Israeli Warplanes Bomb Gaza Smuggling Tunnel After Rockets Fired

JERUSALEM — Israeli warplanes bombed a smuggling tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border early Monday in response to Palestinian rocket and mortar fire, in a brief flare-up of violence at a time of relative quiet in the volatile Palestinian territory.

Such exchanges of fire, once routine, have become rare in recent months. Rocket fire from Hamas-controlled Gaza has largely subsided since a fierce Israeli offensive against militants early this year.

There were no reports of casualties in any of the attacks.

On Sunday, Gaza militants launched mortar shells at a border crossing between Gaza and Israel just as Palestinian patients were being transferred into Israel for medical treatment, according to Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Gaza Health Ministry.

Hassanain said it was a "miracle" that no one was hurt.

According to the procedure, Palestinian patients are brought to the crossing in local ambulances, transferred to Israeli ambulances and taken to hospitals inside Israel.

Two small Palestinian militant factions said they fired 12 mortars at the Erez crossing. The Israeli military said about six shells exploded near the crossing as the transfer was in progress.

The military said Monday's airstrike came in response to the renewed militant fire and targeted a smuggling tunnel running underground between Egypt and Gaza.

Gaza has been subject to a blockade by Egypt and Israel since Hamas seized power in the territory two years ago, with Israel allowing in only vital supplies. Gazan smugglers use the tunnels to bring in everything from gas to livestock, clothes and weapons.

Comments

[blutigeroo]

FACT CORRECTION:
Admittedly, firing those rockets was despicable but most people here seem to be assuming that the rockets were fired by Hamas and attacking them. Read the article again people!
Two radical Palestinian groups, the Popular Front and the Democratic Front, said they fired 12 mortars at the crossing. They, along with other smaller militant groups, have said that Hamas has been trying to stop them firing rockets and mortars at Israel and instead is trying to get them to focus on the dellivery of fuel and food aid to the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the enclave.

[BubbaC33]

It is nonsense to believe Hamas allows any other terrorist groups to operate in Gaza. Hamas would never allow any group to operate without the consent of Hamas, so these claims are just plain foolish.

[MBW001]

On Sunday, Gaza militants launched mortar shells at a border crossing between Gaza and Israel just as Palestinian patients were being transferred into Israel for medical treatment, according to Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Gaza Health Ministry.

1. Gaza militants launched mortar shells at a border crossing
2. Palestinian patients were being transferred into Israel for medical treatment

This is criminal and inexcusable and in any normal society would not go unpunished - regardless of who did it and why they did it. Palestinian patients in need of medical attention were being transferred to Israeli hospitals, for goodness sake - and they were attacked! You may not grasp how serious this is, so here it is again: Palestinian patients in need of medical attention were being transferred to Israeli hospitals, and they were attacked!

Anyone who doesn't condemn this kind of behavior condones it, and anyone who doesn't try putting a stop to it will continue experiencing it

[DeniseA]

This is just another example of how harmful and dangerous the Gaza militants are to Arabs and Gazans.
I thought they were going to make movies instead of war.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/world/middleeast/24gaza.html?_r=2&src=twr

How nice of Israel to provide medical care to Gazans! I wonder if it's free.

[MemoryAlpha]

Observation:
Since Israel gets massive subsidies and donations from the US while the Palestinians have been all but cut off from US aid, it isn't free to /us/. Of course, we're effectively paying for illegal Israeli settlers as well.

[bermanator]

"Palestinians have been all but cut off from US aid"

They were just given $900million by Obama...

[BubbaC33]

This just isn't true.

[Wisdo]

Israel had every right to bomb gaza tunnels just as Israel had every right to elect ariel sharon, convicted mass murderer and war criminal (by Israeli court) as prime minister.

The Israelis are beholden to no-one. Have no moral laws which prohibit anything they do. Are restrained by no sense of humanity, decency or proportion. After all, they suffered first - and are the only people ever to have suffered - and are certainly the only people worthy of sympathy.

They are not responsible for the tens of thousand of deaths they inflict bi-annually, upon their neighbours - predominantly civilian.

They are not responsible for the malnutrition of palestinian kids, the awful mine and cluster bomb wounds of lebanese kids or their increasingly monstrous image worldwide.

It is not a single Isreali's fault that the majority of the world view them as a dangerous, out of control, morbidly violent proto-fascist state.

It is not their fault that the collective conscience of the world has cited them over 200 times for human rights violations.

This apparently is a "conspiracy".

I, like so many, many, many others am often appalled at what passes for decency in modern Israel. What a wretched certificate of truth they try to peddle, and how dearly it is bought by western media.

[JoshMiami]

wow wisdo you are so right yes bombing tunnels to smugle weapons should be a crime while bombing your own people trying to cross to israel for medical care is acceptable after all how horrible it is that palestinian want to get medical care from the israelis who have no sense of humanity or decency ... for that you need to teach small children that suicide bombing and jihad are noble goal you need to have elected the terorist arafat as your legendary leader and Hamas who supports killing of Jews simply because they are jews no matter if they even connect of support israel

[ModernTimes1]

YAWN.

[MGarin]

The shells were fired at the Palestinians precisely because they were crossing into Israel for medical treatment. Hamas would rather kill their own than allow good will to develop. Way to go.

[amalfedup]

Stop spreading lies, people are not as stupid as you would like to think they are!

[MemoryAlpha]

Observation:
There is no evidence that Hamas was firing the rockets. There are other factions in Gaza -- including Fatah aligned factions.

[TheFriendlyAtheist]

Israel, of course, has every right to bomb tunnels being used to bring in weapons, and the Palestlinians need to realize that the actions of rocket firing radicals does not help their cause. That said, the blockade of Gaza is a crime against humanity and should not last another day without charges being brought against those who are responsible for it.

