Hamas confirms 3 fighters killed infiltrating Israel from Lebanon
Hamas claimed responsibility Sunday for two infiltrations from Lebanon to Israel that killed three of its fighters, as war rages between the Gaza-based militants and Israel.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said its members were “able … to blow up the border fence and … go forth inside occupied Palestine,” clashing with “the enemy,” whose planes targeted the fighters, killing three on Saturday.
Israeli forces on Saturday had said they killed several “terrorists” trying to cross from Lebanon.
In their statement, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades also claimed responsibility for an incident on Friday at the border when the group “advanced to go forth into occupied Palestine and was able to clash with the Zionist enemy army and withdraw peacefully.”
Two Lebanese security sources had said on Friday that Israel shelled the southern Lebanon border region after a blast on the border fence, according to the Israeli army.
One of the security sources said the shelling followed an infiltration attempt from the Lebanese side of the border, while the Israeli army said it was responding to a blast that caused “light damage” to the border barrier.
By AFP
Israel claims senior Hamas commander killed in airstrike
Israel’s military says Bilal al-Kedra, a senior Hamas commander, was killed Saturday night in an airstrike on the Gaza Strip.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, says he oversaw the raid on the Kibbutz Nirim and Nir Oz kibbutzes.
The IDF also says other “operatives” in Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were killed.
CBS News cannot confirm the claims.
By Brian Dakss
A timeline of the long history that led up to the Israel-Hamas war
The violent conflict between Israel and Gaza has its roots in 1967, when Israel captured the narrow coastal strip from Egypt during the Six-Day War.
Resistance to Israel’s occupation led to the first Palestinian uprising, known as an intifada, and the birth of the militant group Hamas.
The fighting ended as the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords brought hopes of peace with a future Palestinian state. But frustrations led to a second, even more bloody intifada in 2000.
It ended in 2005, coinciding with Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, leaving it to be ruled by the Palestinians. The following year, Palestinians, angry with their government’s corruption, handed Hamas an electoral victory in 2006.
But Palestinian rival group Fatah, along with Israel and the United States, rejected their rule.
That same year, Hamas kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who would eventually be exchanged for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
In 2007, Hamas seized control of Gaza during a civil war with Fatah. The following years would see sporadic violence and major wars.
But invading Gaza by ground is something Israel has only done twice. Israeli forces entered cities in 2009 to stop rocket attacks and weapons smuggling.
Then in 2014, Israeli forces led a shallow incursion, capturing territory along the Gaza border to destroy smuggling and attack tunnels. Every violent outburst ended in negotiations, but never addressed the underlying cause of the conflict, sowing the seeds of the next round of fighting.
U.S. presidents have tried, with varying degrees of effort, but failed to bring peace through a two-state solution.
A Palestinian state was never a major priority for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Palestinians have also rejected peace deals in the past, which leads to this latest round of fighting, because in the absence of peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, there will continue to be war.
Watch the full story in the video below: