The outburst of fighting has broken a month-long lull as Egyptian mediators had been trying to negotiate a long-term cease-fire between the two sides
JERUSALEM — Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday intensified a wave of rocket fire into southern Israel, striking towns and cities across the region, killing at least one person and seriously wounding three others in one of the bloodiest rounds of fighting since the 2014 war. At least eight Palestinians, including a pregnant woman and her 14-month-old niece, have also been killed.
Israeli forces struck dozens of targets throughout Gaza, including militant sites that it said were concealed in homes or residential areas. The army also moved armoured units toward the Gaza perimeter as the sides headed closer to all-out war.
Moshe Agadi, a 58-year-old Israeli father of four, was struck in the chest by shrapnel in a residential courtyard from one of the 450 rockets fired from Gaza in less than 24 hours. Then a midday barrage hit Ashkelon again, wounding three people, including two seriously who were suffering from “multisystem trauma.” The Magen David Adom rescue service said another person was critically wounded when a rocket landed on a car near the Gaza boundary.
The Israeli military has retaliated with some 260 airstrikes against militant targets in Gaza.
The Palestinian Health Ministry had previously said an Israeli strike on Saturday killed a pregnant woman, Falistin Abu Arar, 37, and her niece, Seba Abu Arar, in their east Gaza City home.
However, military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Sunday that a detailed review found that a Palestinian rocket had misfired and killed them. He said the Palestinians were “trying to sell a story that isn’t true.” The conflicting accounts could not immediately be reconciled.
Hospital officials in Gaza confirmed the deaths of two men, ages 28 and 21. Islamic Jihad media outlets said the two were militants. Their deaths raised to nine the number of Palestinians killed in the recent fighting.
The sudden outburst has broken a month-long lull as Egyptian mediators had been trying to negotiate a long-term cease-fire between the two sides, who have fought three wars and several other rounds of conflict over the past decade.
Conricus said Israel’s strikes hit a variety of “high-quality” militant sites, that included commanders’ homes in which militant activity was observed.
