Israel threatens ‘painful’ strike against Hamas in Gaza
Posted October 14, 2018 7:53 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
JERUSALEM – Israel’s prime minister is threatening “very painful blows” against Gaza’s Hamas rulers if they don’t halt protests along the perimeter fence that have led to clashes with Israeli troops.
Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is very close to waging a “different kind of activity” against the Islamic militants. He says “if it has any sense, Hamas will cease its fire and violent outbursts now.”
Hamas has orchestrated near-weekly protests along the Israel-Gaza boundary since March, pressing for an end to a decade-long Israel-Egyptian blockade of the isolated territory.
Palestinians in the northern West Bank say a woman has been killed after being struck in the head by a stone thrown by Israeli settlers.
A relative says Aisha Rabi, 48, was travelling with her husband and two daughters to their home in Bidya early Saturday when their vehicle was pelted with stones.
Her cousin, Isam Rabi, says she was struck in the head and rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. He says her husband saw a small group of settlers nearby.
Israeli police say they are investigating.
The area is near several ultranationalist Jewish settlements.
Clashes have been going on all week
Last Sunday, a Palestinian assailant killed two Israelis in a nearby settlement. And on Thursday, a Palestinian man stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier, raising the possibility of a revenge attack.
On Friday, some 20 Palestinians breached the border. Israeli troops shot dead seven at that location and said some 14,000 Palestinians thronged the border fence areas
Palestinian health officials say Israeli forces have shot dead six Palestinians, four of them in a single incident, in one of the deadliest days in months of mass protests along the security fence separating Gaza and Israel.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Friday that four were killed in one location, where the Israeli military said it opened fire on a crowed of Palestinians who breached the fence and approached an army post. No Israeli troops were harmed, the army added.
Two other Palestinians were killed in other protest locations, the ministry said, adding that at least 140 Palestinians were wounded by live bullets.
Israel and Hamas have fought three wars over the past decade and have recently repeatedly stepped back from the brink.
