The Israeli army says an officer was killed and another was moderately wounded during an exchange of gunfire in Gaza.
The latest on a fresh wave of fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip (all times local):
2:05 a.m.
The Israeli army says an officer was killed and another was moderately wounded during an exchange of gunfire in Gaza.
The Israeli army said early Monday that the families of the soldiers have been notified. It adds that Israeli forces were conducting «an operational activity» late Sunday in southeast Gaza when the clashes erupted.
Palestinian health officials and the Hamas militant group that controls Gaza say the fighting killed at least seven Palestinians, including a local Hamas commander.
___
12:05 p.m.
Israel’s prime minister is cutting short a trip to Paris because of a new spasm of violence in the Gaza Strip.
A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday that he would return overnight.
Netanyahu was in Paris along with dozens of world leaders to commemorate the end of World War I. At a news conference there earlier, he defended his decision to take steps toward an unofficial cease-fire with Hamas, which appeared to be ratcheting down months of violence.
Sunday’s violence also prompted Israeli authorities to cancel school Monday for students in communities near the Gaza Strip, where air raid sirens were sounding following the fresh fighting.
It was not immediately clear what sparked Sunday’s conflagration. Health officials in Gaza say at least six Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire.
___
11:45 p.m.
Hamas’ militant wing says undercover Israeli forces drove a civilian vehicle into the Gaza Strip and shot dead one of the group’s commanders.
Hamas was providing details on a sudden, late-night burst of violence between Israel and Gaza militants Sunday that came just as the sides were taking steps that appeared to be toning down months of fighting.
In a statement late Sunday, Hamas says militants chased the car down, which prompted Israeli airstrikes that led to the deaths of at least five militants.
The Israeli military said only that there had been an exchange of fire during operational activity. It said that its rocket defense system intercepted two launches from the Gaza Strip and that air raid sirens were sounding in southern Israel.
___
11:30 p.m.
A spokesman for Israel’s Airport’s Authority says some flight landings and departures have been changed at the country’s international airport amid a new spasm of violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Ofer Lefler said Sunday that the runway changes were made after the fighting began. He says they would not affect the flight schedule.
It was not immediately clear what sparked Sunday’s fighting. Shortly after the exchange of fire, air raid sirens sounded in southern Israel, indicating rocket fire from Gaza. Gaza militants have rockets capable of reaching into the Israeli heartland, where Ben-Gurion International Airport is located.
Sunday’s exchange of fire came as Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers appeared to be making progress toward an unofficial cease-fire.
___
11 p.m.
Palestinian health officials in the Gaza Strip say six militants have been killed and six have been wounded by Israeli fire in a sudden, late-night burst of fighting.
Sunday’s exchange of fire came as Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers appeared to be making progress toward an unofficial cease-fire.
Israel last week allowed Qatar to deliver $15 million to Hamas, while Hamas scaled back its weekly demonstration along the Israeli border.
It was not immediately clear what sparked Sunday’s fighting. Shortly after the exchange of fire, air raid sirens sounded in southern Israel, indicating rocket fire from Gaza.
