Slaughterer zionist israel launches deadly airstrikes in Gaza, calls up reservists

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least nine Palestinian fighters in the deadliest exchange of fire since the latest round of attacks began weeks ago.

On Monday, Israel’s military said it had called up 1,500 reservists for the first time since its last major operation in Gaza in 2012. Army spokesman Peter Lerner said the move does not mean that they have decided to escalate, only that “we are taking it up to a level of military preparedness.”

The latest strikes come after the abduction and death of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir on July 2, a suspected act of revenge for the killing of three Israeli youths whose disappearances and deaths have heightened tension in the region.

Seven fighters from the Al Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, were killed Sunday night when an airstrike hit a tunnel at Rafah in the south of Gaza. Two of the men from the Al Hussinin brigade, a military group belonging to Fatah, were targeted by drone strikes east of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday, witnesses said.

Four civilians – including a 4-year-old child – were wounded when Israeli jets fired a rocket at a field near their house in the northern Gaza Strip in Beit Hanon, Gaza medics said.

Early Monday Hamas vowed to avenge the deaths, saying “the enemy will pay a tremendous price,” referring to Israel. The group said its men were killed by an Israeli airstrike on a tunnel used by the its fighters.

Israel said it carried out airstrikes on at least “14 terror sites,” including “concealed rocket launchers” in Gaza overnight in retaliation to attacks from Gaza.

The military said about a dozen rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza overnight, and one injured a soldier. Gaza militants fired 25 rockets at Israel on Sunday, the military said.

Armed groups in Gaza attacked an Israeli patrol along the border with an RPG and automatic weapons fire, but none of the soldiers were injured. Later, an Israeli soldier was injured by shrapnel from a rocket fired from the besieged territory.

The Israeli military has launched scores of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in the past weeks that have killed two and injured several people, and armed groups in the territory have shot dozens of rockets into southern Israel.

On Friday, Israeli police clashed with hundreds of Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem at the funeral of Abu Khdeir, who was burned alive, according to initial postmortem findings reported by local media citing the Palestinian attorney general. On Sunday, Israeli police arrested six people in connection with the death of Abu Khdeir.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Abu Khdeir’s father on Monday morning, according to a statement from his office.

“I would like to express my outrage and that of the citizens of Israel over the reprehensible murder of your son,” Netanyahu said. “We acted immediately to apprehend the murderers. We will bring them to trial and they will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. We denounce all brutal behavior, the murder of your son is abhorrent and cannot be countenanced by any human being.”

Three of the six suspects arrested in connection with the murder have reportedly confessed to committing the crime, Israeli news reported – though the information was under a gag order. The suspects reportedly reenacted the crime, following the route of the car in which the Palestinian teen was kidnapped.

Mohammed Abu Khdeir’s 15-year-old cousin, Tariq Abu Khdeir, who is a U.S. citizen, was released on bail Sunday by Israeli authorities after being beaten by police and then detained at his cousin’s funeral for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli security forces. The beating was captured on video.

Tariq Abu Khdeir’s 14-day detention was changed to nine days of house arrested near the Shuafat neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The family plans to return to the United States on July 16. The U.S. State Department has condemned the attack on Tariq Abu Khdeir.

In the past month, Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem have been on the rise.

Early Monday, settlers attacked Palestinian villagers in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Nablus. Witnesses said the settlers threw stones at Palestinian cars traveling near the illegal settlement of Halamish, located near the Palestinian village of Deir Nidam, according to Palestinian website Maan News. Israeli forces at the scene opened fire on the Palestinian villagers who had confronted the settlers, Maan said.

On Saturday, settlers kidnapped and reportedly attempted to murder 22-year-old Palestinian Tariq Ziad Zuhdi Adeli near the West Bank city of Nablus, Maan reported. After forcing Adeli into their car, they took him to a remote area and attacked him with a hatchet, leaving him bleeding. He was able to call for help and survived.

Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq said in a news release Monday that Israel’s settlement policy is to blame for the recent hostilities between Israeli and Palestinian civilians.

“The illegal Israeli settlement policy of transferring Israeli civilians into occupied territory is directly responsible for creating a hostile environment that puts civilians, both Israelis and Palestinians, in harm’s way,” Al Haq said. “The events of the preceding weeks provide a glimpse into a bleak future with continued settlement expansion.”

The organization added that seven Palestinians have been killed by Israeli live fire since Israel launched its military crackdown on the West Bank in response to the abduction of three Israeli teenagers.

In 2013, there were nearly 400 settlers attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Agencies