Militants in Mideast pledge to cease fire amid spike in violence
JERUSALEM — The Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip announced a unilateral cease-fire Monday evening to end two days of heavy fighting with Israel.
In a statement, the Iranian-backed group said it had completed its “retaliation” for Israel’s killing of three members. But it said it would respond to any further Israeli “aggression.”
Earlier Monday, militants had resumed their intense bombardment of southern Israel, with some rockets slipping through Israel’s Iron Dome defense system and one landing in the yard of a kindergarten.
There was no word of casualties, but the violence threatened to unleash a new round of hostilities just a week before Israel heads to elections. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened Gaza’s Hamas rulers with a “war” if the new round of rocket fire continued, ramping up his rhetoric amid the final stretch of his campaign.
The fighting erupted Sunday after Israel killed an Islamic Jihad militant it said was laying explosives along the border, and then removed the body with a bulldozer. The image outraged Palestinians, and the militants began their rocket barrage. Israel responded by striking targets linked to militants in Gaza and Syria.
The sudden exchanges after months of relative calm put Israel’s tense security situation back on the agenda a week before the the country’s third election in less than a year. The campaign has thus far largely focused on domestic issues and Netanyahu’s precarious legal situation after he was indicted on corruption charges.
“Israel didn’t seek escalation in Gaza. On the contrary, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered the crucial stage of the battle for his political life, it seems the last thing he needed was a violent eruption in the strip,” wrote Amos Harel, the military affairs commentator for...