Palestinian Resistance Groups Retaliate Against Israel’s Airstrikes on Khan Yunis, Rafah Crossing

Palestinian resistance groups fired rockets into Israel in response to the Tel Aviv regime’s fresh air raids on the besieged Gaza Strip for the second night in a row.

News ID: 444044

Date: 28 March 2019 - 13:30

The air raids targeted several areas including the town of Khan Yunis and the Rafah border crossing South of the Gaza city, presstv reported.

Palestinian sources in Gaza Strip say Israeli airstrikes on Rafah damaged residential homes and electricity network.

In retaliation, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas fired rockets toward Israel.

The airstrikes came hours after the United Nations' Middle East envoy warned about catastrophic consequences of a new outbreak of violence in Gaza.

Nickolay Mladenov stressed that the situation is extremely tense despite the declaration of a ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians.

A total of 500 houses in the Gaza Strip were damaged by the latest Israeli airstrikes, Palestine's public works minister stated late Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reported.

"In Israeli airstrikes against Gaza, 30 houses were completely destroyed and 500 houses were damaged," Mufeed al-Hasayneh said in a statement, adding that they are working to remove the traces of the airstrikes and alleviate the pain of their people.

The Israeli prime minister had also warned that Tel Aviv is prepared for further military actions in the Palestinian territories.

The Israeli military has also deployed artillery and tank brigades along the so-called buffer zone with Gaza.

"I am concerned that we may, once again, be facing another very dangerous escalation of violence in Gaza, with potentially catastrophic consequences," Mladenov told the UN Security Council, adding, "The last two days show how precariously close we came to the brink of war once again", according to Daily Sabah.

Mladenov urged all Palestinian factions to work with Egypt in order to implement the 2017 Cairo agreement, which, if enacted, would give the Palestinian Authority control over the Gaza Strip in exchange for an end to the sanctions placed on the Strip, which includes cuts to electricity.

The new Israeli aggression against the coastal enclave came after Tel Aviv authorities announced earlier on Monday that a long-range rocket launched from the Gaza Strip had struck an area near Tel Aviv in central Israel, wounding seven people.

The early morning attack on Mishmeret, an agricultural town North of Tel Aviv, came a day after Israeli military aircrafts bombed the besieged enclave ahead of the anniversary of Gaza fence rallies at the weekend.

It forced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short his trip to Washington immediately after meeting US President Donald Trump later on Monday.

A Hamas official, who asked not to be named, told AFP on Monday, "No one from the resistance movements, including Hamas, has an interest in firing rockets from the Gaza Strip towards the enemy".

He added that the same message had been conveyed to Egypt, which intervened to broker a ceasefire and prevent Israel from launching another war on Gaza after tensions escalated last year.

The Hamas Movement has affirmed that the Gaza Strip and its resistance are unbreakable and able to impose their will on the Israeli occupation, according to Palinfo.

In a press release on Tuesday, Hamas Spokesman Hazem Qasem said that “Gaza would extract its right to live with freedom and dignity and would break the siege”, adding, “The resistance exercises its right to defend its own people against Israel’s aggression and will continue to do so every time the occupation attacks the Palestinian people."

He hailed the popular rallying around the resistance in Gaza as the shield and guardian that protect the resistance and contribute to its victory.