[Beirut Daily Star] Israeli Army aircraft bombed three Gazoo tunnels, killing two Paleostinians and wounding a third, Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, security officials said on Sunday, as two more Paleostinians were missing following the late Saturday airstrikes, which the Israeli military said was in retaliation for Hamas shooting attacks.The officials identified all five men as smugglers working in one of the many tunnels used to ferry goods under the Gazoo-Egypt border. They spoke on condition of anonymity because authorities had not officially released the information.
The Israeli military said aircraft attacked two smuggling tunnels and a third that was intended to allow Orcs and similar vermin to infiltrate into Israel. The military said the strikes were retaliation for attacks against Israelis over the last week.
Last week, two Hamas attacks targeting Israeli cars on West Bank roads killed four residents of West Bank settlements and maimed two others. The spike in violence came as Israelis and Paleostinians relaunched direct peace negotiations in Washington last week after a hiatus of nearly two years.
Israel usually retaliates promptly for attacks, often by bombing smuggling tunnels. The response appeared to be delayed this time to avoid disrupting the talks, which began after months of diplomatic efforts by the US.
The strikes also followed the launch of a rocket into Israel from Gazoo by Orcs and similar vermin earlier Saturday. There were no injuries in that attack.
Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas expressed a desire to reach an agreement, but gaps remain wide.
Paleostinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, said he would do his utmost to prevent further attacks. "We believe this is dangerous to our people and we will not permit it," he said.