JERUSALEM — For 12 years, Israel has maintained a blockade over the Gaza Strip, seeking to weaken the territory's militant Hamas rulers. And for 12 years, Hamas has remained firmly in power, developing a thriving homegrown weapons industry along the way. This weekend's violence, the worst in a string of...
Calm Takes Hold as Hamas Reports Cease-Fire With Israel
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military lifted protective restrictions on residents in the south on Monday, while Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group reported a cease-fire deal had been reached to end the deadliest fighting between the two sides since a 2014 war. The escalation had killed 25 on the Gaza side,...
Israel Strikes Gaza Targets in Response to Heavy Rocket Fire
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired scores of rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, wounding at least two Israeli civilians and triggering retaliatory airstrikes and tank fire against militant targets in the Hamas-ruled enclave and shattering a month-long lull in violence. Israeli officials said...
Calm Appears to Hold in Gaza Despite Exchange of Fire
JERUSALEM — An unofficial cease-fire appeared to be holding Wednesday between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers despite limited exchanges of 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...
Israel Bombs Targets in Gaza as Rocket Fire Resumes
JERUSALEM — The Israeli army on Tuesday bombed several targets in the Gaza Strip and bolstered its forces along the volatile frontier as a truce with the territory's Hamas rulers showed signs of unraveling. Palestinian militants responded with a new barrage of late-night rocket fire, setting the stage for a...
Palestinians Offer New Details of Israel’s Botched Gaza Raid
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The small town of Abassan in the Gaza Strip is a tough place to infiltrate — everyone knows everyone else and outsiders passing through quickly attract attention. So when strangers drove through town, suspicious Hamas security men stopped the van and questioned those inside. The...
Defense Chief’s Resignation Pushes Israel Toward Election
JERUSALEM — Israel's defense minister on Wednesday abruptly resigned to protest a new cease-fire with Hamas militants in Gaza, throwing the government into turmoil and pushing the country toward an early election. Avigdor Lieberman's decision was ostensibly a show of anger over Tuesday's informal truce with Israel's Hamas enemies. But...
Israel Must Prevent Unnecessary War in Gaza: Haaretz Editorial
This time, an army operation in Gaza went wrong, resulting in one Israeli officer and seven Palestinians being killed. The Pavlovian response by both sides naturally wasn’t long in coming: rocket fire toward Israel, and in response, extensive Israeli air strikes. This destructive cycle must be stopped immediately – not by...
After Gaza Strikes, Israel Threatens Iranian Forces in Syria
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...
Protesters Gather on Gaza Frontier, Israeli Fire Wounds 77
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Thousands of Palestinians massed Friday along Israel's frontier, with dozens approaching and breaching the perimeter fence that separates Gaza from Israel, even as Egypt stepped up efforts reach a lasting cease-fire between the territory's Hamas rulers and Israel. The militant Hamas group praised the turnout...