Gaza flare-up shows no let-up

Israeli tanks and warplanes bombed Hamas positions in Gaza yesterday and the Islamists retaliated with rockets as a three-week-old flare-up showed no let-up despite international mediation efforts.

Warning sirens sounded before dawn in Israeli communities near the border as the pre-dawn air strikes and shelling prompted Hamas to launch a salvo of six rockets in retaliation.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

The Palestinian Islamist group, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, said the rockets were a "direct response to the escalation by the Israeli occupier".

Israel launched a new wave of strikes in reprisal, targeting "additional Hamas military targets" in Gaza, including a "weapons manufacturing site", the military said.

Israel has bombed Gaza almost daily since August 6, in response to the airborne incendiary devices and, less frequently, rockets launched across the border.

In response, Israel has been to tighten a blockade on Gaza. It has banned Gaza fishermen from going to sea and closed its goods crossing with the territory, prompting the closure of Gaza's sole power plant for want of fuel.