CROSS-BORDER FIRE
The bloodiest-ever Gaza war started after the Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the death of around 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants took around 250 hostages back to Hamas-ruled Gaza, 129 of whom remain in captivity, according to Israel.
In response to the deadliest attack in its history, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, launching a relentless bombardment and ground invasion that has reduced swathes of Gaza to rubble and claimed at least 22,313 lives, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The United Nations estimates 1.9 million Gazans are displaced, and the World Health Organization has warned of the risk of famine and disease, with only a minimal amount of aid entering.
After Tuesday’s killing of Aruri, Lebanon’s Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah vowed retaliation against its foe Israel, which it blamed for the strike in its Shiite Muslim stronghold of southern Beirut.
Although Israel did not claim the assassination, Hamas and Lebanese security sources accused it of killing Aruri, 57, a founder of the Hamas military wing.
Hezbollah vowed the killing of Aruri and six other Hamas operatives would not go unpunished, labelling it “a serious assault on Lebanon … and a dangerous development”.
Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah group which is a powerful force in Lebanon, warned Israel against all-out war on the country to its north. In a televised speech Nasrallah, who has lived for years in hiding, vowed “we will fight without restraint, without rules”.
Source: CNA
