Israel Strikes Back in Gaza

Overnight aerial attacks by the Israeli Air Force took aim toward two Palestinian militant groups starting late Wednesday and into Thursday morning. The strikes were in retaliation of Hamas and the militant Islamic Jihad group shooting rockets into southern Israel.  Nobody was hurt from the airstrikes and no serious damage was reported.

The strike by Israel is the first since an eight-day campaign that took place back on November 15 in 2012.  The Israeli Air Force stated that the current targets were successfully hit and directed against terrorist groups in located in Northern and Eastern Gaza.

Israeli Forces (http://news.sky.com)

Hamas members were believed to have fired two shells toward Israel.  The reasoning behind their actions was presented by press release and had a familiar tone condemning the continued mistreatment of Hamas prisoners at the hands of their Israeli captors. This was similar to the scene earlier in the year in February following the death of Arafat Jaradat. Remember him the man who died while in custody of the Israeli police?  Jaradat was arrested and interrogated because of an incident of his throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers in what has now become known as a "stone-throwing terror attack". His arrest and death resulted in a stream of protests within the West Bank. More recently, the death of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh who was also connected with the Hamas has drawn their ire.  According to Israeli sources, he died of cancer while serving a life sentence in custody. The Palestinians blame the Israeli jails for his death explaining that it was a case of medical negligence to a prisoner.  Hamidiyeh was serving a life sentence for attempts to bomb a cafe in 2002 around Jerusalem.

Protests in Gaza (Mondoweiss.net)

This rocket attack from the Hamas was the third one since the ceasefire agreement with Israel.  Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said, "We will not in any way allow a routine of rocket fire steadily dripping on our civilians and soldiers,"(SkyNews).  Israel has not been hesitant to demonstrate a show of force to the Hamas especially after being fired upon. The Palestinian group reports that more than 4,700 of its people are being held in Israeli jails still today. 

Protests are starting to become more violent as protesters have responded to the deaths and attacks from Israel forces, with rocks and firebombs.


Everything had been quiet since the Israeli Operation “Pillar of Defense” previously implemented, that left 170 Palestinians and 6 Israelis dead. The ceasefire that was put into place after the eight-day war seems to be the subject of skeptics and open to much criticism now as both the Hamas and Israeli forces point fingers at each other.

Palestinian Hamas militants hold a symbolic coffin of Maysara Abu Hamdeya (Sky.News)

Cited Sources

• Reed, John. "Israel strikes at sites in Gaza Strip."Financial Times. N.p., 3 Apr 2013. Web. 4 Apr 2013. <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c35981ec-9c12-11e2-a820-00144feabdc0.html
• Deitch, Ian. "Israeli planes strike Gaza in response to rocket fire Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/israeli-planes-strike-gaza-in-response-to-rocket-fire-1.1221213
• "Gaza Strip Comes Under Israeli Air Strikes." Sky News. N.p., 3 Apr 2013. Web. 4 Apr 2013. <http://news.sky.com/story/1073236/gaza-strip-comes-under-israeli-air-strikes>.
• Services, Wire. "Israeli Forces Strike Gaza Targets." World News NBC. N.p., 3 Apr 2013. Web. 4 Apr 2013. <http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/08/14289249-israeli-forces-strike-gaza-targets-after-rocket-salvo?lite>.
• FOX, NEWS. "Israel launches air strike on Gaza ."FoxNews. N.p., 2 Apr 2013. Web. 4 Apr 2013. <http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/02/israel-launches-air-strike-on-gaza-after-reported-rocket-attack/>.

VIDEO LINKS
Israeli Airstrikes Hit Gaza

Israeli Airstrike Kills Hamas Military Commander