Violence is on the rise across a span of territory covering southern Israel and the southern Gaza Strip today, after a series of attacks inside Israel left eight Israelis dead and Israeli warplanes attacked targets within Gaza killing several more. Five people in Egypt, all members of security forces, were also slain at the border.
Israel said the original attacks were coordinated by the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees, and responded by bombing an office of the organization. The leader and five others were reportedly killed. After Gazans fired rockets toward Israeli cities, Israel blamed Hamas and bombed Hamas facilities. Hamas says two children aged 3 and 13 were killing in the strikes.
Israeli officials confirmed that they had been informed earlier in the week about a possible terrorist attack coming out of Sinai, though internal disagreements about how serious a threat it was prevented them from preparing more seriously for it. The attacks targeted the city of Eilat, just 20 km from the Egyptian border.
Five Egyptian police were killed in Sinai as Israeli troops pursued the PRC attackers into the territory, probably caught in crossfire.
The Egyptian junta has expressed growing concern about its lack of control over the Sinai Peninsula, and has increased the number of troops operating there in recent days. A long-standing peace deal with Israel has made it extremely difficult for Egypt to deploy troops in the once-occupied peninsula.
That the claim was not mentioned earlier in the day suggests it was primarily meant to justify the attack on the Gaza Strip, which killed a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees. Israeli media also later blamed the PRC for the infiltration.
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In its attack on Gaza, the Israeli army killed a four-year-old Palestinian boy, as well.
In addition, Israel has no evidence that supports the claim that the attack on its soldiers was carried out by Palestinians. The Palestinians are merely an easy target, much like Southern Lebanon is an easy target. The Israeli army rarely dares pick a fight with someone its own size — i.e. either Iran or Egypt. No.
Like a bullies, they go after the Palestinians.
Israel has a list of targets within the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Whenever opportunity presents itself, Israel attacks one of those targets, whether paramilitary or civilian, whether culpable or not. It's like the battered wife. Whenever the husband wants to vent his anger, he goes and punches her a few times.
Israelis are on the right path to kill Palestinians according to american who are themself killers.
There is logic but blame that is what Israelis are expert and american jewish media supports them blindly.
Israeli Airstrikes upon defencless Gaza are being launched on a daily basis, killing and injuring civilians and destroying infrastructure. This is done to provoke a response from Gaza so Israel can justify it’s unlawful blockade. Also Israel’s greedy eyes h ave been on the Sinai ever since it gave it back m to Egypt. So a incident like this could be nice excuse to gobble Sinai.
Seems to me that I remember, that while occupying the Sinai, Israel pumped as much oil as they could from the land until they had to leave – that was back when oil was – what $15/barrel? At $85/barrel, reconsiderations can occurr.
"That the claim was not mentioned earlier in the day suggests it was primarily meant to justify the attack on the Gaza Strip"
This is a plain lie. Israeli officials made the claim two hours after the first attack. I was watching the news at the time the claim was made. It was made early in the day. It is not a "revised story", rather the original conclusion reached by Israeli intelligence.
"A long-standing peace deal with Israel has made it extremely difficult for Egypt to deploy troops in the once-occupied peninsula"
This is not the whole truth. Last week, Israel allowed Egypt to deplor hundreds of troops into the peninsula. Interestingly, Mr Ditz decided not to mention that.
"a series of attacks inside Israel left eight Israeli soldiers dead"
This is also a lie. Out of the eight Israeli dead only one is a soldier. The rest are civillians. Even the cited link Mr Ditz provides is to a Haaretz article, and no where does it mention dead soldiers.
Mr Ditz seems to have no problem fabricating news.
Israelis always hit the women and children first in retaliation for an attack on their soldiers. The US media plays along with them. I remember when they launched Operation Cast Lead, the local paper carried a triumphant headline: Israel strikes back!
The subtext, obviously, was : Good for them!
I met Anthony Zinni in 2004 and asked him about the coincidence of every time it was announced that he was going to the Middle East the Israelis would commit a targeted assassination of Palestinians and by the time he landed the Palestinians had retaliated stopping any effort to negotiate a peace.
He looked at me and said "You don't understand. Every time it was announced that I was going over there the Israelis would commit to a confidence building measure, they would open a gate to allow Palestinians into Israel."
If a few Israelis die in the name of subverting peace it seems to be worth the price.
israel will take death over peace any day.
"probably caught in crossfire" probably saw a rabs and opportunity. How to lose friends and gather enemies.
There is no such thing as 'tit for tat' in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. For every one Israeli that dies, at least 20 Palestinians are slaughtered.
Tit for tat? Hardly, the ratio of deaths is something like 20 Palestinians for every Israeli.
It's a wonder why Israel hasn't carpet bombed Hamastahn (a.k.a. Gaza) like the Allied Powers carpet bombed Dresden.
Maybe if they carpet bomb many of the women, children and old people they have imprisoned in Gaza, they won't be able to cry and whine and play the victim card anymore when they come with their hat in hand and their hand out looking for annual tribute payments from the US
@Guy
The creation of Israel was based on a fabricated lie. “A land without a people for a people without a land”. Since then all of Israel’s actions have been justified by fabricated lies and deceit. Do you think that Israel has any credibility in the eyes of people who know the truth? Your ridicules Hasbra can’t change anything either.
Let's see if the Egyptian Junta rolls over for the israelis like Mubarak did.
I pray to Allah(swt) they don't back down from Israel. Everybody is looking to Egypt to stand up to them after all this time.
Any opbjection I have to the crimes the Israely government has stoped showing about a week ago.
The apologists for Israel never stop – and they can't rely on the truth so they resort to sophism (using clever but false reasoning). How can any decent person justify the actions of the "settlers" – they move into an area of opportunity and get the IDF to defend them. They build their "settlements", establish "jewish only" roads to settled parts of Israel, establish ridiculous check points, arm the "settlers" against their unarmed arab neighbors, steal their water sources, extend pipes out from their "settlements" in order to dump their raw sewage on Arab land, they poison the Arabs' livestock, cut down their century-old orchards, and throw rocks at the Arab school kids.. How well do you think sophistry covers the ugly naked ass of that kind of racist behavior?