Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

19 hours ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

22 hours ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

22 hours ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

22 hours ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

22 hours ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

2 days ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

2 days ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

2 days ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

3 days ago
After Gaza Strikes, Israel Threatens Iranian Forces in Syria
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
October 28, 2018

Share

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian militants ceased rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel and relative calm prevailed Saturday afternoon after a night-long exchange of fire that prompted Israeli threats against Iranian forces in Syria.
The Islamic Jihad group, a militant faction operating in the Hamas-ruled Gaza but that has close ties to Iran and Syria, said they agreed to Egyptian mediation efforts and halted the rocket fire, the heaviest to emanate from Gaza in months.
“The Egyptian efforts led to understandings to restore calm to Gaza Strip. We appreciate the Egyptian endeavor and hope for all kinds of (Israeli) aggression to stop,” said Khaled al-Batsh, an Islamic Jihad official.

Hamas Seeks End of Israeli-Egyptian Blockade

Hamas, the larger militant group that controls Gaza, accused Israel of resorting to military escalation “to evade obligations” of a comprehensive cease-fire that Hamas has long sought. Hamas wants the deal to end a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade on Gaza.
There has been no immediate comment from Israel on truce. It has said its fighter jets struck dozens of targets across Gaza and accused Iranian forces in Damascus of orchestrating the barrages.
The threats toward Iranian forces in Syria added a new dimension to what was already the heaviest fighting between Israel and Gaza militants in several weeks. Opening a new front in Syria could put Israel in open confrontation with heavily armed Iranian and Hezbollah forces, along with recently deployed Russian anti-aircraft systems.

Military Says 34 Rockets Fired at Israel

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said that 34 rockets had been fired at Israel throughout the night. Israel’s Iron Dome rocket-defense system intercepted 13 rockets, two landed in Gaza and the remainder fell in open spaces in southern Israel, he said. In response, Israel hit over 80 targets in Gaza.
Conricus said Islamic Jihad had fired the rockets under instructions from Iran’s Al Quds Force based in Syria and said that Israel was considering taking action against the Iranians in response.
“We have seen and established a clear link between Gaza and Damascus,” he said. “We know that the orders, incentives were given from Damascus with the clear involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force.”
“From our perspective, part of the address by which we will deal with this fire is also in Damascus and the Quds Force,” he added. “Our response is not limited geographically.”

Israel Wants Iran out of Syria

Iran has sent its forces, along with those of Hezbollah and other Shiite militias, to Syria to back President Bashar Assad in the civil war there. As the war winds down, Israel has repeatedly warned that it will not allow its archenemy Iran to establish a permanent military presence in postwar Syria.
Throughout the seven-year war, Israel has already carried out scores of airstrikes in Syria, mostly against suspected Iranian weapons shipments to Hezbollah but also against the Iranians themselves.
But Israel’s mission could become much more complicated following Russia’s decision to transfer sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Syria.
Russia deployed the missiles after a Russian warplane was shot down over Syrian skies last month. Russia has blamed Israel for the mishap, saying that Syria accidentally shot down the plane while reacting to an Israeli air raid.
Israel and Russia have maintained a hotline to prevent their air forces from coming into contact with one another over Syrian skies. Israeli media have reported that Russia has become less cooperative since the downing of the plane.
The fighting in Gaza followed a bloody day of border protests Friday in which Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinians protesting along the perimeter fence dividing Hamas-ruled Gaza and Israel. A fifth protester succumbed to his wound Saturday, the Health Ministry said.
Egyptian mediators have been trying to prevent a full-blown conflict between Hamas and Israel for months.

Israel Hits 80 Sites Across Gaza

Conricus said that Israel had struck over 80 sites across Gaza, including training camps, weapons storage facilities and a Hamas security headquarters building. COGAT, the Israeli defense body that handles Palestinian civilian issues, said one of the rockets hit an ambulance crossing used to transfer Gazans out of the strip in emergency humanitarian cases.
“To what low have the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip reached?” wrote COGAT commander, Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun, on his Arabic Facebook page.
In Gaza, most of the airstrikes hit open spaces used by militants for training and possibly weapons storage.
But in northern Gaza, the Health Ministry said that the main hospital in the area was damaged after a nearby Hamas training camp was hit. Footage showed cables and wires dropping from collapsed ceilings in the wards.
In Gaza City, an airstrike hit an abandoned, unfinished building, flattening the three-story structure. That building appeared to be the one identified by Israel as a security headquarters.
Although Islamic Jihad often acts independently of Hamas, Israel holds Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, responsible for all fire emanating from the territory.
Conricus said there had been no signs of Hamas trying to rein in Islamic Jihad. He also criticized Hamas for escalating the border protests after Israel had tried to defuse tensions by allowing special fuel shipments into Gaza to improve the supply of electricity. The territory suffers from chronic power outages.
There were no reports of casualties on either side.
Israel and Hamas have fought three wars over the past decade, and Israel and Egypt have maintained a stifling blockade on the territory to weaken Hamas. The Hamas-led weekly protests along the Israeli border have been aimed in large part at breaking the blockade, which has devastated the Gaza economy.

Watch Retired FBI Legal Attaché Explain Barriers to Peace

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’

DON'T MISS

It’s Raining Cash for Some 2026 Fresno City Council Hopefuls

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Finds E. Coli at Avocado Lake. Don’t Swim There

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

DON'T MISS

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

DON'T MISS

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

DON'T MISS

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

DON'T MISS

Fresno Councilmember Vang Accused of Conflict of Interest in Budget Vote

DON'T MISS

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

UP NEXT

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

UP NEXT

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

UP NEXT

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

UP NEXT

Trump Escalates Trade War With Canada Following Palestine Stance

UP NEXT

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

UP NEXT

US Envoy Witkoff Visits Aid Operation in Gaza Rejected by UN as Unsafe

UP NEXT

Trump Sets 10% to 41% ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs on Dozens of Countries’ Exports

UP NEXT

Trump’s Envoy Meets Netanyahu for Gaza Aid, Ceasefire Push

UP NEXT

Yosemite’s Largest Campground Reopens Friday After $26.2 Million Renovation

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

18 hours ago

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

19 hours ago

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

19 hours ago

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

20 hours ago

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

20 hours ago

Fresno Councilmember Vang Accused of Conflict of Interest in Budget Vote

20 hours ago

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

20 hours ago

Trump Escalates Trade War With Canada Following Palestine Stance

21 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Scott Oscar Whitehead

22 hours ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

22 hours ago

US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’

United States judges spoke out against the unprecedented surge in violence and disturbing threats made against members of the judicial branc...

16 hours ago

United States judges speaking about receiving violent threats over rulings
16 hours ago

US Judges Speak Out About Death Threats, ‘Swattings,’ and ‘Pizza Doxings’

Fresno city hall with council campaign finance money
17 hours ago

It’s Raining Cash for Some 2026 Fresno City Council Hopefuls

E. coli identified at avocado lake
18 hours ago

Fresno County Finds E. Coli at Avocado Lake. Don’t Swim There

President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner with Republican Senators, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

Breaking News from Reuters
19 hours ago

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 31, 2025. (Reuters File)
19 hours ago

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

20 hours ago

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

President Donald Trump speaks after disembarking Marine One, as he departs for Scotland, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 25, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
20 hours ago

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend