Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes on targets in Gaza in response to what it called the biggest barrage of rocket and mortar fire from the Strip since the 2014 war there.

The Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF, said it launched more than 35 airstrikes targeting the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, after approximately 70 rockets and mortars were fired toward Israeli territory Tuesday morning.

At least 25 incoming projectiles were intercepted by its iron dome air defense system, the IDF said earlier in the day.

Hamas reported early Wednesday that militant groups in Gaza have agreed to a ceasefire if Israel does the same.

In a statement, Khalil Al Hayya, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said that after the intense fighting on Tuesday there had been considerable mediation efforts — an apparent reference to Egyptian-led talks — resulting in “a consensus to return to the ceasefire understandings of the Gaza Strip.”

Referring to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Al Hayya said, “the resistance factions committed (to the ceasefire), as long as the Occupation does the same,” using the militant groups’ term for Israel.

There was no comment from Israel on the latest ceasefire reports, a senior Israeli official told CNN Wednesday morning.

The US has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to “discuss the latest attacks on Israel out of the Gaza Strip by Hamas and other militants,” the US Mission to the UN said in a statement.

The Mission expected the meeting to take place Wednesday afternoon.

“The recent attacks out of Gaza are the largest we have seen since 2014. Mortars fired by Palestinian militants hit civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten. The Security Council should be outraged and respond to this latest bout of violence directed at innocent Israeli civilians, and the Palestinian leadership needs to be held accountable for what they’re allowing to happen in Gaza,” US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said, according to the statement.

Israel said three of its soldiers were injured, two lightly and a third moderately, in the militant fire from Gaza. In one of the day’s first barrages, one of the mortars landed in the yard of a kindergarten, which was empty at the time because school had not started.

The IDF said Israeli air force planes had attacked targets in seven locations belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including “six military compounds, munition storage warehouses, naval targets, and terror headquarters.”

There were no reports of any injuries. Other targets according to the IDF included “a rocket manufacturing workshop, advanced naval weaponry, military compounds

Among the targets, the IDF said, were, “sheds of drones used for terror purposes, a rocket manufacturing workshop, advanced naval weaponry, military compounds, training facilities and a munitions manufacturing site.”

There were no reports of any injuries.

A senior Israeli official denied reports a ceasefire deal has been reached between Israel and militant groups in Gaza. Reports in Arab media spoke of a ceasefire agreement mediated by Egypt and due to come into force at midnight.

An official from Islamic Jihad told CNN that Egyptian intelligence had asked the militant group to return to the 2014 ceasefire agreement, adding, “We (Islamic Jihad) are committed to it as long as Israel is.”

The 2014 ceasefire agreement is a reference to the agreement reached at the end of the last all-out war between Israel and Hamas.

A second Islamic Jihad official told CNN that “Egyptian efforts reached a ceasefire and a return to the 2014 agreement.” The official told Egypt that militants in Gaza did not want escalation with Israel, but said they had the right to defend themselves if attacks continued.

In a significant move, Israel singled out Islamic Jihad as the militant group that carried out Tuesday’s attacks.

In a statement, the IDF said the action was a “severe, dangerous, and orchestrated act of terror, aimed at Israeli civilians and children.”

Islamic Jihad “follows the ideology of Iran, is funded by Iran, and in today’s attack, used munition made by Iran,” the statement said.

But the IDF statement also repeated Israel’s often-stated position that it continues to hold Hamas — the militant group that controls Gaza — accountable for everything that happens in the Gaza Strip. “Hamas has the ability to escalate or de-escalate the situation,” the statement said.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed joint responsibility for the attacks.

In a statement issued by the militant groups’ armed wings, the Al-Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades respectively, the two groups blamed Israel for starting the latest round of aggression and said they had cooperated in launching the attacks because Israel’s “crimes could not be tolerated in any way.”

The statement said that if Israel continued to attack Gaza then “all resistance options remain open no matter what the cost.”

There have been no reports of any fatalities or injuries arising from Israel’s airstrikes from either the Palestinian Ministry of Health or from the militant groups themselves.

