A projectile launched from Gaza in the direction of Israel fell short of the border in the Gaza Strip on Monday, hours after Israel struck Hamas positions in Gaza.
The mortar, which set off rocket sirens in communities in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council near the northern border of the strip, reportedly caused two audible explosions.
The mortar, which set off rocket sirens in communities in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council near the northern border of the strip, reportedly caused two audible explosions.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Israeli Air Force struck two Hamas positions in northern Gaza after Palestinians had launched incendiary balloons into southern Israel earlier in the day.
According to Palestinian sources, the drone strike occurred near Beit Hanoun and left several wounded.
The strikes came two days into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after Hamas launched 200 mortars and rockets into southern Israel and Israel struck 40 Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday visited the southern Israeli city of Sderot and told reporters that there would be no ceasefire with Hamas unless aerial incendiary devices stop.
"To us, there is no such thing as a ceasefire that excludes the incendiary kites and balloons. No such thing. I'll say this for the seventh time and I hope it gets through, but if it's not understood by my words, it will be understood by the IDF's actions,” he said.
According to Palestinian sources, the drone strike occurred near Beit Hanoun and left several wounded.
The strikes came two days into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after Hamas launched 200 mortars and rockets into southern Israel and Israel struck 40 Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday visited the southern Israeli city of Sderot and told reporters that there would be no ceasefire with Hamas unless aerial incendiary devices stop.
"To us, there is no such thing as a ceasefire that excludes the incendiary kites and balloons. No such thing. I'll say this for the seventh time and I hope it gets through, but if it's not understood by my words, it will be understood by the IDF's actions,” he said.
Israel says it has lost at least 1,000 hectares (about 2,500 acres) of farmland, nature reserves and forests because of the fires caused by flaming kites and balloons.
On Monday an employee of the National Parks Authority found a dead Falcon with a rope with flammable material attached in a torched field near the Habesor Stream in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) posted on Twitter that "Arson fires have been caused by incendiary materials flown from Gaza into Israel. Apparently it’s not enough to destroy nature with kites, now falcons are being used for terror as well."
On Sunday, the military launched a series of drills including one in the South simulating war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The division drill, which is to last until Sunday, will also see the 162nd Armored Division's 401rst Brigade simulate the capturing of Gaza City by IDF troops.
The drill, which is using areas in Beersheva as well as several Bedouin towns in the Negev also sees troops from the armored, infantry, engineering and artillery corps train for a variety of scenarios inside enemy territory including handling the local civilian population.
On Monday an employee of the National Parks Authority found a dead Falcon with a rope with flammable material attached in a torched field near the Habesor Stream in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) posted on Twitter that "Arson fires have been caused by incendiary materials flown from Gaza into Israel. Apparently it’s not enough to destroy nature with kites, now falcons are being used for terror as well."
On Sunday, the military launched a series of drills including one in the South simulating war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The division drill, which is to last until Sunday, will also see the 162nd Armored Division's 401rst Brigade simulate the capturing of Gaza City by IDF troops.
The drill, which is using areas in Beersheva as well as several Bedouin towns in the Negev also sees troops from the armored, infantry, engineering and artillery corps train for a variety of scenarios inside enemy territory including handling the local civilian population.
The division drill, which will last until Sunday, will also see the 162nd Armored Division simulate the capturing of Gaza City by IDF troops.
Captain Sagi Cohen, who is taking part in the drill, told The Jerusalem Post that the drill will focus on tactics and lessons from Operation Protective Edge, the last conflict with the terror group. Soldiers taking part in the exercises will drill on fighting tunnels as well as in urban and open areas.
“We understand that all of Gaza has tunnels underneath it, something that we didn’t understand in Operation Protective Edge. Urban combat is not clean, there could be tunnels anywhere,” Cohen said.
While the IDF maintained that exercises had been planned in advance “as part of the annual training program,” they come as tensions have once again risen along the border with the Hamas-run coastal enclave and according to reports in Hebrew-language press a senior IDF officer in the southern command said that the 162nd Division would be scrambled to the border if needed.
“We want to be as prepared as possible,” he said, adding that “we are ready for war with Gaza, even if it began yesterday.”
Captain Sagi Cohen, who is taking part in the drill, told The Jerusalem Post that the drill will focus on tactics and lessons from Operation Protective Edge, the last conflict with the terror group. Soldiers taking part in the exercises will drill on fighting tunnels as well as in urban and open areas.
“We understand that all of Gaza has tunnels underneath it, something that we didn’t understand in Operation Protective Edge. Urban combat is not clean, there could be tunnels anywhere,” Cohen said.
While the IDF maintained that exercises had been planned in advance “as part of the annual training program,” they come as tensions have once again risen along the border with the Hamas-run coastal enclave and according to reports in Hebrew-language press a senior IDF officer in the southern command said that the 162nd Division would be scrambled to the border if needed.
“We want to be as prepared as possible,” he said, adding that “we are ready for war with Gaza, even if it began yesterday.”