[RazeTemple]

Agreed. I've seen people use these tunnels for goats - just one would provide many families with the much needed protein that they can't get anywhere else in most cases. But when you use your food tube for guns as well, you are asking for it.

[MemoryAlpha]

Query:
Then by your logic, aren't the people of Sderot "asking for it?" They are willful participants in the ethnic cleansing of Najd, on which their settlement was built.

[ModernTimes1]

Hamas charges(!) Gazans for use of their tunnels. These are the people they voted for!
Can you imagine VietCong or Russian partisans doing the same?
LOL

[MemoryAlpha]

Query:
Does this mean the Palestinians have every right to attack American shipments of white phosphorous munitions and cluster bombs that are used by Israel to kill Arab civilians?

[Wisdo]

Israel had every right to bomb gaza tunnels just as Israel had every right to elect ariel sharon, convicted mass murderer and war criminal (by Israeli court) as prime minister.

The Israelis are beholden to no-one. Have no moral laws which prohibit anything they do. Are restrained by no sense of humanity, decency or proportion. After all, they suffered first - and are the only people ever to have suffered - and are certainly the only people worthy of sympathy.

They are not responsible for the tens of thousand of deaths they inflict bi-annually, upon their neighbours - predominantly civilian.

They are not responsible for the malnutrition of palestinian kids, the awful mine and cluster bomb wounds of lebanese kids or their increasingly monstrous image worldwide.

It is not a single Isreali's fault that the majority of the world view them as a dangerous, out of control, morbidly violent proto-fascist state.

It is not their fault that the collective conscience of the world has cited them over 200 times for human rights violations.

This apparently is a "conspiracy".

I, like so many, many, many others am often apalled at what passes for decency in modern Israel. What a wretched certificate of truth they try to peddle, and how dearly it is bought by western media.

[BubbaC33]

Again wisdo has produced a posting completely devoid of any facts or truth.

[bluesky49876]

Hamas and other organizations fighting Israeli occupation should be given sophisticated weaponery for them to use against Israel to exact greater cost for its occupation. these organizations should be able to consistently take the fight to the heart of Israel.

[ModernTimes1]

Headsup. Egyptians and Syrians got the best Soviet tech available to them. And they lost to Israel--- repeatedly and catastrophically. Mostly due to having illiterate populations.
What makes you think that a hoard of religious Hamas fanatics without 5th grade math can do better with modern tech weaponry? They have trouble figuring out how to use Grads.

[MemoryAlpha]

Query:
Just how low are academic standards in German-speaking countries that someone claiming to be a professor can use outright anti-Arab epithets?

[yakaria]

But then you wouldn't have Israel to criticize for innocent people's deaths. You'd have to start blaming Hamas. And G-d forbid one blames Hamas!

[JoshMiami]

wow bluesky i guess this is smart way to go to promote our economy and peace supply weapenry to all warring parties so that they kill each other on the way to peace ...

[GZLives]

Clearly, the bashers want to obfuscate reality and hope no one bothers reading the article so they just see the misleading headline which should have really been "Hamas shells civilians while Israel bombs tunnels" but that doesn't exactly fit the agenda of many here at HP

But clearly the gist of the piece needs to be reiterated:

"On Sunday, Gaza militants launched mortar shells at a border crossing between Gaza and Israel just as Palestinian patients were being transferred into Israel for medical treatment, according to Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Gaza Health Ministry.

Hassanain said it was a "miracle" that no one was hurt."

And just there's no misunderstanding :

Palestinians were shelling a border crossing where their own people were being transferred for medical treatment. I suppose like the Sunni truck bombing in Iraq today killing scores of Shia Muslims, Muslim life just isn't that important to some other Muslims.

[kentah]

I'm intrigued at the binary view that keeps plaguing most posters here on most issues, this one included. I truly don't understand why you continually call those critical of Israeli policy as "haters" and "bashers" fully not understanding that being critical of something is not as simplistic as hating it. If you're critical of the US, are you a basher? The UK? Anywhere besides Israel?
Also, why assume that those, as you say "bashers" obviously want to obscure the truth of the article when the article is right there for all to see? How do you know this? Just the baldly unthought conclusions that are drawn are laughable.

[CigarGod]

Have a cigar.
Fav'd.

[yankees]

Once again the militants strike first and Israel will get blamed. The irony that the normal haters will fail to realize is that Gaza militants launched mortar shells at a border crossing between Gaza and Israel just as Palestinian patients were being transferred into Israel for medical treatment, according to Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Gaza Health Ministry.
What would have happened if those mortar shells launched by the militants hit these patients? Blame Israel I suppose.

[amalfedup]

What a bunch of steer feces!

[tailgateshirts]

duh, always israels fault, you should know better than to even worry about that

[MajorKong]

Attack....­....Reveng­e.......Re­peat......­.

[Macready]

here they go again . . . all funding to israel must stop and UN sanctions and trade embargoes must be put in place . . that is the only way to get this rogue state to even begin to negotiate for peace otherwise . . they will keep playing their deadly games

[loOranks]

here we go again...
Israeli warplanes bombed a smuggling tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border early Monday IN RESPONSE to Palestinian rocket and mortar fire.

Clearer now? That's true that it was only the first line of the article, which you probably didn't bother reading at all...

[MemoryAlpha]

Query:
And the Palestinians fired rockets unprovoked?

Double Standard:
Israel characterized Egypt's closing of the Straits of Tiran to Israeli traffic as "an act of war." By that same logic, Israel's total blockade constitutes a continuous act of war against Palestine.