Israel and the United States consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

UN chief Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov expressed his deep concern at what he called “indiscriminate firing” by Gaza militants toward communities in southern Israel.

“Such attacks are unacceptable and undermine the serious efforts by the international community to improve the situation in Gaza. All parties must exercise restraint, avoid escalation and prevent incidents that jeopardize the lives of Palestinians and Israelis,” Mladenov said in a statement.

Also Tuesday, the Israeli navy intercepted a Palestinian boat that set sail from Gaza aiming to breach Israel’s naval blockade of the enclave, the IDF said. The IDF said there were about 17 people on board. It said the boat was apprehended peacefully and had been towed to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

The confrontations came after weeks of Palestinian protests, known as the Great March of Return, near the fence that separates Gaza and Israel, during which more than 100 protesters were killed by Israeli fire.

The protests were intended to highlight Palestinian demands to return to homes and villages they lost during the creation of the state of Israel seven decades ago, and were given a boost by the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem on May 14. Israel said the protests were orchestrated by Hamas and presented a security threat to people living nearby. </s> JERUSALEM — Israeli jets bombed Gaza hours after militants from the territory on Tuesday fired more than 25 mortar shells toward communities in southern Israel in what appeared to be the largest single barrage since the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.

The Israeli military said no one was hurt and that most of the mortar shells were intercepted by the Iron Dome defence system, though one of the shells landed near a kindergarten shortly before it opened.

The high volume of projectiles came as tensions have been running high along the Israel-Gaza border and a fierce Israeli response was expected.

“Israel will exact a heavy price from those who seek to harm it and we see Hamas as responsible for preventing such attacks,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following the barrage.

Shortly after that warning, Israeli jets began dropping bombs at what security officials in Gaza called Islamic Jihad militant training site. Smoke was seen rising near the town of Deir al-Balah in the coastal strip and the Israeli military said the explosions there were related to its activity. No injuries were reported.

Islamic Jihad was believed to be behind the attacks with a green light from Hamas, the militant Islamic group that runs the Gaza Strip.

“We are sticking to the right of return as well as responding to the Zionist crimes,” said Khaled al-Batsh, an Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza.

Ismail Radwan, a Hamas official, said the barrage proved that the “resistance is capable of hurting the occupation and it proved this today by responding to its crimes.”

Radwan spoke as a two fishing boats carrying students and medical patients set sail out of Gaza City’s port, aiming to break 11 years of naval blockade that Egypt and Israel imposed after the militants violently took control of the coastal territory.

The expedition would be a new way of challenging the blockade but also raises the possibility of more confrontation and violence as Israel bars any boats from Gaza reaching farther out than a six-nautical-mile radius into the Mediterranean Sea. Hamas acknowledged it was mostly a symbolic act.

It also marks eight years since Israeli commandos raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, killing nine pro-Palestinian Turks and sparking an international outcry against the blockade.

In southern Israel, angry residents complained about how vulnerable they felt after 15 years of rocket fire threats from neighbouring Gaza, which will likely put pressure on the government to retaliate harshly.

Adva Klein, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, said she only got about two hours of sleep because of the frequent incoming fire and the sirens warning of them. Other residents reported machine-gun fire from Gaza as well.

“It’s been a really scary morning,” said Adele Raemer, a resident of Kibbutz Nirim.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he was convening the top military brass at his Tel Aviv headquarters to discuss the situation.

The border area has been tense in recent weeks as the Palestinians have held mass protests aimed at lifting a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized power in 2007.

Israeli fire has killed more than 110 Palestinians, most of them during the Hamas-led protests, which climaxed on May 14.

On Sunday, Israeli shelling killed three Palestinian militants from the smaller Islamic Jihad group after the troops found a bomb planted along the border. The Islamic Jihad vowed retaliation.

On Monday, a tank fired at a Hamas position in the Gaza Strip, killing one man and wounding another, after Israeli troops came under fire on the frontier while apprehending two armed Palestinians.

Hamas has vowed to continue the border rallies. Israel says it is defending its border as well as its communities nearby. It accuses Hamas of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of protests.



 Associated Press writer Fares Akram in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report. </s> Israel bombed six naval targets of the Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Israeli army said.

