Inhabitants of Gaza now face the prospect of an Israeli ground offensive
Fifty years ago this week Israel faced a threat to its very existence after the surprise joint attack by Egypt and Syria that marked the start of the. In the early hours of Saturday – the final day of the Jewish high holidays – history appeared to repeat itself. Israelis were awoken by rockets and air raid sirens as the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched the biggest military challenge Israel has faced since that fateful day in 1973.
It was ostensibly launched in response to Jewish visits over the holidays to the faultline al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, which is the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. Yet in the past Hamas has settled for less serious attacks for graver violations of the Jerusalem status quo.
Part of Israel’s calculations appeared to be that Hamas would not want to imperil an economic lifeline of the past two years – theThe strategy, introduced after the May 2021 war, has seen more people leave Gaza in the past 30 months than in the first 14 years of the siege put together, and has brought in upwards of £2m a day for the strip’s 2.3m people, more than half of whom live below the poverty line.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Hamas launches surprise air and land attack on Israel – in picturesitemprop=description content=Dramatic images show rockets being fired, residents fleeing and Israeli military vehicles being seized
Read more »
Israel ‘at war’, says Netanyahu, as fighter jets target Gaza after surprise attack by Hamas – liveComments from Israel’s PM come after Palestinian militant group launches massive aerial and ground surprise attack from the Gaza Strip
Read more »