JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli aircraft hit several goals in the Gaza Strip early Monday in response to a Hamas-controlled rocket. It was the third consecutive night of fighting between the two sides, although Israel’s Foreign Minister tried to disrupt the peace.
Violence escalated last week after an Israeli escort by six Palestinian prisoners, as well as Egypt’s efforts to end a long-running civil war after 11 days last May.
Israeli forces said three rockets had exploded on Sunday and early Monday, saying two of them had been taken away by rocket protection. In response, he said it had attacked several Hamas militants. There were no reports of injuries on either side.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Sunday called for a new approach to the war with Hamas, outlining global economic plans on Gaza’s infrastructure in exchange for forcing Hamas to suspend its military and maintain peace.
“The law that Israel has followed so far has not changed much,” Lapid told Reichman University, north of Tel Aviv.
“We need to change course,” he added.
Much of his request – which he said he had discussed with the United States and other countries – has already been implemented but has not been achieved due to war, infidelity and internal divisions on both sides. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whom Lapid will replace in 2023 under an exchange agreement, did not immediately respond.
In a recent spate of attacks, Hamas fired shots at Israel, which was fired by Iron Dome militants in the country. A few hours later, the military again announced a serious attack on Gush Etzion Junction, just south of Bethlehem.
Over the weekend, Israel detained four of the six Palestinian prisoners, who were released from a maximum security prison on Sept. 6. Palestinian soldiers responded with a rocket. Israel’s search for the last two prisoners continues.
In the meantime, Egypt’s efforts to secure a multi-year agreement have been tackling all aspects of a non-consensual approach to the repatriation of Qatar money to needy families in Gaza. Israel has demanded assurance that Hamas will not use the currency for military use.
Gaza is a poor part of the world with a large number of families who have fled or been forced out of modern-day Israel during the 1948 Israeli war.
Hamas is urging Israel to end the burden on Gaza’s economy, while Israel wants Hamas to release two Israeli citizens who will return and return the remains of two Israeli soldiers who died.
Hamas has been in control of Gaza since it ousted Palestinian militants in 2007, a year after Islamist militants won a Palestinian state election.
Since then, Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and several smaller factions.