GAZA CITY/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israeli forces fired
artillery and mounted extensive air strikes on Friday against a network of
Palestinian militant tunnels under Gaza that it dubbed "the Metro",
amid persistent rocket attacks on Israeli towns.
اضافة اعلان
An Israeli military spokesman said that while ground forces
had taken part in the 40-minute, pre-dawn offensive, none had crossed into the
Gaza Strip, as hostilities entered their fifth day with no sign of abating.
Health officials in northern Gaza said a woman and her three
children were killed during the Israeli operation and that their bodies were
recovered from the rubble of their home.
Rocket barrages against southern Israel swiftly followed the
Israeli strikes, which the spokesman said included artillery and tank fire from
inside Israeli territory.
The most serious fighting between Israeli occupation forces
and Gaza militants since 2014 began on Monday after the enclave's ruling Hamas
group fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israeli police
clashes with Palestinians near Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
At least 119 have been killed in Gaza, including 31 children
and 19 women, and 830 others wounded in the current hostilities, Palestinian
medical officials said.
The death toll in Israel stood at eight: A soldier
patrolling the Gaza border, six Israeli civilians — including an elderly woman
who fell on the way to a shelter on Friday and two children — and an Indian
worker, Israeli authorities said.
In northern and eastern parts of Gaza, the sound of
artillery fire and explosions echoed early on Friday. Witnesses said many
families living near the border left their homes, some seeking shelter at
United Nations-run schools.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman,
said 160 aircraft as well as artillery and armored units, "not inside the
Gaza Strip", had taken part in what he called the largest operation
against a specific target since the fighting began.
"What we were targeting is an elaborate system of
tunnels that spans underneath Gaza, mostly in the north but not limited to, and
is a network that the operatives of Hamas use in order to move, in order to
hide, for cover," he said in a briefing to foreign reporters.
"We refer to (it) as the Metro," he said, adding
that a final assessment on the outcome of the operation was pending.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday
the campaign "will take more time". Israeli officials said Hamas must
be dealt a strong deterring blow before any ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden called on Thursday for a de-escalation
of the violence, saying he wanted to see a significant reduction in rocket
attacks.
Tensions in Israel
The hostilities have fueled tension between Israeli Jews and
the country's 21-percent Arab minority who live alongside them in some
communities.
Violence continued overnight in mixed communities of Arabs
and Jews. Over the past several days, synagogues were attacked and fighting
broke out on the streets of some towns, prompting Israel's president to warn of
civil war.
On Thursday, the Israeli military said it was building up
forces on the Gaza border, raising speculation about a possible ground invasion,
a move that would recall similar incursions during Israel-Gaza wars in 2014 and
2009.
But an invasion looked unlikely, given Israel's reluctance
to risk a sharp increase in military casualties on Hamas turf.
The UN Security Council will publicly discuss the worsening
violence between Israel and Palestinian militants on Sunday, diplomats said
after the United States had objected to a meeting on Friday.
Truce efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations had
yet to deliver a sign of progress.
The Israeli military has put the number of militants killed
in Israeli attacks at between 80 and 90. It said that so far, some 1,800
rockets have been fired at Israel, of which 430 fell short in the Gaza Strip or
malfunctioned.
On the Israeli political front, Netanyahu's chances to
remain in power after an inconclusive March 23 election appeared to improve
significantly after his main rival, centrist Yair Lapid, suffered a major
setback in efforts to form a government.
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