The bombing was in response to an attempt at mass infiltration during the protests on Friday, the army said. </s> Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes on targets in Gaza in response to what it called the biggest barrage of rocket and mortar fire from the strip since the 2014 war there.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it launched more than 30 airstrikes targeting the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, after more than 28 rockets and mortars were fired towards Israeli territory Tuesday morning.

The IDF said 25 incoming projectiles were intercepted by its iron dome air defense system.

Israeli media reported that one of the mortars landed in the yard of a kindergarten, which was empty at the time because school had not started.

IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Israel was retaliating against a "massive" attack by militants in the Gaza Strip.

"We are not looking to escalate the situation. We're responding to the attacks in Gaza. And the responsibility and the control is in Hamas' hands," he said, referring to the militant group that controls Gaza. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoom defended the mortar fire, saying it came "within the framework of the natural right to defend our people." He said Israel would be responsible for any further escalation. The UN's chief Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov expressed his deep concern at what he called "indiscriminate firing" by Gaza militants towards communities in southern Israel. "Such attacks are unacceptable and undermine the serious efforts by the international community to improve the situation in Gaza. All parties must exercise restraint, avoid escalation and prevent incidents that jeopardize the lives of Palestinians and Israelis," Mladenov said in a statement. Tuesday's confrontations came after weeks of Palestinian protests , known as the Great March of Return, near the fence that separates Gaza and Israel, during which more than 100 protesters were killed by Israeli fire. The protests were intended to highlight Palestinian demands to return to homes and villages they lost during the creation of the state of Israel seven decades ago, and were given a boost by the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on May 14. Israel said the protests were orchestrated by Hamas and presented a security threat to people living nearby. </s> The Israeli military said early Wednesday that it conducted airstrikes on the Gaza Strip against two targets belonging to Hamas.

On its Twitter account, the Israeli Defense Forces said it considered Hamas responsible for rockets allegedly fired towards Israeli territory, and as retaliation, it targeted two observation posts in northern Gaza.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, in a statement, said quick retaliation by the resistance movement was necessary as Israel is increasing tensions, targeting Palestinian resisters and peaceful protesters. He did not clearly claim responsibility on behalf of the organization for the alleged rocket attacks on Israel, however.

Israeli warplanes on Tuesday fired missiles toward a group of Palestinians flying incendiary kites in the eastern Gaza Strip.

Palestinian activists have been flying incendiary kites and balloons toward Israeli territory as part of ongoing demonstrations near the Israel-Gaza security fence that began on March 30.

Since the protests began, at least 132 Palestinian demonstrators have been martyred and thousands more injured by Israeli army gunfire.

Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israel’s decade-long blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of basic commodities. </s> Smoke raises in the background following an Israeli airstrike hits a governmental building in Gaza City , Saturday, July 14, 2018. The Israeli military carried out its largest daytime airstrike campaign in Gaza since the 2014 war as Hamas militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel, threatening to spark a wider conflagration after weeks of tensions along the volatile border. No casualties or major damage was reported on either side, and Israel said it was focused on hitting military targets and was warning Gaza civilians to keep their distance from certain sites.(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military carried out its largest airstrike campaign in Gaza since the 2014 war Saturday as Hamas militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel throughout the day, threatening to trigger an all-out war after weeks of growing tensions along the volatile border.

Two Palestinian teenagers were killed in an airstrike in Gaza City, while three Israelis were wounded from a rocket that landed on a residential home.

Israel said it was focused on hitting militant targets and was warning Gaza civilians to keep their distance from certain sites. But even before the report of casualties the intense tit-for-tat airstrikes and rocket barrages still marked a significant flare-up after a long period of a generally low-level, simmering conflict.

"The Israeli army delivered its most painful strike against Hamas since the 2014 war and we will increase the strength of our attacks as much as necessary," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Late Saturday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza announced that they had agreed to a cease-fire brokered by Egypt, but sirens warning of incoming rockets still wailed in southern Israel early Sunday and it was unclear if the cease-fire was holding.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the latest Israeli sortie, the third of the day, struck some 40 Hamas targets including tunnels, logistical centers and a Hamas battalion headquarters. He said the escalation was the result of the sustained Hamas rocket attacks, its fomenting of violence along the border and its campaign of launching incendiary kites and balloons that have devastated Israeli farmlands and nature reserves.

