CAIRO: In yet another early morning airstrike on Gaza, rockets injured two people in Gaza City early Wednesday. West of the city, an Israeli warplane struck a group of militants, injuring one man. In the neighborhood of Tuffah, Israeli F16 jets fired at least one missile injuring one woman lightly. Several civil homes were also damaged. Likewise, two rockets were fired into southern Israel, a military spokeswoman reported, saying that locals were treated for anxiety. Yesterday, Israeli Defence Forces Benny Gantz commented on the deteriorating security situation that has affected the lives of Israelis and Palestinians alike. “The events and the situation have so far been contained,” he said, but given the likelihood that the statehood bid will fail, “the chance of a violent outbreak still exists.” He explained that terrorist attacks can now no longer be expected solely from Gaza, but are also coming “directly from Sinai,” which now hosts a number of terrorist groups. As a result, while the main problem along the southern border used to be the infiltration of labor migrants, terror has now become a major problem as well. Benny Gantz referred to the Eilat attacks killing 8 Israelis in August as a major failure for the IDF. Therefore, the forces must now be ready to confront any attack. In August, 27 Palestinians and one Israeli were killed, in an incident Israel blamed on a Gaza-bound group who bombarded the strip. After the fighting, a period of relative quiet lasted until last weekend, when firings between Gaza and Israel killed a total of 13 Palestinians and one Israeli. “The recent rounds of escalation and the harm to both the lives and daily routine of residents of the south is leading to the IDF being asked to undertake a significant offensive in the Gaza Strip,” he told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, concluding that continued rocket fire from the Gaza Strip is liable to lead to a large-scale Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza. “In the next round of fighting, we will have to shorten the duration of the fighting as much as possible,” he continued. “This speed will rely on high-quality intelligence and a rapid pace of operations, and therefore, we must maintain the IDF's readiness and preserve its human resources.” France expressed deep concern over the escalations, and urged Israel to beware of harming civilians. On Sunday, a French consul and his 13-year-old daughter were injured by shrapnel and his wife miscarried when the Israeli army bombed areas near their home. “France strongly condemns the consequences of the air raid,” French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said Tuesday. He added: “While we are committed to the security of Israel, France reiterates the necessity of avoiding civilian harm. Israeli authorities have been reminded of this imperative.” The recent attacks and great increase in civilian casualties have taken place just weeks after Israel and Hamas agreed to a much applauded prisoner exchange. Here, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was swapped from Hamas capture to Israel for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, 550 of whom are still waiting to be freed. Senior United Nations officials expressed at the time that they hoped the deal would lead the two sides to make further hard decisions towards an eventual peace agreement to end the long-running conflict. BM
