The leader of the militant group Hamas viewed the rubble of his bombed office in Gaza on Wednesday, appearing in public as an uneasy calm took hold after two days of cross-border Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes.
But while violence eased amid Egyptian mediation, Israeli forces along the Gaza frontier and militants in the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave were on hair-trigger footing.
No deaths have been reported in Gaza and Israel since the latest clashes erupted on Monday. Israels Iron Dome anti-missile interceptors have destroyed some Palestinian rockets and militants in Gaza vacated facilities hit in the air strikes.
Towns in southern Israel reopened classrooms and schools were also operating in Gaza, where streets were filled with traffic.
Hamass top leader, Ismail Haniya, emerged from a secret location to see what was left of his wrecked office, targeted by an Israeli air strike on Monday.
“The occupation,” he said, referring to Israel, “should not be under the illusion it can break the will of our people.”
A senior Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, retorted: “Haniya should find himself a new office before he starts sounding off.”
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Even if the crisis subsides, it could shadow Israels April 9 election, in which right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has campaigned on a tough security platform.
Security is a major issue for Netanyahu, in power for a decade and beset by corruption allegations that he denies. He is facing his strongest electoral challenge from a centrist coalition led by a former general.
Anniversary nears
Seven Israelis were injured in Mondays initial rocket attack that hit the village of Mishmeret, 120 km north of Gaza. Twelve Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli strikes, Gaza health officials said.
After a daylight lull on Tuesday, Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli strikes resumed after dark, but only briefly.
The latest escalation is the biggest since November between Israel and Hamas, which fought three wars between 2008 and 2014 and have come to the brink of a fourth several times since.
In the 2014 Gaza war, more than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in seven weeks of fighting. Sixty-six Israeli soldiers and seven civilians in Israel were killed.
This weeks fighting comes ahead of the first anniversary on March 30 of the start of weekly Gaza protests at the frontier.
Preparing for a one-million-person march
The protests organizing committee said it was preparing for a one-million-person march to mark the anniversary on Saturday at five locations along the frontier with Israel.
Some 200 Gazans have been killed and thousands wounded by Israeli fire in the past year. One Israeli soldier was killed.
Israel says its use of lethal force is mRead More – Source
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