Truce appears fragile as Israel hits Hamas sites
GAZA CITY/TEL AVIV: Israeli aircraft struck Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after incendiary balloons were launched from the Palestinian enclave in the first such attacks since a fragile ceasefire ended 11 days of deadly fighting last month.
The violence poses an early test for the government of new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whose patchwork coalition came to power on Sunday on a pledge to focus on socioeconomic issues and avoid sensitive policy choices towards the Palestinians.
An Egyptian-brokered truce that halted fighting between Israel and Gaza militants did not immediately appear to be threatened by the flare-up, with the overnight Israeli airstrikes giving way to calm by morning.
Israel’s military said its aircraft attacked Hamas armed compounds in Gaza City and the southern town of Khan Yunis and was “ready for all scenarios, including renewed fighting in the face of continued terrorist acts emanating from Gaza”.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it is reining in a controversial practice of conducting late-night raids of Palestinian homes in the West Bank aimed at gathering information about the houses and their inhabitants.
Palestinian woman shot dead in West Bank
A Palestinian woman was shot dead in the West Bank on Wednesday after attempting to ram Israeli soldiers with her car and attack them with a knife.
The Israeli army said “an assailant arrived in her car and attempted to ram into a number of IDF soldiers” near Hizma, south of Ramallah, before she “exited her vehicle with a knife drawn”. “The soldiers responded with fire towards the assailant and neutralised her,” it said.
The Palestinian health ministry said the woman succumbed to her injuries.