The Hamas movement has denounced the latest Israeli military escalation against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and said that Israel’s failure in the West Bank is the reason behind its desire for a larger escalation against the Gaza Strip. Salah Bardaweel, a senior political leader of the Hamas movement, stated that Israel just wants to show its power, and wants to ensure it always has the highest military and offensive capabilities.
Bardaweel said that, after its failure in locating the three missing settlers in the occupied West Bank, despite the massive invasions, hundreds of arrests and the dozens of casualties, Israel decided to strike Gaza, to compensate its failures.
However, the Hamas official said he does not believe the latest aggression on Gaza will turn into a full-blown war, adding that Israel knows such a war would come at a hefty price.
“Israel knows it does not need a new scandal, a new war on Gaza that it cannot determine its outcome or effectiveness,” he said. “It knows a new war would draw more international criticism, and isolation.”
On Saturday evening, two civilians were injured when the Israeli army fired rounds of live ammunition and shells into a Palestinian area east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. http://www.imemc.org/article/68266
On Saturday, at dawn, the Israeli Air Force attacked several targets and areas in the coastal region, causing excessive property damage. http://www.imemc.org/article/68259
On Friday, two Palestinians were killed, and three others injured, when an Israeli drone fired a missile at a car in the ash-Shati’ refugee camp, west of Gaza City. http://www.imemc.org/article/68255
Also on Friday, seven Palestinians, including a child and a pregnant woman, were injured when the Israeli army fired artillery shells into Khan Younis. http://www.imemc.org/article/68249
