Thursday that a US administration official, who was not named, confirmed that Washington is against normalizing relations with the Syrian regime under Assad. He emphasized that Washington cannot accept normalizing ties with Damascus without progress toward a political solution that ends the conflicts in Syria.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Hadi al-Bahra, stated that a meeting between Assad and Erdogan is possible despite the obstacles. In a statement to Reuters on Thursday, Bahra said the meeting is feasible, even though Ankara is fully aware that the Assad regime cannot currently meet its demands and understands the regime’s limitations.
Bahra pointed out that the UN-led political process remains frozen and that he had briefed US and Western officials on the latest developments in the Syrian file. On Saturday, Bahra participated in a consultative meeting in Ankara with the Syrian Negotiation Commission, along with a high-level delegation from the US State Department, during which they exchanged views on the political solution and the need to establish binding mechanisms for implementing international resolutions related to the Syrian issue.
On the other side, Assad’s special advisor, Bouthaina Shaaban, dismissed Erdogan’s announcement that Ankara is awaiting a response from Damascus regarding his meeting with Assad for normalization as another political maneuver with ulterior motives.
Shaaban, speaking during a lecture at the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was reported by Turkish media on Thursday, stated that any rapprochement between the two countries is contingent on its withdrawal of forces from Syrian territory.