By Xinhua
Gaza : Seven Palestinians were killed and 10 others wounded on Thursday in three airstrikes on Palestinian militants in different Gaza Strip areas, medics and witnesses said.
Two militants from al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas movement’s armed wing, were killed and four others wounded in a fresh Israeli air strike on Zeitoon neighborhood in southern Gaza City on Thursday evening, witnesses and medics said.
The movement said in a statement that an Israeli aircraft fired one missile at a group of Hamas militants in southern Gaza City, killing two and injuring four others.
Also on Thursday evening, another three Palestinians were killed, including one Islamic Jihad (Holy War) militant who was in a car that was struck by an Israel air-to-ground missile in northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia.
Witnesses said that closed to the car that was struck by the Israeli missile, a woman and her son, who were riding on a cart pulled by a donkey, were also killed by the missile’s fragments.
Earlier on Thursday, a Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) militant and his wife, who were into a car that was struck by an Israeli missile, were killed and three others wounded.
Meanwhile, one Palestinian died Thursday of his wounds sustained on Tuesday.
Mo’aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance service in the ministry of health under the Hamas administration said that 33Palestinians were killed in Israeli air and ground strikes since Tuesday.
On Tuesday, 19 were killed and 40 wounded in eastern Gaza City, said Hassanein, adding that on Wednesday six were killed, including one from the West Bank city of Jenin.
The death toll killed by the Israeli offensive within the last a few days is the highest since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in mid June last year from rival Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel said that the intensive airstrikes on Gaza aimed at reining on Gaza militant groups, mainly Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who intensified their homemade rockets attacks from Gaza at Israel.
Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas armed wing said its militants fired around 45 Qassam rockets at Israeli towns in southern Israel and dozens of mortar shells at Israeli army bases and Israeli communities near the borders with Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed on Thursday to expand its ongoing military operations to stop the intensified Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, local media Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Barak made the remarks while touring the area of Gaza border fence accompanied by regional army commanders, according to the report.
“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will continue its ongoing operations and expand them in order to target Qassam launchers, until the rocket fire stops. This will not be simple and will not happen over the weekend, but we will see to it that the attacks on Sderot stop,” Barak was quoted as saying.
Military will bring an end to rocket fire by Gaza militants, Barak stressed, praising commanders of the IDF and the security service Shin Bet in the region for their work in recent weeks.
The strikes by IDF and Shin Bet in Gaza caused significant damage to the Palestinian terror organizations, he added.
An aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned on Thursday that the ongoing Israeli offensive on Gaza would undermine peace negotiations between the two sides.
The official, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, called on the United States “the major sponsor of the Middle East peace process for immediate contribution, in order to contain the situation and stop more deterioration.”
“If the situation continues to deteriorate, and becomes uncontrolled, I’m afraid we will loose a historic opportunity to make a just and comprehensive peace in the entire region,” said Abu Rudeineh.
Meanwhile, an aide to deposed Prime Minister of Hamas government Ismail Haneya expected that rival Fatah and Hamas movement would resume their dialogue soon.
Ahmed Yousef said that Hamas movement had invited President Abbas to visit Gaza, adding that “the streets of Gaza would be paved by the hearts of his (Abbas) people with love.”
Hamas ousted Abbas security forces in mid June last year and took control of the Gaza Strip by force. Abbas conditioned the resumption of dialogue with ending what he called “Hamas coup”.
Hamas leaders said they are ready for a resumption of dialogue with Abbas and with Fatah movement, but they said the dialogue has to be “unconditioned.”