Israel launched more air strikes against Hamas Islamist targets in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, wounding at least seven Palestinians.
The Israeli army said its aircraft, now in the second week of a bombing campaign, struck two buildings used by militants to manufacture and store munitions. Palestinians denied the buildings were used for weapons.
In a village near Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, Israeli troops entered several homes and briefly held seven Palestinians for questioning, local residents said.
One of the Palestinians, 17-year-old Samer Qdaih, said the Israeli troops threatened to return to flatten the neighbourhood if rocket fire against Israeli towns continued.
The Israeli army said it was checking the report.
Israel said on Tuesday it could target Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, if the ruling Islamist group refused to halt rocket fire into the Jewish state.
Hamas did not claim responsibility for the few rockets that fell on southern Israel on Wednesday. No injuries were reported. A woman was killed on Monday in the Israeli town of Sderot, the first fatality in a Palestinian rocket attack since November.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, who arrived in Gaza on Tuesday, planned to meet in the evening with faction leaders but it was unclear if Haniyeh would take part. Hamas officials said they were worried Israel could target Haniyeh on his way to or from the meeting.
Tensions between rival Hamas and Fatah factions, which formed a unity government two months ago, remained high. At least 50 Palestinians were killed in the latest round of factional fighting. A ceasefire declared on Sunday seemed largely to be holding for now.
Abbas was expected to use Wednesday’s talks to press Palestinian factions to cease their rocket fire into Israel in order to get Israel to stop the air strikes.
During the fierce internal fighting, Hamas accused Israel of launching air strikes to bolster Fatah.
Israeli air strikes over the past week have killed at least 34 Palestinians, medical officials said in Gaza. Militant groups said 23 of the dead were fighters.
Asked if Haniyeh was on Israel’s hit-list, Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh said on Tuesday: ”I’ll put it like this — there is no one who is in the circle of commanders and leaders in Hamas who is immune from a strike.”
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, said in response in Gaza: ”Any harm to Prime Minister Haniyeh or any Hamas leader would mean a change in the rules of the game and the occupation [Israel] must be ready to pay an unprecedented price.”
Abu Zuhri said Israel must first stop its attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank before the group and other factions could consider halting their own strikes. – Reuters