Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Calm Appears to Hold in Gaza Despite Exchange of Fire
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
March 27, 2019

Share

JERUSALEM — An unofficial cease-fire appeared to be holding Wednesday between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers despite limited exchanges of fire.

Violence could erupt again this weekend, when large-scale protests are expected along the Israel-Gaza frontier marking the anniversary of weekly rallies in which nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.

Schools reopened in southern Israel and residents resumed their daily routines after a few overnight rocket attacks from Gaza that set off air-raid sirens, breaking a daylong lull. The Israeli military struck back against additional Hamas targets but there were no reports of casualties on either side.

In the West Bank, meanwhile, a teenage Palestinian medic was shot dead during clashes between Israeli troops and protesters.

Both Israel and Hamas appeared to have stepped back from the brink of a full-fledged confrontation. But violence could erupt again this weekend, when large-scale protests are expected along the Israel-Gaza frontier marking the anniversary of weekly rallies in which nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli military bolstered its forces along the Gaza frontier in advance.

Hamas’ supreme leader made his first public appearance since the cross-border violence with Israel began earlier this week.

Israel and Hamas Have Fought Three Wars and Dozens of Skirmishes

Ismail Haniyeh visited the rubble of his Gaza City office, which was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Monday, and told reporters that “the Israeli occupation got the message.”

He also urged Gazans to participate in mass protests along the Israel-Gaza frontier on Saturday marking the first anniversary of a movement aimed at ending an Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and dozens of skirmishes since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007. The latest round was triggered by a Gaza rocket fired early Monday that slammed into a house in central Israel and wounded seven people.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed back to Israel from a trip to Washington to deal with the crisis. Israel struck dozens of targets in Gaza, including the office of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Gaza’s Health Ministry said seven Palestinians were wounded in the airstrikes.

Netanyahu faced the difficult task of delivering a tough blow to Hamas while avoiding protracted fighting that could work against him in next month’s national elections. He has come under heavy criticism from both allies and opponents for what they say has been a failure to contain Gaza militants.

He has conducted indirect cease-fire talks through Egyptian mediators in recent months, and even allowed the delivery of millions of dollars of Qatari aid to Hamas to ease harsh conditions in the territory, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas seized power in 2007.

Photo of Ismail Haniyeh
Hamas’ supreme leader Ismail Haniyeh shakes Hans with a woman at the site of a destroyed building, in Gaza City, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. Haniyeh made his first public appearance since a new round of cross-border violence with Israel this week. On Wednesday he visited the rubble of his Gaza City office, which was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Israeli Troops Killed Four Palestinians Last Week

Hamas has recently faced rare demonstrations over its mismanagement of an economic crisis that has left Gaza with an unemployment rate above 50 percent. Hundreds of Gazans took part in the protests last week, and Hamas responded with a violent crackdown, beating and arresting dozens of demonstrators.

Israeli troops killed four Palestinians last week, including one said to be unarmed. That followed a weekend stabbing and shooting attack in which a Palestinian killed two Israelis near a West Bank settlement.

The fighting in Gaza comes amid an uptick in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli soldiers shot dead 18-year-old paramedic Sajed Mizher after stones were thrown at them during an arrest raid in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem early Wednesday. It said two others were wounded in the clashes.

Fellow paramedic Abed Ghareeb said they had rushed to help a wounded protester when Mizher, who was wearing a paramedic vest, was shot by a sniper.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report. It often carries out pre-dawn arrest raids.

Israeli troops killed four Palestinians last week, including one said to be unarmed. That followed a weekend stabbing and shooting attack in which a Palestinian killed two Israelis near a West Bank settlement.

Since 2015, Palestinians have killed over 50 Israelis in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks in the West Bank. Israeli forces have killed more than 260 Palestinians in that same period. Israel says most of the Palestinians killed were attackers, but clashes between protesters and soldiers have also turned deadly.

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

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

DON'T MISS

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

DON'T MISS

ICE Is Reversing the Termination of Legal Status for International Students Around the US

DON'T MISS

Trump Is a Revolutionary. Will He Succeed or Fail?

DON'T MISS

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

DON'T MISS

We Need Proof of Life for the Makeup Artist Trump Sent to El Salvador

DON'T MISS

Fresno Elderly Woman Evicted, Forced to Leave Dogs Behind. One Still Needs a Home.

DON'T MISS

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

DON'T MISS

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

DON'T MISS

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

UP NEXT

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

UP NEXT

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

UP NEXT

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

UP NEXT

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

UP NEXT

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

UP NEXT

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

UP NEXT

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

Trump Is a Revolutionary. Will He Succeed or Fail?

2 hours ago

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

2 hours ago

We Need Proof of Life for the Makeup Artist Trump Sent to El Salvador

2 hours ago

Fresno Elderly Woman Evicted, Forced to Leave Dogs Behind. One Still Needs a Home.

3 hours ago

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

14 hours ago

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

17 hours ago

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

17 hours ago

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

17 hours ago

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

18 hours ago

Fresno Air Improves. Where Does It Rank in the US?

18 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Yastrzemski and Matt Chapman homered as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Thursday ...

8 minutes ago

8 minutes ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

42 minutes ago

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

1 hour ago

ICE Is Reversing the Termination of Legal Status for International Students Around the US

2 hours ago

Trump Is a Revolutionary. Will He Succeed or Fail?

2 hours ago

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
2 hours ago

We Need Proof of Life for the Makeup Artist Trump Sent to El Salvador

After a Fresno woman was evicted and her home padlocked, her four dogs were left behind — and now the last one, a loyal German shepherd named Ginger, is waiting for a new home. (Mell's Mutts)
3 hours ago

Fresno Elderly Woman Evicted, Forced to Leave Dogs Behind. One Still Needs a Home.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre speaks to reporters in New York on Aug. 27, 2019. Giuffre, a former victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring who said she was “passed around like a platter of fruit” as a teenager to rich and powerful predators, including Prince Andrew of Britain, died on Friday at her farm in Western Australia. She was 41. (Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times)
14 hours ago

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

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

Search

Send this to a friend