GAZA: Palestinian militants fired rockets toward Jerusalem on Sunday Aug 7, signalling new reach and resolve as Israel pressed air strikes in the Gaza Strip for a third day and admitted Jewish visitors to a contested mosque compound.
Khaled Mansour, a senior commander of the militant Islamic Jihad group, was killed over night in southern Gaza, along with two associates and five other civilians, according to the group. Islamic Jihad said they would not let their blood dry before they bombard the settlements of the enemy. About 30 Palestinians, at least a third of them civilians and two of them senior Islamic Jihad commanders, have been killed in a surge of fighting over the weekend, while rocket salvoes have sent tens of thousands of Israelis to shelters.
Sirens sounded in Mevaseret Zion, Kiryat Anavim, Abu Ghosh and Kiryat Anavim, communities about 5 km west of Jerusalem. An Israeli military spokesman said rockets fired at Jerusalem had been intercepted over those cities. There were no reports of casualties or damage.
The flare-up has worried world powers and caused a truce mediation by Egypt. It has been contained by the fact that Hamas, the governing Islamist group in the impoverished and blockaded Gaza Strip, has held fire.
Quiet will be answered with quiet. "If they keep firing, we will keep acting," an Israeli military spokesman said. If they stop firing, it will be quiet.