A clash that erupted during an Israeli special-forces operation in the Gaza Strip killed an Israeli army officer and a local commander for Hamas’ armed wing, along with six other Palestinian militants and threatened to derail efforts to restore calm after months of unrest.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a trip to Paris and rushed home after receiving the reports.
Sirens rang out in southern Israel into the early hours of yesterday after the clash, signaling rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Photo: Reuters
Israel said it identified 17 launches toward its territory, three of which were intercepted by missile defenses.
It was not immediately clear where the others landed, but there were no injuries.
Israel said it was conducting an intelligence-gathering operation and “not an assassination or abduction.”
Photo: AFP
The statement from Israeli military spokesman Ronen Manelis signaled that the mission did not go as planned and resulted in the clash, which Palestinian security sources said included Israeli airstrikes.
Hamas, the Muslim movement that runs the blockaded enclave, and the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades spoke of a “cowardly Israeli attack” and an “assassination,” vowing revenge.
Hamas’ armed wing said an Israeli special forces team had infiltrated near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip in a civilian car.
Israeli airstrikes followed when the operation failed, it said in a statement.
Israel’s military had not confirmed those details.
Health officials in Gaza said that seven Palestinians were killed.
The dead included a local commander, the brigades said in a statement.
He was identified as Nour Baraka.
Five others were also al-Qassam members, while the seventh was a member of a separate militant alliance known as the Popular Resistance Committees, Gazan security sources said.
The Israeli Army confirmed that one of its officers was killed and another was injured.
“During an [Israeli] special-forces operational activity in the Gaza Strip, an exchange of fire evolved,” the army said in a statement.
“At this incident, an IDF officer was killed and an additional officer was moderately injured,” it said, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces and identifying the officer only by his rank, lieutenant colonel, and the first letter of his name, M.
Netanyahu, who had been attending World War I commemorations in Paris, arrived in Israel yesterday and was to convene a meeting of security chiefs.
Egyptian and UN officials have been mediating between Israel and Hamas in efforts to reach a long-term truce deal.
On Friday, Palestinian civil servants began receiving payments after months of sporadic salary disbursements in cash-strapped Gaza, with US$15 million delivered into the enclave through Israel in suitcases by Qatar.
A total of US$90 million is to be distributed in six monthly instalments, Gaza authorities said, primarily to cover salaries of officials working for Hamas.
Qatar has also said it would hand out US$100 to each of 50,000 poor families, as well as larger sums to Palestinians wounded in clashes along the Gaza-Israel border.
The Gulf emirate has also started buying additional fuel for Gaza’s sole power station, allowing outages to be reduced to their lowest level in years.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source