GAZA CITY: Calm returned to the Gaza Strip and nearby Israeli communities on Wednesday after the worst military flare-up since a 2014 war raised fears of yet another full-blown conflict in the beleaguered Palestinian enclave.

The exchange of fire on Tuesday and into the early hours of Wednesday began with a barrage of rocket and mortars into Israel from Gaza. Israel said it targeted some 65 militant sites in the Gaza Strip. It also said around 100 rockets and mortars fired from Gaza either exploded in Israel or were intercepted by air defences. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded, one moderately and two lightly, the military said. There were no reports of casualties in Gaza.

Late Tuesday, an Islamic Jihad spokesman said a ceasefire had been reached, and on Wednesday senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya also spoke of an accord. Though Israeli officials denied being part of a ceasefire, calm was maintained on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military had delivered the “harshest blow” in years to Gaza militants. “Since yesterday, the army has responded forcefully to fire from the Gaza Strip with attacks against dozens of targets of terrorist organisations in the harshest blow that we have dealt them in years,” Netanyahu said at an event in Tel Aviv, according to his office.

In a rare joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad declared shared responsibility for the rocket and mortar fire, saying it was in retaliation for Israeli attacks targeting their positions.

Three Islamic Jihad members were killed in an Israeli strike Sunday, and the group vowed revenge. Islamic Jihad is the second-largest armed group in Gaza after Hamas.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2018