IDF tank near the
Israel-Gaza Strip border, Thursday
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Photo credit: AFP  |
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After days of escalating clashes in the south,
Hamas has agreed to stop the rocket fire into Israel, the BBC reported
on Friday, quoting a senior Hamas official.
According to the report, the official said
that Egyptian intelligence officials had mediated a cease-fire agreement
between Hamas and Israel, stipulating that Israel will stop bombing
Gaza targets if the rocket fire ceases.
However, hours after the potential cease-fire
was reported, two mortar shells were fired from Gaza into Israeli
territory, striking open areas in the Eshkol Regional Council. Earlier,
the warning siren sounded in Sderot and the surrounding area, followed
by two explosions in open areas in the city. The Iron Dome missile
defense system intercepted a third rocket that was aimed at a populated
area in Sderot.
On Thursday, due to increased tensions, the
Israeli military mobilized additional forces, including tanks, artillery
and ground forces, to its southern border with the Gaza Strip, and
issued a limited call up of reserves.
Hamas' military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam
Brigades, has threatened that any ground incursion of Gaza will meet an
unprecedented response.
An IDF official said Thursday that in all,
Gaza terrorists have fired roughly 130 rockets at Israel in recent
weeks, over 50 of them between Wednesday and Thursday alone. Several
more rockets and mortar rounds were fired on Friday, but no injuries or
damage were reported.
Defense officials said that despite an
agreement that ended the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense, Hamas'
military wing has been actively involved in the rocket salvos fired at
Israel over the past few days. The Israeli Air Force has responded with
airstrikes on some 70 terror targets over the past week, including Hamas
and Islamic Jihad positions, training facilities and weapons mills and
warehouses.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner
stressed that the decision to mobilize troops near the border was
"defensive," saying, "Everything we are doing is to de-escalate the
situation, but on the other hand we have to be prepared for action if
things do not de-escalate."
Another IDF official said that Israel has
"relayed a message to Hamas that we seek to de-escalate the situation
rather than face another escalation, but there are contingencies in
place should Hamas opt for the latter. We understand the link between
Gaza and Judea and Samaria, and we understand Hamas' [precarious]
position given the outcome of the abduction," he said, referring to the
kidnapping and subsequent murder of Israeli teens Gil-ad Shaer, Eyal
Yifrach and Naftali Frenkel on June 12.
A third military official said: "This is a
defensive effort and the primary objective is to re-stabilize the
situation on the ground. The volatile potential of the situation is very
clear."
During the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet meeting
held Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu essentially set a
48-hour window, saying the events of the coming weekend will determine
Israel's course of action. The cabinet had decided that should the
rocket fire from Gaza persist the Israel Defense Forces will be ordered
to engage the terrorists more forcefully, but should the rocket fire
cease Israel will maintain the policy of "calm in the south equals calm
in Gaza."
Speaking at a Fourth of July reception hosted
by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, Netanyahu said, "We are ready
for two options in the south. If the fire toward our towns in the south
ceases, then so shall our actions and the calm in the south since
Operation Pillar of Defense will continue. The second option is that
fire toward our residents in the south continues and then our reinforced
troops there will act forcefully. The security of our citizens comes
first."
Netanyahu stressed that Hamas would be the one
to determine whether an escalation or a cease-fire would prevail. He
further praised the resilience demonstrated by the south's residents,
saying, "On behalf of the citizens of Israel, I would like to praise the
residents of the south. The strength you are demonstrating allows us to
act decisively and responsibly towards one goal -- your security, all
our security.
"Over the past several weeks, we have endured
the kidnapping and horrifying murder of the three boys who won over our
hearts and whose families have captured our hearts -- what wonderful
families. We will pursue all those who had a part in the murders of
Gil-ad, Eyal and Naftali and we will apprehend them. We will continue to
fight terrorism as we have fought it since the establishment of the
country," he said.
"I appeal to all the citizens of Israel and
ask you: Please exercise restraint in your actions and words," the prime
minister said in response to the demands for revenge voiced by some in
the Israeli public over the past few days. "Our hearts ache, our blood
boils, but we must remember that we are, first and foremost, human
beings and we are citizens of a law-abiding country. We must make
decisions in a responsible, cool-headed and calculated manner."
In Gaza, two senior Hamas officials said
Thursday that the group has "no interest" in any kind of escalation and
hoped the cease-fire could be restored. But they warned that rocket fire
would persist until Israel halts its attacks on Gaza.
"Israel has been attacking Gaza since the
kidnapping of the teens," one official said. "Once Israel stops
attacking Gaza, we are willing to immediately preserve the truce."
Still, Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades spokesman
Abu Ubaida accused Israel of breaching the cease-fire brokered following
2012's Operation Pillar of Defense, warning, "We promise you that any
foolish step to be taken by your leadership will be enough for us to
turn your settlements, your places, targets you expect and others you do
not expect, into fire balls that will burn you."
The masked spokesman stood in front of two
armed and masked gunmen of the group as he addressed his speech to
Israelis: "We will not allow the enemy to isolate our people in the West
Bank and Jerusalem and our people know well how to make the enemy pay a
heavy price and resistance factions know their duties."
He said Israel's threats signify that "the
time for revenge nears," and they were ready for the "zero hour," adding
that "all options are open for Hamas and the other resistance factions.
The arrests of the men released in the [Schalit] deal were a violation
of the understanding. Hamas is stronger than ever and Israel better not
test our patience."
An IDF source said that Hamas is constantly developing
its arsenal to include rockets that could potentially hit central Israel
and that the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades' motivation to abduct Israeli
soldiers has remained strong.
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