The Israeli occupation forces announced yesterday the closure of the crossings between Israel and Gaza, and the prevention of fishing off the coast of the Gaza Strip in conjunction with a military escalation in the form of air raids and artillery shelling on 30 targets throughout the Gaza Strip. A series of air strikes in retaliation for the firing of dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
Yesterday, Israel announced that it was closing the crossings of goods and individuals with the Gaza Strip, as well as the fishing area, in response to the firing of rockets from the besieged strip.
The Ministry of Defense, which supervises the crossings, closed the crossing until further notice, as well as the fishing area, after renewed violence and the firing of dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.
The Israeli Ministry of Civil Affairs informed the Palestinian fishermen of the decision of the occupation to close the sea completely, starting from 4:30 pm yesterday, local time, confirming that it will prevent the entry of any person or boat to the sea under any form or justification.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut off Saturday to head a security meeting at the Israeli Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, with warning sirens in Israeli settlements south of Israel and dozens of attacks by planes and artillery on targets in the Gaza Strip.
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi held a security meeting with senior IDF officials to assess the situation.
As usual, the Israeli media opened open airwaves to cover developments in the Gaza Strip and its surroundings, amid calls from the opposition to carry out a "decisive" military operation against the Gaza Strip, but without invading it.
The Israeli Air Force announced the closure of airspace within 10 kilometers of the Gaza Strip border, in front of the movement of civil aircraft until Sunday.
A number of Israeli communities in the Gaza Strip also announced the opening of shelters and the cancellation of football matches, while the Israeli army prevented the gathering of more than 300 people in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli occupation army announced in a statement that it attacked 30 sites in different parts of the Gaza Strip through aircraft and artillery.
The military said in a statement that among the targeted targets are several Hamas military compounds inside Gaza City and in both Shujaiya and Tal al-Hawa neighborhoods, saying they are used to produce weapons.
He added that one of the compounds was being used by the Hamas naval force, as well as a joint military compound of Hamas and Jihad in Beit Lahiya.
Israeli fighter jets also raided a number of military compounds of the Jihad movement in Deir al-Balah, Tal al-Sultan, al-Shati and Khan Yunis neighborhoods.
The Israeli army said the raids were in response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
He pointed out that Palestinians fired more than 100 rocket-propelled grenades from the Gaza Strip towards the communities in southern Israel, and that a number of them were intercepted through the Iron Dome system, with a shell falling on a house in Hof Ashkelon.
The Israeli army issued instructions to its soldiers with caution against sniping and firing anti-tank missiles at the fence around the Gaza Strip. He explained to them that there was fear of abducting the soldiers and therefore they were instructed not to allow anyone to approach the fence.
For its part, the Palestinian government called on the United Nations to intervene immediately to stop the "aggression of the Israeli occupation of Gaza."
In a statement, it stressed that it considers "grave danger to the escalating Israeli escalation against our people in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the targeting of defenseless civilians and hitting the infrastructure to keep the sector in a state of permanent confusion, in order to obstruct the reconstruction efforts and to delay the launching of development projects to help our people In the sector ».
According to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), the Palestinian government condemned the continued aggression and called on the United Nations to shoulder its responsibilities by immediately intervening to stop it, calling for the protection of the Palestinian people "who are subjected to various types of aggression by shelling in the Gaza Strip, And settlers in the West Bank ».
For its part, the Fatah movement condemned the continued Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, which witnessed a dangerous escalation in the last few hours and claimed in a statement issued by the Israeli government and its President Netanyahu the responsibility of this escalation and the war crimes committed by the occupation army against innocent Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. Crimes will not go unpunished and prosecuted. Fatah called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards these heinous crimes and to put an end to them. She pointed out that the continuation of the international silence encourages the occupying state to pursue the policy of state terrorism and to commit crimes and arbitrary practices against our people in the Gaza Strip and the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory.
For his part, the spokesman of the Ministry of Health Ashraf Al-Qadra, the death of Imad Mohammed Nusair (22 years), as a result of the targeting of the Israeli occupation forces in the northern Gaza Strip, adding that the shelling also resulted in the injury of eight citizens were wounded. Despite the Israeli bombardment, thousands of Palestinians took part in the funeral of four martyrs who were killed yesterday by Israeli bombardment and the targeting of demonstrators in the eastern Gaza Strip. And the atmosphere of anger and supplication amid calls to escalate the resistance, and respond to the crimes of the occupation.
In order to avoid war drums, Egypt has made intensive efforts with the Israeli government and the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip in an effort to prevent the slide towards a broad Israeli military operation against the Gaza Strip, following dramatic developments in recent hours. "Egyptian officials are conducting extensive and intensive contacts with the Israeli government and the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip to prevent the slide towards an Israeli military operation against the Gaza Strip," informed Palestinian sources said.
"The Egyptian efforts are very difficult, especially with the dramatic development of the events, following the massive Israeli attacks against areas in the Gaza Strip, in conjunction with the launching of dozens of rockets by Palestinian factions into Israeli communities in southern Israel."
The sources pointed out that «Egypt feels the importance of the return of calm to the Gaza Strip, especially with the coming of the month of Ramadan».
• Netanyahu holds a meeting with security managers .. and Egyptian efforts to stop the escalation.