Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday that another confrontation with Hamas-run Gaza was “inevitable”.
“There is no avoiding another confrontation with Hamas; we must attack them with great force,” Lieberman told Israeli public radio.
“Neither [the provision of] fuel nor [the disbursement of public-sector] salaries will calm the situation [in Gaza],” he said.
“Hamas leaders say they want the blockade [of the Gaza Strip] lifted, but this is not possible,” he asserted.
Israeli fighter jets bombed three sites affiliated with the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, at dawn Thursday in the blockaded Gaza Strip.Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that Israeli warplanes had struck three separate positions inside the strip: two in the south and one in the north.According to Palestinian medical sources, the strikes did not result in any casualties.Israel detains Christian monk, beats others in E. J'lemEarlier Thursday, the Israeli army claimed that a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israeli territory.In a tweet, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said that Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system had responded to the rocket launch.He did not say, however, whether or not the rocket was successfully intercepted.The latest escalations come amid a fresh round of shuttle diplomacy by Egyptian officials between Gaza and Ramallah (the Palestinian government’s administrative capital) aimed at hammering out a Hamas-Israel truce and promoting Hamas-Fatah reconciliation.Israel is now ‘big brother’: US envoyIsrael resumes fuel shipments to Gaza
Israel bombs three Hamas-linked sites in blockaded Gaza
Lieberman added, however, that Israel’s defense establishment would “give a chance” to ongoing Egypt-brokered truce talks with Hamas, “so they don’t say I'm dragging Israel into conflict because of my personal agenda”.
At dawn Thursday, Israeli fighter jets bombed three sites in Gaza affiliated with the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing.
Earlier the same day, the Israeli army claimed that a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israeli territory.
The latest escalations come amid a fresh round of shuttle diplomacy by Egyptian officials between Gaza and Ramallah aimed at hammering out a Hamas-Israel truce and fostering reconciliation between Hamas and rival Palestinian faction Fatah.