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A Palestinian walks through rubble in Gaza after an Israeli air strike
Photo: MOHAMMED SALEM / REUTERS
A week after the start of new bloody fighting between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas, the Israeli army has reported a number of military successes. So far, around 100 kilometers of tunnels operated by the ruling Hamas have been destroyed in the air strikes in the Gaza Strip. A high-ranking Islamist was also deliberately killed in an attack in Gaza. Palestinian militants responded with new rocket attacks on areas bordering the Gaza Strip.
During the attacks on the Hamas tunnels, strategically important sections of the tunnel network were destroyed, said army spokesman Jonathan Conricus.
Hamas uses the tunnels as a logistics and refuge network to move fighters, ammunition and food within the Gaza Strip.
Some of the tunnels are passable for vehicles.
Conricus recently referred to it as the "city below the city".
Already on Monday night, the Israeli military reportedly flew attacks with a total of 54 fighter planes.
34 targets were attacked, including the houses of high-ranking Hamas commanders.
"Islamic Jihad" commander killed
Also on Monday, Israel’s army claimed to have killed a high-ranking military commander of the Palestinian organization "Islamic Jihad". The attack was reportedly aimed at Hasem Abu Harbid, head of the northern command of the militant organization. He was responsible for several attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers as well as rocket attacks on Israel.
According to media reports, three Palestinians were killed in another targeted air strike by Israel on a car in the Gaza Strip.
An army spokesman said the report was being examined.
At the weekend, the Israeli air force attacked a high-rise building in the Gaza Strip that housed the offices of several media companies.
The residents were reportedly warned by phone beforehand.
The AP news agency affected by the incident was appalled.
Palestinians launch rockets again
Palestinian militants shelled areas bordering the Gaza Strip and the cities of Beersheva, Ashkelon and Ashdod.
A resident of Ashdod reported a violent explosion in the city.
According to the police, a house was hit directly.
Several people were slightly injured.
According to Palestinian sources, 197 people, including 58 children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the fighting broke out a week ago.
In Israel, authorities spoke of ten dead, including two children.
The current struggles between Israel and radical Palestinians are the worst in years.
They arose from clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.
Tensions were exacerbated by plans to evacuate the homes of Palestinian families there.
Germany is committed to Israel
In Germany, the escalating Middle East conflict caused consternation among the federal government - and led to solidarity with Israel. A government spokesman said that after a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chancellor Angela Merkel stood by Israel's side without reservation. At the same time, however, she pressed for an end to the fighting. Merkel pointed out the civilians among the dead on both sides and expressed "her hope for an end to the fighting as soon as possible."
Previously, government spokesman Steffen Seibert had also condemned the rocket fire by Hamas in Berlin: "This is terror aimed at arbitrarily killing people." Germany stands by Israel and its right to protect its people.
With a view to the civilian victims and the attack on the media company in Gaza, however, Seibert added: "We trust that Israel will act with a sense of proportion and respect for proportionality."
Hamas knows very well that rocket attacks on Israel will not lead to a solution to the Middle East conflict, Seibert said.
This path is only possible with a return to the negotiating table.
Incidentally, it is cynical that Hamas is firing its rockets from densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip and thus taking the Palestinian population, so to speak, "hostage".
The US is currently trying to mediate between the fronts.
One would try with "intensive diplomacy" to end the "current spiral of violence," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a visit to Copenhagen.
"We are ready to provide support if the parties are striving for a ceasefire." At the same time, he directed words of warning to Israel: "Children in particular" must be protected, said Blinken.
Israel has "as a democracy a special responsibility" for this.
mrc / dpa
