Israel and Palestinian militants traded threats on Sunday after two Islamic Jihad fighters were killed in fresh skirmishes along the tense Gaza Strip border.
The escalation of violence came on the eve of the second anniversary of Israel’s devastating “Operation Cast Lead” assault on Hamas-controlled Gaza and followed weeks of rocket fire from Gaza and retaliatory Israeli air raids.
Turning up the rhetoric, both sides said they were prepared for another round of bloodletting.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I hope there is no need for another operation like Cast Lead, but if this situation continues — if missiles keep being smuggled in without hindrance, if they continue shooting into Israel, trying to hit innocent civilians — then, obviously, we will have to respond and respond with all our force,” Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told public radio before a Cabinet meeting.
And at the funeral for two members of Islamic Jihad killed in an early morning exchange of fire with Israeli troops, mourners called on the military wings of Islamic Jihad and Hamas to take revenge on Israel.
Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad’s military wing, said the group was prepared.
“The occupation will pay the price if they even think of carrying out an escalation in the Gaza Strip,” he told mourners.
On Saturday, Hamas’ military wing also reiterated its battle readiness.
“There is a truce in effect in the field. It is real if Israel stops its aggression and ends its siege, but if there is any Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, we will respond strongly,” said a masked spokesman for the group, who identified himself as Abu Obeideh.
However, an Israeli official said on Sunday that Hamas was doing its best to avoid an escalation because it was not prepared for a major showdown.
The Islamic movement “does not want a confrontation at this stage. It is doing everything to prevent the situation from degenerating,” Amos Gilad, a senior defense ministry official, said on Israeli television.
He said Hamas wanted “to maintain the ceasefire so as to be better prepared for any Israeli offensive.”
On Sunday morning, Israeli forces, backed by tanks and helicopter gunships, killed the two Islamic Jihad militants, who were apparently trying to place a bomb along the Gaza border, the army and the militant group said.
Witnesses also said Israeli tanks fired at least 10 shells toward Khan Yunis, damaging three homes, but causing no casualties.
Late on Sunday morning, the Israeli military said two rockets fired from Gaza landed in the Eshkol region of the southern Negev desert, causing no casualties.
Tension has been rising on the Gaza border, where armed Islamist groups have fired dozens of mortar rounds and rockets into southern Israel.
In response, Israel has launched a series of air raids that it said targeted training facilities and smuggling tunnels.
It has also carried out targeted assassinations of several top members of the Army of Islam, a jihadist group accused by Israel of planning new attacks.
Israel’s military said earlier this month that one of its tanks patrolling the Gaza border had been hit by a Russian-made Kornet anti-tank rocket, the first time such a weapon had been used.
On Saturday, Hamas hinted it possessed a secret weapon.
“Our weapons are few compared to those of the Israeli occupation, but we have something that will worry the occupation,” Abu Obeideh said.
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