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A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 6 May 2019

Israel steps up strikes as Gaza rocket attacks intensify

By JOSEF FEDERMAN song contest. Prolonged
FARES AKRAM fighting could overshadow
JERUSALEM (AP) — Gaza these important occasions
militants fired hundreds of and deter foreign tourists.
rockets into southern Israel The arrival of the Muslim
on Sunday, killing at least holy month of Ramadan,
four Israelis and bringing life which begins Monday,
to a standstill across the re- does not seem to be deter-
gion in the bloodiest fight- ring Hamas.
ing since a 2014 war. As But the group is also tak-
Israel pounded Gaza with ing a big risk if it pushes too
airstrikes, the Palestinian hard. During the 50-day
death toll rose to 23, includ- war in 2014, Israel killed
ing two pregnant women over 2,200 Palestinians,
and two babies. over half of them civilians,
The bloodshed marked according to U.N. tallies,
the first Israeli fatalities and caused widespread
from rocket fire since the damage to homes and in-
2014 war. With Palestin- frastructure. While Hamas is
ian militants threatening to eager to burnish its creden-
send rockets deeper into Smoke rises from an explosion after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Sunday, May 5, 2019. tials as a resistance group,
Israel and Israeli reinforce- Associated Press the Gazan public has little
ments massing near the stomach for another dev-
Gaza frontier, the fighting Israeli Prime Minister Benja- Security Cabinet. Late Sun- several days of street pro- astating war.
showed no signs of slowing min Netanyahu spent most day, the Cabinet instructed tests over the dire condi- "Hamas is the change seek-
down. of the day huddled with his the army to "continue its at- tions. er," said retired Brig. Gen.
tacks and to stand by" for Hamas leader Ismail Hani- Assaf Orion, a former head
further orders. Israel also yeh said in a statement late of the Israeli military gen-
claimed to have killed a Sunday that the militant eral staff's strategic division.
Hamas commander in- group was "not interested "Hamas needs to make
volved in transferring Irani- in a new war." its calculus, balancing its
an funds to the group. He signaled readiness to hope for improvement
Israel and Hamas, an Islam- "return to the state of calm" against its fear of escala-
ic militant group that seeks if Israel stopped its attacks tion."
Israel's destruction, have "and immediately starts im- In Washington, U.S. Sec-
fought three wars since plementing understandings retary of State Mike Pom-
Hamas violently seized con- about a dignified life." peo said Israelis have "ev-
trol of Gaza from Western- With little to lose, Hamas ery right to defend them-
backed Palestinian forces appears to be trying to step selves." He expressed hope
in 2007. They have fought up pressure on Netanyahu that the recent cease-fire
numerous smaller battles, at a time when the Israeli could be restored.
most recently two rounds in leader is vulnerable on sev- The U.N. Mideast envoy,
March. eral fronts. Nickolay Mladenov, called
While lulls in fighting used Fresh off an election vic- for a halt in rocket fire and
to last for months or even tory, Netanyahu is now "a return to the understand-
years, these flare-ups engaged in negotiations ings of the past few months
have grown increasingly with his hard-line political before it is too late."
frequent as a desperate partners on forming a gov- EU foreign policy chief Fed-
Hamas, weakened by a erning coalition. If fighting erica Mogherini also called
crippling Egyptian-Israeli drags on, the normally cau- for a halt to "indiscriminate
blockade imposed 12 years tious Netanyahu could be rocket attacks" from Gaza
ago, seeks to put pressure weakened in his negotia- and expressed support for
on Israel to ease the clo- tions as his partners push for Egyptian and U.N. media-
sure. a tougher response. tion efforts. Previous rounds
The blockade has ravaged Later this week, Israel marks of fighting have all ended
Gaza's economy, and a Memorial Day, one of the in informal Egyptian-medi-
year of Hamas-led protests most solemn days of the ated truces in which Israel
along the Israeli frontier has year, and its festive Inde- pledged to ease the block-
yielded no tangible bene- pendence Day. Next week, ade while militants prom-
fits. In March, Hamas faced Israel is to host the Eurovision ised to halt rocket fire. q