Israeli air strikes target Hamas in Gaza Strip

Israel launched air strikes in Gaza on Thursday against a Hamas security force, killing at least two militants and wounding about 40 other Palestinians, in a powerful response to cross-border rocket attacks.

Hamas accused Israel of colluding with President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, after six days of fierce fighting between the two partners in a Palestinian unity government, and threatened to resume suicide bombings in the Jewish state. "We have had enough. Israel will take all defensive measures to protect our citizens from these Hamas rockets, Miri Eisin," a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said before the air strikes began.

At least two Israelis were lightly wounded earlier by rocket salvoes in the southern town of Sderot, near the Gaza border.

Smoke rose in downtown Gaza from what remained of the office building that housed Hamas' Executive Force, which Fatah wants disbanded. Hospital officials said at least 40 people were wounded in the air strike on the multi-storey structure.

About two hours later, another air strike targeted a car carrying a senior commander in Hamas' armed wing. He was seriously wounded and another militant in the vehicle was killed.

A third air attack was aimed at an Executive Force position outside the home of the Interior Ministry's spokesman. A Hamas fighter was killed. Despite a ceasefire deal brokered by Abbas and Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal, three Palestinians were killed in renewed internal fighting on Thursday, raising the death toll since Friday to at least 43.

The Israeli army has denied its attacks were connected to the factional violence, which has brought Palestinians to the verge of all-out civil war. Meshaal told Hamas' al-Aqsa Television that the air strikes in Gaza City created an historic opportunity to unite Palestinian factions against Israel. Hamas last carried out a suicide bombing in Israel in 2004. The Gaza violence has worsened conditions for Palestinians hard hit by Western sanctions against the Hamas-led government. Olmert has ruled out serious peace talks so long as the government refuses to recognize Israel and renounce violence.

Abbas called off plans to travel to Gaza on Thursday for crisis talks with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. It was unclear how the Hamas-Fatah unity government would survive and function given the mounting violence and resentment.

Israel's air strikes came a day after it hit an Executive Force building in southern Gaza and a rocket launching crew, killing five people.

The Israeli government had earlier threatened a severe response to rocket attacks on Israel that have persisted despite a troop and settler pullout from Gaza in 2005.

Israeli artillery deployed along the Gaza border and a few tanks were seen moving several meters (yards) into the territory. Israeli forces recently completed training for a possible ground invasion of Gaza. Olmert, struggling to stay in office after an official report sharply criticized his handling of last year's war in Lebanon, is under heavy domestic pressure to stop the rockets without getting bogged down in another inconclusive conflict.

At the same time, he knows a wide-ranging Israeli military response in Gaza could have a major influence on the course of Fatah's power struggle with Hamas.

18.05.2007
Gaza Reuters

 

Good....its about time.

 

Wonder when will the other side strike back?

 

That wont happen for some time now..
Theyre badly hurt and cant hijack many weapons from abroad.
Im not saying that they wont strike back, im just saying that its gonna take some time.

 

I don't why the Israelis just don't leave the Palestinians alone - at the moment the Palestinians seem to be killing each other quite well.

Forget the bombing - just feed the flames through propaganda and the Palestinians will self destruct.

Everyone knows it takes a civil war to really up the bloodshed.

 

They struck first. Most news articles won't cover that though. Because Jews are the all-purpose scapegoat for everything wrong in the middle east, it's not an outrage when muslims strike them first. It's only an outrage when Israel strikes back.

 

there is news this morning that hamas and fatah have agreed to a cease fire...$10 says hamas breaks it soon....