Sirens blared across Israel Monday as Hamas fired dozens rockets into Israeli territory overnight.
The Hamas attack came after Israel blew up the office of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Gaza strip amid a flare-up in tensions between Israel and the terror group Monday. The fighting, which began Monday morning when Hamas fired a missile into Israel, seemed to bring Israel and Hamas close to war.
It was reported that Hamas and Israel reached a shaky truce late Monday, but Israel disputed claims that a cease-fire has been reached.
Israel blows up Hamas leader’s compound
Video of the Hamas compound being blown to bits went viral. Images show the compound exploding in a ball of fire. The Israel Defense Force, or IDF, targeted the compound in a round of strikes on Hamas facilities in the Gaza strip Monday night.
The IDF said the strikes came in retaliation for a Hamas rocket attack that hit a home in central Israel near Tel Aviv Monday morning. The missile reached unusually far into Israel, completely demolishing the house and wounding seven people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a “forceful” response.
“This morning, a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at central Israel,” the IDF said in a statement. “In response, IDF fighter jets recently targeted the office of Hamas Chariman, Ismail Hanieyeh in the northern Gaza Strip neighborhood of Rimal. The building which was struck hosts many military meetings and was previously struck during Operation ‘Pillar of Defense’ in 2012,” the IDF said.
#BREAKING video: office of Hamas leader Haniyeh’s office totally wiped out by IDF airstrikes moments ago pic.twitter.com/FqzS8DHT1m
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) March 25, 2019
The IDF also hit Hamas’s military intelligence headquarters in the strikes, which reportedly injured seven Palestinians. Hamas returned fire with some 30 rockets that targeted Israeli border towns, at least one of which struck a home in Sderot. Some were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, while others landed in open areas without causing harm.
Nobody was injured, but residents were forced to evacuate their homes and seek safety in bomb shelters, while school was canceled throughout the region. Hamas claimed that a truce had been reached with Israel mediated by Egypt late Monday, but the fighting continued into the night as Hamas continued to fire another 30 missiles at Israel that set off air-raid sirens. Israel responded to the salvo Monday evening with more strikes on 15 targets in Gaza, including a Hamas compound in Deir al-Balah and Islamic Jihad compounds.
Unstable truce lingers
The fighting subsided Tuesday and lasted through the day until a single rocket fired by Hamas into Israel appeared to rupture the shaky truce Tuesday night. Despite Hamas claims of a cease-fire, a senior Israeli official claimed no such agreement was reached as Israel moved to beef up its border defenses in the South of the country Tuesday with additional troops and artillery. The reinforcement came after Netanyahu, who returned early from a trip to the United States on Tuesday to address the border crisis, met with the IDF and defense officials.
The fighting unfolded Monday as Netanyahu was in the United States to meet with president Donald Trump and attend American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual conference. Netanyahu ultimately cancelled a planned address at AIPAC as well as meetings with American officials. The Israeli leader told AIPAC over satellite Tuesday that Israel was “prepared to do a lot more” to “defend our people and our state.”
Netanyahu spoke of Israel’s reaction as the greatest show of force against Hamas since Israel’s third, 2014 war with the terror group. Some feared that the new round of fighting could spill over into a fourth war. With elections in just two weeks, the crisis will be a touchy issue for Netanyahu, who has been criticized by border residents and right-wing parties for failing to get the Hamas threat under control.
Meanwhile, President Trump is seeking to strengthen America’s relationship with Israel as Democrats express unprecedented hostility towards the long-standing American ally. Trump also took the bold step this week of recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights territory, which Israel captured in the Six-Day War in 1967.
Trump has boosted a “Jexodus” movement encouraging Jews to leave the Democrat party in the wake of an anti-Semitism controversy set off by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who has criticized AIPAC and Israel using language considered racist by many. Netanyahu directly rebuked Omar to AIPAC over satellite no Tuesday, saying, “From this Benjamin, it’s not about the Benjamins,” a reference to a tweet made by Omar which alleged that AIPAC bought up the loyalty of American politicians.
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