“US President Donald Trump’s threats against Iran and Palestinian resistance groups don’t scare us,” a senior Iranian general told leaders of Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip on Monday via a video conference during a meeting organized simultaneously in Gaza City and Tehran.
Brig.-Gen. Gholamhossein Gheybparvar, a senior officer in the Revolutionary Guards who heads the Basij forces – Iran’s “Mobilization Resistance Force,” said the “Wet Gunpowder/Resistance is not Terrorism conference” reflected the state of “cohesion and concordance among Arabs and Muslims in confronting their enemies.”
Brig.-Gen. Gholamhossein Gheybparvar, a senior officer in the Revolutionary Guards who heads the Basij forces – Iran’s “Mobilization Resistance Force,” said the “Wet Gunpowder/Resistance is not Terrorism conference” reflected the state of “cohesion and concordance among Arabs and Muslims in confronting their enemies.”
Gheybparvar added that Iran is proud of the Palestinian “resistance” groups. “The youths of Gaza have deprived the leaders of the occupation of sleep,” he said.
Speakers at the conference said that Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip see themselves as being part of the “axis of resistance” against Israel and the US. They also praised Iran for its financial and military support for the Palestinians.
Ra'fat Elayan, a Fatah spokesman, criticized the Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip for inviting the Iranian general to address the conference.
Speakers at the conference said that Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip see themselves as being part of the “axis of resistance” against Israel and the US. They also praised Iran for its financial and military support for the Palestinians.
Ra'fat Elayan, a Fatah spokesman, criticized the Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip for inviting the Iranian general to address the conference.
"We don't agree to become pawns in the hands of Iran or any other party," Elayan told the Gulf-based Al-Ain news website. "Iran is using Hamas and Islamic Jihad and the Gaza Strip in its maneuvers against the US and Israel, and this has a negative impact on the Palestinian cause. The Palestinians will pay a heavy price."
The Fatah official said that his faction had warned Hamas and Islamic Jihad many times against allowing Iran to meddle in the internal affairs of the Palestinians. "We told the two groups that we the Palestinians have nothing to do with Iran and that we are opposed to this Iranian intervention in the Gaza Strip."
Elayan said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was using the Iranian intervention in the Gaza Strip's affairs "to incite against our cause and people and that's why he finds support for his blockade on the people of the Gaza Strip." Iran, he added, should keep a distance and stop using Palestinian groups and the Palestinian cause to solve its problems and crisis with the US and Israel.
Walid Awad, an official with the Palestinian People's Party, formerly the Palestinian Communist Party, told the news site that the Palestinian factions should take into consideration "regional and international balances" and "spare the Palestinians of the repercussions." He cautioned against using the Gaza Strip as a "back yard for achieving private goals."
The Fatah official said that his faction had warned Hamas and Islamic Jihad many times against allowing Iran to meddle in the internal affairs of the Palestinians. "We told the two groups that we the Palestinians have nothing to do with Iran and that we are opposed to this Iranian intervention in the Gaza Strip."
Elayan said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was using the Iranian intervention in the Gaza Strip's affairs "to incite against our cause and people and that's why he finds support for his blockade on the people of the Gaza Strip." Iran, he added, should keep a distance and stop using Palestinian groups and the Palestinian cause to solve its problems and crisis with the US and Israel.
Walid Awad, an official with the Palestinian People's Party, formerly the Palestinian Communist Party, told the news site that the Palestinian factions should take into consideration "regional and international balances" and "spare the Palestinians of the repercussions." He cautioned against using the Gaza Strip as a "back yard for achieving private goals."
Palestinian political analyst Essam Shawar said that as a Palestinian, he was not "honored" to see the Iranian general address Palestinians through Palestinian television networks.
The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are not afraid of death and will continue to protest along the border with Israel in spite of the Jewish State’s threats, Khaled al-Batsh, a senior Islamic Jihad leader, said in a speech at the conference, which was held in a hotel in Gaza City.
“Our people will not leave the areas of the confrontations until they [Israel] restore their stolen rights,” he said. The protests will not stop until they achieve their goal of ending the blockade [on the Gaza Strip].”
Batsh said that he expected similar protests to take place in the West Bank, Jerusalem and other parts of Israel.
The protests, which the Palestinians have been holding in the context of the so-called March of Return, are also aimed at thwarting Trump’s yet-to-be-announced plan for peace in the Middle East, he added.
The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are not afraid of death and will continue to protest along the border with Israel in spite of the Jewish State’s threats, Khaled al-Batsh, a senior Islamic Jihad leader, said in a speech at the conference, which was held in a hotel in Gaza City.
“Our people will not leave the areas of the confrontations until they [Israel] restore their stolen rights,” he said. The protests will not stop until they achieve their goal of ending the blockade [on the Gaza Strip].”
Batsh said that he expected similar protests to take place in the West Bank, Jerusalem and other parts of Israel.
The protests, which the Palestinians have been holding in the context of the so-called March of Return, are also aimed at thwarting Trump’s yet-to-be-announced plan for peace in the Middle East, he added.
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