In overnight airstrikes by Israel, the Gaza death toll rose to 12. The Al-Ansar brigades, a military wing of the Al-Ahrar movement, said in a statement that the victims were fighters in the group. They vowed to avenge the deaths. The Al-Ahrar network is a coalition of former Fatah members. The Israeli army released a statement just after midnight Sunday confirming a direct hit on the Gaza Strip. It said the strikes targeted a militant group that had “fired projectiles at Israel.” A spokesman from Islamic Jihad's armed wing said on Monday the Al-Quds Brigades would abide by the truce as long as Israel did, warning of an immediate and harsh response if Israel escalated hostilities. On Monday afternoon, the attacks were answered by around 6 rockets fired into Israel. These rockets were not reported to bring any casualties or damages. The recent firings comes after the second truce brokered by Israel since the violence broke out this weekend. Due to this agreement, arms were to be put down at 10 PM on Sunday. In the first truce brokered by Egyptian officials, the warring parties agreed to a deal to end violence Saturday at 6 AM. But two rockets were reportedly fired from Gaza into Israel after this deadline, as an answer to an Israeli bombing targeting an Islamic Jihad base in southern Gaza on Saturday afternoon. Also, medical sources reported one Palestinian was killed and one wounded on Sunday morning in an Israeli air strike on Gaza, which came just hours after the parties declared a truce. The number of dead Palestinians had reached 10 at the time, as Israeli rockets killed first five, then four Islamic Jihad militants from the group's armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigade. Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister denied talks of a renewed ceasefire with Islamic Jihad militants in a comment on the recent upsurge of violence. Dubbed “Bloody Sunday” by Gaza TV News website, the weekend saw the most severe fighting between Israel and the coastal enclave since August. Then, 27 Palestinians and óne Israeli was killed, after Israel bombarded the strip. This was done as Israel blamed a Gaza militant group for an earlier attack on Israel killing 8 people. In a report by the independent Trident commission in the United Kingdom that was published in the Guardian newspaper on Monday, Israel is reported to be working on improving its nuclear weapons capabilities. By extending the range of Israel's Jericho 3 land-to-land missiles, they will have the capabilities of transcontinental missiles. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern today at the recent escalation of violence and bloodshed in both southern Israel and the Gaza Strip. “He hopes that the parties will fully respect the calm as brokered by Egypt,” the statement noted, referring to a reported ceasefire organized by Egypt. The deadly attacks have taken place just weeks after Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a prisoner exchange that senior United Nations officials said they hoped would lead the two sides to make further “hard decisions” towards an eventual peace agreement to end the long-running conflict. BM