"Our message to Hamas is that we can and will enhance the intensity of our effort if needed," he said. "What Hamas is doing is pushing them ever closer to the edge of the abyss ... Hamas will have to understand that there is a price to be paid."

Later, witnesses reported that Israeli warplanes dropped four bombs on an unfinished building near a Hamas police and security compound in Gaza City, reducing the old structure to rubble. The four-story building is adjacent to a public park. Gaza's Health ministry said two teenagers were killed in the strike and ten others injured.

It marked the first casualties of the day. Striking in the heart of Gaza City is typically only seen during full-blown conflicts like the 2014 war and could signal that a further escalation may be in store.

The Israeli military had no immediate reaction to that strike but said it had targeted a separate high-rise building in the northern Gaza Strip that was used as a Hamas urban warfare training facility. It said a tunnel was dug under the building.

Shortly after, Israeli medical officials said three Israelis were wounded from a rocket that landed on a house in southern Israel. It said paramedics in the southern city of Sderot were treating a 52-year-old man with a chest wound, a 17-year-old girl with a face wound and a 20-year-old woman with injuries to her limbs.

Sirens wailed overnight and throughout most of the day Saturday in southern Israel as waves of rockets and mortars were launched from Gaza amid the airstrikes. The military said it identified about 60 launches of rockets and mortars from Gaza toward Israeli territory, of which about 10 were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system. As a precaution, the military shut down a popular beach in southern Israel and placed limitations on gatherings of large crowds. Israeli police says four of the projectiles caused damage.

Israel has been warning Hamas in recent weeks that while it has no interest in engaging in the kind of conflict that led to the sides fighting three wars over the past decade, it will not tolerate Gaza militants' continued efforts to breach the border and its campaign to devastate Israeli border communities with incendiary attacks.

With Israel focused on rising tension along its northern border in its efforts to prevent Iran from establishing a permanent military foothold in post-civil war Syria, it has been wary of escalating hostilities in Gaza. But Netanyahu has also come under pressure to act from southern Israeli communities, who have once again found themselves under rocket fire from Gaza in addition to contending with the daily field fires.

"We are ready to operate simultaneously in different theaters," Conricus said, referring to the dual threats from Syria and Gaza. "It will be challenging to fight on more than one border but it is something we can do and are prepared to do." Israel's military chief visited the border area for briefings and the Security Cabinet, Israel's top decision-making body, is expected to convene Sunday to discuss further actions. On Friday, thousands of Palestinians gathered near the Gaza border for their near-weekly protest. A 15-year-old Palestinian who tried to climb over the fence into Israel was shot dead. Later the military said an Israeli officer was moderately wounded by a grenade thrown at him. Gaza's health ministry said Saturday that a 20-year-old struck by gunfire Friday during the protests in the southern Gaza Strip had also died of his wounds. The Islamic militant group Hamas that rules Gaza has led border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. The demonstrations have been fueled in large part by pervasive despair caused by the blockade, which has caused widespread economic hardship. Over 130, mostly unarmed, Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since protests began on March 30. Israel says it is defending its sovereign border and accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers. Most recently, it has been struggling to cope with the widespread fires caused by the incendiary kites and balloons floating over the border. In a statement, the military said Hamas' activities "violate Israeli sovereignty, endanger Israeli civilians and sabotage Israel's humanitarian efforts that aim to help Gazan civilians." In a relatively rare admission, Hamas said it fired the rockets to deter Israel from further action. Most of the recent rockets from Gaza have been fired by smaller factions but Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said it was an "immediate response" that was meant to "deliver the message." The military said its jets targeted two Hamas tunnels as well as other military compounds, including those involved in the production of the kites and balloons. It said the Hamas battalion headquarters in northern Gaza was completely destroyed and footage it released showed a series of large explosions that left a gaping hole in the ground. </s> Israeli jets have carried out several airstrikes in the Gaza Strip just hours after its tanks targeted Palestinian Hamas resistance movement positions in the coastal sliver.

