Israeli Army Begins Operation in Gaza (LIVE BLOG)

March 25, 2019 Blog, News
Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza. (Photo: via Social Media)

The Israeli military has begun striking Hamas targets throughout Gaza, according to local residents and the Israeli military.

The move came after a rocket allegedly fired from the Gaza Strip, struck a home in central Israel on early Monday, wounding seven.

Israel has blamed Hamas for the attack.

Mar 26, 11:00 pm (GMT +3)

Israeli Warplanes Strike Khan Younis

Israeli warplanes are carrying out several airstrikes on Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

After striking the new seaport, Israeli warplanes also bombed a resistance site in the east of the city.

Mar 26, 5:30 pm (GMT +3)

Netanyahu: Israel Prepared to Do More in Gaza

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington DC via satellite link from a military base in Israel.

Addressing Israel’s overnight bombardment of Gaza, Netanyahu said:

“I can tell you we are prepared to do a lot more. We will do what is necessary to defend our people and to defend our state.”

He continued:

“We responded with great force. In the last 24 hours, the [Israeli army] destroyed major Hamas terrorist installations on a scale not seen since the end of the military operation in Gaza four years ago,” referring to Israel’s 2014 war on the Strip.

Mar 26, 2 pm (GMT +3)

Netanyahu Lands in Israel to Plan Further Strikes

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly landed back in Israel after cutting short his two-day trip to the US to deal with the situation in Gaza. Netanyahu, who is also Israel’s defense minister, is thought to be currently holding a security meeting at the Kirya military base in central Tel Aviv.

According to the Israeli news website Ynetnews.com, a senior Israeli source said:

“There is no agreement regarding a ceasefire, we are prepared to strike with even harder blows”.

Mar 26, 07:30 am  (GMT +3)

Israeli Warplanes Continue to strike Gaza, in spite of Reported ‘Ceasefire’

According to the Palestinian Governmental Media Office, Israel has bombed more than 50 targets in the Gaza Strip, despite reports of a ceasefire.

It's her little Palestine,,A Palestinian woman crying over the rubble of her home which was brought down to the ground…

Posted by Younes Arar on Tuesday, March 26, 2019

At least 10 Palestinians were injured.

World's silence is a crime…Gaza Now, occupied Palestine, 25 March 2019.#GazaUnderAttack

Posted by Younes Arar on Monday, March 25, 2019

The targets included residential buildings, governmental offices, a driving school, resistance sites, and agricultural lands.

Mar 25, 11:45 pm  (GMT +3)

Israeli Airplanes Strike Resistance Site in Deir al-Balah

Israeli airplanes bombed a resistance site in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

Mar 25, 11:00 pm  (GMT +3)

Netanyahu Rejects the Truce

According to Israeli TV Channel 20, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the ceasefire brokered by Egypt.

Mar 25, 10:00 pm  (GMT +3)

Hamas Announces Egyptian-brokered Ceasefire with Israel

Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip, says it has reached an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel after an exchange of fire on Monday.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said:

“Egyptian efforts succeeded with a ceasefire between the occupation and the resistance factions.”

Israel has yet to comment.

Israel has blamed Hamas for the rocket launched into Israel early Monday that injured seven Israelis when it landed in central Israel.

When asked whether the group was responsible for that Hamas spokesman Abdullatif al-Kanoo, told Al Jazeera:

“The Israelis continue to impose a crippling siege on the Gaza Strip and practice all kinds of aggression against Palestinians … Therefore, the Israeli occupation should bear the consequences of its actions against our people in Gaza and the West Bank and in Jerusalem as well … Hamas will not leave our people undeterred … the resistance will strike back if needed”.

Al-Kanoo condemned the Israeli response:

“The current Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip reflects its criminal nature. The Palestinian resistance will not allow the occupation to oppress its people.”

Mar 25, 9:00 pm  (GMT +3)

Israeli Warplanes Bomb the Office of Ismail Haniyeh

Israeli warplanes bombed the office of Ismail Haniyeh, the former Palestinian Prime Minister and the current leader of Hamas’s political bureau. The office was targeted by three missiles, according to Al Jazeera Arabic website. No news is yet available regarding casualties or the whereabouts of the Palestinian leader.

Mar 25, 8:00 pm  (GMT +3)

Israeli Raids Are Targeting the Northern Part of the Gaza Strip

According to Gaza’s ministry of information, Israeli raids targeted the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

Posted by Younes Arar on Monday, March 25, 2019

Residents there reported hearing the sounds of explosions on Monday evening.

Mar 25, 7:00 pm  (GMT +3)

Ismail Haniya Calls for Unity to Address Israeli Attacks

Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniya called for unity to address Israeli attacks:

“The Palestinian cause is being attacked on various fronts – in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, as well as inside Israeli jails … We must face this onslaught with a united national front, and in coordination with our Arab allies … Our people and the resistance will not surrender if the occupation crosses red lines”.

Ashraf al-Qudrah, spokesperson for Gaza’s health ministry, said hospitals and medical points across the strip are ready and on high alert.

The health ministry has also called on residents to take precautions as Israel begins to launch strikes across Gaza.

Israel issued a similar warning about an hour before the raids began, telling residents on Israel’s side to open bomb shelters in the expectation of potential rocket fire coming from inside Gaza in response.

Mar 25, 9:00 pm (GMT +3)

Benjamin Netanyahu: “We Will Respond Forcefully”

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu appeared alongside US President Donald Trump in a press conference at the White House shortly after the raids began.

Netanyahu said Israel was “responding forcefully” to what he called “wanton aggression”.

He said:

“We will do whatever we must do to defend our people and defend our state.”

He added that he will cut his meeting short to return to Israel.

Trump called the attack on Tel Aviv “despicable” and said that the United States “recognizes Israel’s absolute right to defend itself”, describing the alliance between the US and Israel as “unbreakable”.

(AJE, MEMO, PC, Social Media)

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