Targeting of both Israel, Gaza continues
JERUSALEM – Amid efforts to revive stalled talks in Cairo, Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip traded blows again Saturday, with a volley of rockets fired toward Israel and the Israeli military striking dozens of targets across the coastal enclave.
However, the fighting was far less intense than at the height of the confrontation, which had peaked before Israel pulled out its ground forces last week. With Israel having claimed to meet its aims of destroying Hamas-dug infiltration tunnels under the border and eroding militants’ weapons caches, the battle showed signs of settling into a relatively low-level war of attrition.
An Israeli military official told Israel Radio that rocket fire from Gaza could continue for many more days and that Hamas and allied militants were shifting toward using locally made rockets and mortars with a shorter range than the more sophisticated weapons fired this month at cities including Tel Aviv.
Israel, for its part, appeared to be moving toward targeted strikes against militant figures, rather than the large-scale destruction that characterized the early days of the offensive. Those killed in the latest bombardment reportedly included a Hamas official and two suspected militants who were hit as they were riding on a motorbike.
Saturday marked a second day of renewed hostilities in the month-old war after a three-day truce crumbled Friday morning. Palestinian health officials reported eight deaths in the Israeli strikes.
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under heavy international criticism for air and artillery strikes that leveled whole residential neighborhoods, with a correspondingly large civilian death toll. More than 1,900 Palestinians have been killed, with human rights groups and the United Nations saying two-thirds of those were civilians. Israel has said up to 900 of those killed were fighters for Hamas or an allied faction.
Netanyahu has forcefully defended Israeli strikes on densely populated areas, saying that every effort was made to warn those living there and that Hamas had deliberately put noncombatants in danger by digging tunnels and setting up rocket-launching sites in civilian areas.
Efforts to forge a longer cease-fire and address underlying issues through the Egyptian-brokered talks have been fitful and rocky.
The Israeli delegation left Cairo before the Jewish Sabbath, which begins at sundown Friday and ends at sundown Saturday, but Israeli reports suggested the envoys would return to the bargaining table.
Bassam Salhi, a Palestinian negotiator, said his team met with Egyptian mediators late Saturday. But he said they would leave unless the Israeli negotiators return.
“We told the Egyptians that if the Israelis are not coming and if there is no significant development, we are leaving today (Sunday),” he said.