 During the Saturday night airstrikes a factory and several buildings belonging to Hamas were targeted by the Tel Aviv regime’s warplanes. There have been no reports of casualties yet.

 The Israeli army has confirmed the attacks, claiming they were carried out in response to the explosive device that went off next to a border fence.

 Earlier in the day, at least one Palestinian man sustained injuries after Israeli battle tanks targeted the eastern part of the Gaza Strip.

 At least one Palestinian has been injured after Israeli battle tanks shelled the eastern part of the besieged Gaza Strip.

 The Arabic-language Palestine al-Yawm news agency reported that three rounds of shell struck an observation post belonging to the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement east of al-Shujaya neighborhood in Gaza City, injuring a civilian who was taken to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City to receive treatment. The Israeli military frequently bombs the Gaza Strip, with civilians being the main target of such attacks.

 Israel has also launched several wars on the Palestinian coastal sliver, the last of which began in early July 2014. The military aggression, which ended on August 26, 2014, killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians. Over 11,100 others were also wounded in the war.

 The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007.—Agencies </s> Sign up for one of our email newsletters.

JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes pummeled Hamas targets in Gaza, killing four Palestinians, mostly Hamas operatives, after Palestinian snipers killed an Israeli soldier near the border Friday, officials said.

The military said a “terrorist squad” fired at troops, and one soldier was severely injured and later died of his wounds. He was the first Israeli military fatality in months of violence along the Gaza border.

After the Palestinian gunfire, Israel’s military said, it struck 25 Hamas positions, including weapon warehouses, command and control centers, training facilities, observation posts and other sites.

It said “fighter jets commenced a wide-scale attack against Hamas military targets throughout the Gaza Strip.” It added that “Hamas chose to escalate the security situation and will bear the consequences for its actions.”

The Gaza Health Ministry said four Palestinians were killed. The militant Islamic Hamas that rules Gaza said three of the dead were members of the group. Gaza media reported that gunmen had fired mortars toward the border.

Sirens wailed Friday night in parts of southern Israel warning of incoming Palestinian rockets. Israel said two were intercepted by its Iron Dome aerial defense system.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with military brass Friday night to assess the developments, media reported.

Earlier Friday, Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman visited Sderot, an Israeli town near Gaza that has been hard hit by Palestinian rockets over the years. “The heads of Hamas are forcibly leading us to a no choice situation in which we will need to embark on wide and painful military operation,” Lieberman said.

On Saturday, Israel pounded Hamas targets in its largest bombardment campaign since the 2014 war, as Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets toward Israel.

Israel says it has no interest is engaging in another war with Hamas but says it will no longer tolerate the Gaza militant campaign of daily flying incendiary kites and balloons across the border that have torched Israeli crops, burned nature reserves and killed wildlife.

Hamas on Friday vowed it will continue weekly protests and the launching of incendiary devices at Israel.

Khalil al-Hayya, a top Hamas leader, said “the protests will remain, flaming and existing, and its tools will multiply and diversify, including kites, until our goals are achieved.”

For the first time, an incendiary balloon of the kind used in Gaza was found in the garden of a southeast Jerusalem home close to the Palestinian town of Beit Jala. Police sappers dealt with the device.

The weekly protests led by Hamas against Israel are meant in part to draw attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after the militant group assumed control of Gaza in 2007.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Palestinians hurled seven grenades and several explosive devices at troops along the border on Friday. There were no Israeli casualties.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 80 Palestinians were wounded by gunfire in that rally.

The demonstrations have been fueled in large part by pervasive despair caused by the blockade which has caused widespread economic hardship.

Over 135, mostly unarmed, Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the border protests began on March 30.

Israel says it is defending its sovereign border and accuses Hamas, a group sworn to its destruction, of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers. </s> Israeli military launches airstrikes in southern Gaza in response to rocket attack on Tel Aviv

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli military launches airstrikes in southern Gaza in response to rocket attack on Tel Aviv.
Israel launches airstrikes on Hamas ships in Gaza's port and a Hamas building in Deir al-Balah in response to the ongoing, and sometimes violent, protests.