Three Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded last night when Israeli planes and artillery shelled several targets in the Gaza Strip following the launching of several rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel in a renewed confrontation that erupted last night in the Gaza Strip as part of an Israeli special forces operation. While the observers considered that Qatar and Israel aim behind the money deal to Hamas and the continued coordination to weaken the Palestinian Authority and strengthen the influence of the movement.
In detail, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that among the three killed in the Israeli bombardment were Mohammed al-Titri and Mohammed Ouda, while medical personnel treated injuries sustained by shrapnel from Israeli missiles.
Israeli warplanes and artillery fired a number of rockets at Palestinian agricultural land and property in several cities in the Gaza Strip.
Sources said that Israeli reconnaissance planes fired a missile at the university college building in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood west of Gaza City, damaging the place.
The Israeli Air Force also shelled Palestinian agricultural sites and land in Gaza City and the central, northern and southern Gaza Strip with a number of rockets and artillery shells.
Israeli aircraft continued to fly over the Strip at low altitudes.
On the other hand, the occupation army confirmed yesterday, the firing of several missiles from the sector at a time when sirens sounded in the Israeli towns adjacent to the sector.
A spokesman for the army of occupation, Avihai Adraai, in a statement, that «was monitoring the launch of about 100 rocket-propelled grenades from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, and was intercepted a number of them by the iron dome».
At the same time, Israeli media reported that five Israeli settlers were seriously wounded by shells that hit a bus fired from Gaza, and one that hit a house in the settlement of Sderot and set it ablaze.
She said the Israeli government had asked the settlers to stay in the shelters, while sirens sounded in the vicinity of the West Bank city of Hebron, the Kiryat Arba settlement and the Dead Sea.
On the other hand, the joint chamber of factions in Gaza declared its responsibility for launching rockets into Israel, pointing out that it was in response to his treacherous aggressive crime, the night before last.
The factions warned in a statement to the occupation of the continuation of the shelling of the sector, explaining that it will increase the extent and depth and intensity of shelling of its sites and settlements.
The Israeli raids and clashes took place in the Gaza Strip, the day before yesterday, killing seven Palestinians and wounding seven others, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
"A special unit of the Israeli army carried out a qualitative operation inside the Gaza Strip, and there was an exchange of fire, which resulted in the death of an officer and the injury of another during the operation," he said in a tweet on Twitter.
The Israeli occupation army, at dawn yesterday, killed one of its officers and wounded another during clashes inside the Gaza Strip.
This comes as the situation in Gaza has been stable after months of violent confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers near the fence separating the Gaza Strip from Israel.
In this context, Israel allowed Qatar to hand over $ 15 million to Gaza to pay the salaries of its employees, part of the $ 90 million promised by Qatar to be transferred to Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his decision to allow Qatar to hand over the money. "I will not back down to a necessary war, but I want to avoid it if it is not necessary," he said at a press conference in Paris.
The Israeli operation comes two days after the Israeli government allowed Qatar $ 15 million to enter Gaza. The deal, seen by observers as part of Israel's and Qatar's efforts to perpetuate Palestinian divisions and create any reconciliation attempt, has sparked outrage in Gaza and the West Bank.
Observers considered that Qatar and Israel aim behind this deal and the ongoing coordination to weaken the Palestinian Authority and strengthen the influence of Hamas, which is in the interest of Tel Aviv in the long term.
The strengthening of the division would destroy the dream of establishing a single Palestinian state, which would achieve Israel's goals while at the same time keeping up with Hamas's goal of continuing to hold the Strip.
Hamas, which turned against the Palestinian Authority in 2007, now faces accusations of treason, after its involvement in the country's malignant Israeli project has shifted from secret to public.
The movement, which used the slogans of the resistance to strengthen its influence in the Strip, is now openly involved in indirect negotiations with the Israeli side under the Qatari abaya.
With the arrival of the Qatari ambassador, Mohammad Al Emadi, through the Erez crossing, which is loaded with millions of Palestinians, the security fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel witnessed a quiet Friday.
In the past months dozens of Palestinians have been killed along the fence, shot by the Israeli army during the return demonstrations organized every Friday.
However, the past few weeks have been relatively quiet based on the tripartite deal, confirmed by a video monitored by Emadi, ordering Hamas politburo member Khalil al-Hayya to maintain calm on the border after the capture of millions of Qatari nationals.
At first sight, the recent Israeli operation appears outside the context of these developments, but observers believe that it comes within the framework of the deal and for Israeli and domestic Hamas gains alike.
Israeli analysts said the operation was aimed at silencing domestic voices opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's move to allow Qatar to hand over Hamas $ 15 million.
Through this operation, which targeted a leader of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Netanyahu is trying to emphasize that deals with the movement and Qatar will not prevent the continued targeting of military leaders.
As far as Hamas is concerned, this process and its response will cover the deal with Israel and ease the public anger in the sector resulting from such understandings that are in the interest of the movement exclusively.
Some believe that the objectives of this process go beyond that. They fall within the framework of the secret clauses of the deal, which allow Israel to liquidate some of Hamas' military leaders, to achieve the interests of the parties.
Israel seeks to assassinate leaders who have military field experience and consider that they pose a threat to its security if things get out of hand and decide to split from Hamas.
At the same time, these assassinations are in the interest of Hamas, which is involved in the Israeli-Palestinian project. It is using the Israeli army to eliminate the opposition voices within the movement.
- The operation comes two days after the Israeli government allowed Qatar to enter $ 15 million into Gaza, provoking outrage in Gaza and the West Bank.