11/13/2018, 10.06
ISRAEL - PALESTINE
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Barrage of Hamas missiles, 70 air Israel air raids

In seven hours at least 400 missiles launched from the Strip. Israel calls up reservists. The headquarters of Al Aqsa television bombed but resumed broadcasting 10 minutes later. The cause of the resumption of violence: an Israeli commando wanted to kidnap Marwan Issa, the number two of Al Qassam. The international community is divided. Fragile mediation of Qatar.

Khan Yunes (AsiaNews) – Tension is rising in Gaza. After the death of seven Palestinians and an Israeli soldier two days ago, yesterday there was an incessant rain of missiles from the Gaza on Israel and a series of Israeli air strikes to hit members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

According to Israeli sources, about 400 missiles were launched from Gaza in just seven hours. Israel has called up reservists and the Council of Ministers has given the army a green light to respond to the violence.

Besides the real war, there is also the media and psychological war, which is also being pursued by Hamas. In the late afternoon yesterday, Hamas announced that it had carried out an operation that "made the Israeli intelligence service ridiculous" by destroying, a bus carrying Israeli soldiers east of Jabalia with a Corvette missile.

Israel immediately stated that the bus had been evacuated, while the Hamas satellite TV Al Aqsa promised to broadcast a video of the attack along the lines of the psychological warfare adopted by the Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Immediately afterwards, the Israeli air force twice bombed the Al Aqsa TV station, razing the five-story building in the north-west of Gaza, in a densely populated neighborhood. Ten minutes later the Al Aqsa TV resumed broadcasting from an unknown place and the director Ibrahim Daher announced that the entire TV crew was safe without any victims and that the headquarters had been evacuated five minutes before of the raid.

Shortly afterwards, the Israeli air force bombed the Amal Hotel, home to the "Ministry of the Interior" and the civilian security forces. At 23.10 last night, the Al Aqsa TV broadcast the video of the operation on the bus, in which we see a soldier standing and five other vehicles fleeing full of soldiers who remained unharmed.

The clashes between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza resumed on 11 November, after a commando of Israeli special forces entered the Strip, towards Khan Younes, in what Hamas considered a violation of the ceasefire by Tel Aviv.

According to Palestinian sources, the military operation was aimed at kidnapping Marwan Issa, the number two of Al Qassam, a man, considered the black box of secrets on the introduction of missiles inside the Gaza despite the encirclement.

The attempted kidnapping was also confirmed by Israeli TV channel 10. The Israeli car was sighted by Al Qassam and a gun battle broke out in which the military commander of Al Qassam Nur Barké and Mohammed Majed Al Kara lost his life.

Israel admitted the death of Lieutenant Colonel M. who led the military operation and wounding of another soldier of Israeli elite forces. The Israeli air force immediately intervened to protect the retreat of the commandos causing the death of seven other members of Al Qassam according to Hamas sources.

The international community, led by Moscow accuses Israel of escalating tensions; Washington emphasizes Israel's right to self-defense. Egypt and the UN invite the parties to calm. According to Egyptian sources, Israel "does not want to stop before reaching certain goals". For its part, Hamas threatens to hit areas with at least one million Israelis with its missiles.

Experts rule out the possibility of war, which is not convenient for Israel or Hamas. But the latter has proved to have obtained even more sophisticated weapons than in the past and seems to have reached worrisome levels of being able to intercept Israeli communications.

Meanwhile, attempts at mediation by Qatar are emerging, given its secret relations with Israel. A few days ago Qatari emissaries brought suitcases of money into the Strip, passed by Israel, to pay the salaries of the employees, who had been in arrears for months.

The Qatar envoy of, welcomed by stone- throwing Palestinian demonstrators, declared that he wanted "calm", and called for an end to the demonstrations taking place at the Gaza border every Friday, since Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as capital of Israel. (PB)

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