A Fragile Ceasefire: Israel’s New Government Bombs Gaza Over Balloons
Israeli aircraft earlier today yet again, have struck Gaza, as they bombed what they claimed to be Hamas armed compounds. The official claim by them at the moment, states that this bombing was a retaliation to incendiary balloons that were released by Hamas, which resulted in 20 blazes across open fields near the border separating Gaza and Israel. In what was already considered to be a fragile ceasefire between the two, serious concerns have risen regarding Israel’s new Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, whose coalition came to power last Sunday, as the latest events continue to put the new government to the test.
There have been no reports of casualties from either side, and the Israeli military has made it loud and clear that they are “ready for all scenarios, including renewed fighting in the face of continued terrorist acts emanating from Gaza.” However, Hamas has refrained from launching any rockets back after the bombing, in an effort to not increase the already boiling point of the matter.
This bombing comes just one day after the March of the Flags, as thousands of Israeli nationalists flooded East Jerusalem, waved the Israeli flag high, and one of them chanted on the megaphone, “Take a good look at our flag. Live and suffer,” to Palestinian merchants, whilst others declared “Death to Arabs.” This march reignited already pre-existing tensions with Palestinians, and reports state that 27 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli police officers, as they continued to fire stun grenades.
Bennett’s Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, has condemned the “Death to Arabs chant,” writing on Twitter, “That’s not Judaism, and that’s not being Israeli, and it is certainly not what our flag symbolizes.”
