Gaza Border [Israel], April 8: The Israeli military immediately announced that it would respond strongly after the launch of Hamas rockets into Israel.
-for-tat
Hamas announced on April 6 that it had launched a series of rockets into Israeli territory, in response to Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza. According to The Times of Israel, this is the largest Hamas airstrike on Israel in months. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have intercepted five of about 10 rockets, while some fell on residential areas in the cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod, injuring at least 12 people.
Immediately after the Hamas attack, Israel responded with a raid that destroyed the armed group's rocket launchers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on a trip to the United States, has directed the military to take a strong response that will allow for further intensification of military operations against Hamas.
The incident is a notable escalation of the conflict since the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire collapsed in March. In an interview with Al Jazeera on April 6, Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said the armed group "has the capability to cause concern to Israel". In recent developments, Gaza health officials announced yesterday that an Israeli attack on the morning of April 7 killed at least 13 people.
The back-and-forth attacks between Israel and Hamas have somewhat narrowed the door to ceasefire negotiations. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday traveled to Egypt, where he met with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan to discuss the conflict in Gaza and find a ceasefire solution. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's visit to the United States and meeting with President Donald Trump on April 7 will also discuss the issue of hostages being held in Gaza.
Israel controls 50% of Gaza?
Since the reopening of the massive military campaign in Gaza, the Israeli army has increased its presence in this strip of land. Specifically, the IDF is gradually expanding the buffer zone and its troops are believed to have controlled 50% of Gaza's territory, according to the Associated Press. The news agency quoted some Israeli military personnel as saying that the IDF had destroyed structures in areas it controlled, leaving Palestinians with no basis to return.
The Israeli military presence is concentrated in the Netzarim corridor, which divides the Gaza Strip into two northern and southern halves. The IDF sees this corridor as a base from which to launch attacks on northern and central Gaza. Yaakov Garb, a professor of environmental studies at Ben Gurion University in Israel who has studied the geography of Israelis and Palestinians for decades, told The Associated Press that the creation of a buffer zone in the Netzarim Corridor alone means that the Israeli army controls at least 50 percent of the Gaza territory. Netanyahu said in March that Israel planned to create another corridor along southern Gaza, to divide the city. Rafah with the rest of the strip of land.
Recently, a controversial incident occurred when a convoy of medical staff from the Red Crescent Society arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. Rafah was shot by Israeli troops, killing 15 people on March 23. According to Reuters on April 6, Israel initially said that it had fielded Hamas fighters mixed into a convoy of medical vehicles, and that the vehicles approached and showed suspicious signs, without lights or medical identification symbols. However, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society released a video recorded from the phone of one of the victims, showing the vehicles marked as ambulances, with members all wearing uniforms. The Israeli military on April 5 updated the information, saying that the person who made the initial report was "mistaken", and that Tel Aviv was investigating the incident.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
