Israel bombed Gaza on Friday as exchanges of fire and threats over the Lebanese border raised fears of a wider war.
Five municipal workers died “during an Israeli bombing” of a garage in Gaza City, said Mahmud Basal, spokesman for the civil defense agency in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.
In southern Gaza, AFPTV captured an overnight strike on a residential district of Khan Yunes. A ball of fire and sparks erupted, followed by gray smoke, before residents inspected the damage in the darkness.
There were further exchanges of fire across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the clashes must not turn Lebanon into “another Gaza.”
Increased “bellicose rhetoric” from both sides risked triggering a catastrophe “beyond imagination,” he said.
Just before midnight on Thursday, Israel’s Army said it had “successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanon.”
Israel’s military on Friday identified two more soldiers killed during fighting in the territory, bringing its military toll since ground operations began to at least 312.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges he denies, faces regular street protests accusing him of prolonging the war and demanding an agreement to free the hostages.
‘Vexing’ Comments
On Thursday night near his Jerusalem residence, some protesters painted their hands red to appear bloody, but Netanyahu told relatives of captives killed in Gaza: “We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all the hostages return.”
In a statement on Thursday, he said he was “prepared to suffer personal attacks provided that Israel receives the ammunition from the US that it needs in the war for its existence.”
Netanyahu’s statement came as an apparent doubling down after a video statement this week in which he accused Washington of “withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel.”
The White House on Thursday described his comments as “vexing” and “disappointing.” Except for one shipment, “there are no other pauses, none,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Several weeks ago, the US administration paused delivery of a shipment of 2,000-pound (907-kilo) bombs.
The war has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own.
Armenia on Friday declared its recognition of “the State of Palestine,” prompting Israel’s foreign ministry to summon its ambassador for “a severe reprimand.”
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With AFP
