Analysis: Cross-Border Violence with Gaza Continues, Sparked by Bomb Targeting IDF Troops
Category: Conflict
Severity: 3 (Moderate)
Source: Drum Cussac
02/19/2018 (Israel) - On Saturday, 19 February, a homemade bomb detonated at the Gazan border near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, injuring four Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers. The troops were a combination of infantry and explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) forces, sent on foot to investigate a Palestinian flag placed along the border during demonstrations the day prior. Two of the soldiers were severely injured in the incident, which occurred at around 1600hrs (1400 UTC).
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for that bombing. Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the Popular Resistance Committees, one of the smaller armed groups in Gaza, had detonated the bomb that wounded the soldiers. The Israeli military said in a statement it holds the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers accountable. It is longstanding Israel policy to hold Hamas responsible for violence that emanates from the strip.
In response to the bombing, the IDF responded with airstrikes across the coastal enclave. The strikes hit 18 Hamas targets, including what the Israeli military called an "offensive terror tunnel" in Zaytun in southern Gaza. Other locations hit have been identified as observation posts in Beit Hanoun and Abasan al-Kabira and military compounds in Deir al Balah andKhan Younis. Two 17-year-old Palestinians were killed in the strikes.
Also on 17 February, a rocket launched from Gaza caused damage to a home in the southern Israeli community of Sha'ar Hanegev. There were no immediate reports of casualties, although the rocket prompted sirens in the communities of Sufa and Holit. Another rocket fired on Sunday, 18 February landed in an open area in the Sha'ar Hanegev region bordering the Strip. Israel launched additional airstrikes in Gaza against "underground infrastructure", likely referring to a tunnel, in response early Monday morning, 19 February.
The hostilities mark some of the most serious clashes since the end of the 2014 Gaza war and come amid rising tensions along the Gaza border since U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition in December of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The announcement initially prompted widespread protests in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. While the pace of unrest has calmed in the West Bank, the situation in Gaza remains tense. A February report released by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre noted that the number of rocket attacks against Israel has been on the rise, with 31 rockets fired at Israel (22 from Gaza and nine from Egypt's Sinai) in 2017 compared to 15 fired in 2016. The report also noted that 11 of the rockets in 2017 were fired in December, the month that Trump made his announcement, compared to an average of between zero and two rockets per month just prior.
There is concern that Hamas has been more lenient in allowing the various militant groups that operate in Gaza to stage rocket attacks into Israel. It is likely that Hamas feels pressure due to the poor economic situation in Gaza; Gazans suffered in 2017 when the Palestinian Authority (PA), run by Fatah in the West Bank, imposed harsh new restrictions as part of a power struggle with its rival Hamas. Negotiations over a unity government between Hamas and Fatah were launched in October last year, and despite initial progress, the talks have stalled, with a standoff over salaries and revenue causing Gaza's economic situation to deteriorate even further.
Hamas is also likely angered by Israeli successes in blowing up its tunnels. During the 2014 conflict, Hamas militants used underground tunnels to enter Israel and launch surprise attacks against Israeli soldiers. The Israeli military has since prioritised the identification and destruction of any new digging. Construction is currently ongoing on an underground anti-tunnel wall along the 60-km (36-mile) Gaza border. The barrier, proposed in 2014 and due for completion by mid-2019, will be a concrete wall equipped with sensors to record any digging activity. It is likely that many of the rocket attacks launched at Israel have been aimed at disrupting construction work on the wall or at projecting power in light of Israeli successes in destroying Hamas tunnels.
It is highly likely that rocket attacks and other provocative measures from Gaza against Israel will take place in the short to medium-term. The attacks are unlikely to claim lives and cause serious property damage; they are primarily used to convey a message of resistance and endurance by the groups responsible for them. The Israeli army will respond with missile attacks into Gaza targeting militia training sites and other infrastructure used by armed groups.
Copyright © 2024 Drum Cussac
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