The exchange of fire came after the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that two young men, aged 19 and 32, were killed in an Israeli army raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus, which the Israeli army confirmed was an operation within the framework of “fighting terrorism.”
The Israeli army published a videotape of what it described as the “bombing” of two operations command centers of the Islamic Jihad Movement in an unknown location in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army carried out several air strikes on the Strip, while militants from Gaza responded with missiles again on Saturday, in a clear indication of the resumption of bloody fighting after a night of relative calm and despite efforts to reach a truce. Fire again late Friday evening, after the failure of a previous attempt.
But the move did not calm the fighting, and on Saturday morning eyewitnesses in Gaza reported air strikes pummeling unpopulated areas of the crowded enclave, while sirens sounded in neighboring parts of Israel.
The exchange of fire came after the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that two youths, aged 19 and 32, were killed in an IDF raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus, which the IDF confirmed was an “anti-terror” operation that targeted militants who were planning attacks on soldiers. He added, “Gunmen fired at the army, who responded with live ammunition and tear gas to curb the riots, and two people were targeted.” Fatah said the two men killed in the raid were members of its military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
The wave of violence erupted on Tuesday when Israeli airstrikes in Gaza targeted three prominent members of the Islamic Jihad movement, and three more Palestinians from the Palestinian militant group were killed in subsequent strikes.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 33 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, including children. Rescue services said a missile killed an elderly woman in the central Israeli city of Rehovot.
Egypt, the historical mediator between Israel and the Gaza factions, is seeking to put an end to the fighting, which is the fiercest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the outbreak of clashes in August that claimed the lives of about 50 Palestinians.
A Palestinian source indicated that the Gaza factions are studying the new Cairo formula for the cease-fire, stressing that Egypt is waiting for Israel’s response. Meanwhile, Israeli public television said that the “improved” Egyptian cease-fire proposal had been handed over to Israel.
It urged the United States, which has blacklisted Islamic Jihad and Hamas along with the European Union, for terrorism, to take steps to “ensure a reduction in violence”.
