WarSclerotic

Israel on Friday denied claims by Hamas, the ‎terrorist organization ruling the Gaza Strip, that a ‎cease-fire has been reached following aday of near-‎constant fire on Israeli communities near the border ‎and Israeli strikes on Hamas asset in the coastal ‎enclave. ‎

Hamas officials said late Thursday that their truce with Israel came into effect on 11:45 p.m., ending an ‎intense two-‎day burst of violence that had pushed ‎the region ‎closer to war. ‎

Hamas’ Al Aqsa TV reported ‎that the Egyptian-‎brokered deal has taken hold “on ‎the basis of mutual ‎calm.” It said the deal was ‎mediated by Egypt and ‎other unidentified regional ‎players.‎

The Gaza-based Islamic Jihad terrorist group, however, also denied ‎agreeing to a truce with Israel, but nevertheless, the Israel-Gaza Strip border seemed quiet ‎on Friday morning. ‎

During the latest round of violence, the fiercest ‎seen in the sector over the past few weeks, Hamas ‎fired over 180 projectiles at Israeli border-‎adjacent communities and the Israeli Air Force targeted ‎some 150 Hamas positions in Gaza.

Reuters

‎A Thai farm worker in her 20s sustained serious ‎injuries when a rocket struck a packing facility in ‎the Eshkol Regional Council on Thursday morning. ‎Another employee was lightly hurt and at least 20 ‎others were wounded in separate incidents.‎

On Thursday afternoon, a Grad rocket hit an open ‎area in Beersheba, 22 miles from Gaza, triggering ‎sirens in the southern city for the first time since ‎the 2014’s Operation Protective Edge. No injuries or ‎damage were reported in the incident. ‎

Hamas denied firing the rocket at Beersheba, an ‎assertion backed by the IDF. On Thursday evening, ‎Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the ‎incident. ‎

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a special ‎session of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet on ‎Thursday evening to discuss the volatile situation ‎on the border. ‎

The cabinet ordered the military to take unspecified ‎‎”forceful action” ‎against Hamas and the other ‎terrorist groups in Gaza. The IDF has since ‎reinforced ‎the units deployed along the border. with defense officials saying the military was ready for any scenario. ‎

Sources at the Prime Minister’s Office said that ‎Hamas, via Egyptian officials and U.N. Middle East ‎envoy Nickolay Mladenov, had been asking for a cease-fire since Thursday morning, but Israel continued to ‎strike terror targets in Gaza. ‎

Senior Jerusalem officials stressed that Thursday’s ‎operation was not the beginning of a military ‎campaign in Gaza, but rather was meant to deal Hamas ‎a serious blow and generate deterrence. ‎

Israel had Hamas have fought three wars over the ‎past decade, in 2008, 2012 and 2014.‎

Following the rocket fire on Beersheba, the IAF ‎struck a five-story building in northwest Gaza. ‎Gaza’s Health Ministry said 20 people were wounded ‎in the strike on the premises, which housed both a ‎Hamas internal security office and what Palestinian ‎media called “a culture and sciences center.”‎

Hamas denounced the “barbaric” attack as an Israeli ‎attempt to undermine the Egyptian mediation efforts. ‎

Reuters

In a series of tweets, the IDF said, “IAF fighter jets ‎targeted a five-story building in the Rimal ‎neighborhood in northern Gaza. Hamas’ internal ‎security forces used the building for military ‎purposes.‎

‎”Hamas’ internal ‎security unit is responsible for ‎all security operations carried out inside Gaza, and ‎is considered to be an executive branch of Hamas’ ‎political leadership. The building served as the ‎office of active unit members. A significant part of ‎the unit’s members are also Hamas military ‎operatives.”‎

IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis told ‎reporters that the military was “determined to ‎restore calm to southern Israel. Hamas is the one ‎pushing for an escalation. We have struck over 150 ‎targets, some highly strategic and important. This ‎policy will intensify until such time as ‎calm is restored.”‎

Manelis stressed that “there is no comparison between ‎the damage we have inflicted on Hamas and the damage ‎it has caused us. The group has sustained hundreds ‎of casualties and it has lost multiple assets, ‎including tunnels. ‎

‎”After four years of preparations, our abilities ‎opposite Gaza are at their peak. If we need to ‎launch a military campaign it will be clear-cut and ‎decisive,” he said. ‎

At the United Nations, Israeli Ambassador Danny ‎‎Danon urged the U.N. Security ‎Council to condemn ‎Hamas militants for what he ‎called “the unprovoked ‎terrorist attack” on southern ‎Israel.‎

The United States State Department issued a ‎‎statement saying it was monitoring the situation in ‎‎Gaza closely. ‎

‎”We’ve been watching this as it has been unfolding, ‎‎and it’s a very concerning situation that has taken ‎‎place in Gaza,” State Department spokeswoman Heather ‎‎Nauert said at a press briefing.‎

‎”Overall, we condemn the launching of missile ‎‎attacks into Israel and call for an end to the ‎‎destructive violence. We’ve seen reports that 180 or ‎‎so rocket attacks have taken place, shot from Gaza ‎‎into Israel, and we fully support Israel’s right to ‎‎defend itself and to take actions to prevent ‎‎provocations of that nature,” she stressed.‎

Pressed by a reporter who insisted that the current ‎‎escalation was not started by Hamas, Nauert replied, ‎‎‎”I’m not going to get into how this thing started. ‎‎Let’s not forget that Hamas bears ultimate ‎‎responsibility for the dire humanitarian situation ‎‎in Gaza. It’s a tremendous concern of ours.”