Israel Retaliates Eilat Attack, Gaza Strikes Back, Hezbollah Praises Eilat Operations, Denounces Zionist Response

Hezbollah Praises Eilat Operations, Denounces Zionist Response Local Editor Hezbollah “greets the heroic operation carried out by fighters in the Palestinian region of Om Rashrash (Eilat), which resulted in scores of casualties among the Zionist enemy soldiers and settlers.” In a statement issued Friday, Hezbollah “expressed pride for the hero fighters who accomplished the operation, regardless of the party they belong to,” while considering what they did as the sole means “through which the enemy can understand that this land is ours and it cannot occupy it forever.” “This operation is in the framework of the resistant actions which achieve the Arab and Islamic will; the will that considers the whole of Palestine – from sea to river – as a sacred land which belongs to its real owners, and none of its parts can be relinquished to the usurped Zionist enemy,” the statement added. On the contrary, Hezbollah denounced the brutal attacks of the Zionist killing machine against the Egyptian forces and Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which harvested number of martyrs and injured. “Hezbollah believes that those crimes stem from the hostile nature of the occupying entity, on which it is based and continue to use against our peoples,” Hezbollah concluded in its statement. Israel Retaliates Eilat Attack, Gaza Strikes Back

In retaliation for Eilat attack that killed eight Israelis, Israeli warplanes have launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. The latest strikes slayed one Palestinian kid and injured six others in air raids waged on northwestern Gaza early on Friday. This comes shortly after Israeli fighter jets targeted a building in the city of Rafah in the south of Gaza Strip on Thursday, martyring at least seven Palestinians, including a nine-year-old boy. At least four of them senior fighters from the Popular Resistance Committees, the group Israel claims was behind Thursday's bloodshed. The group immediately vowed to exact a bitter price for the killing of its leader and other senior cadres. Israeli fighter strikes also claimed the lives of three Egyptian border guards near the Egyptian border town of Taba. In response to these attacks, two Israelis were injured, one seriously, when a Grad rocket fired by resistance fighters in Gaza slammed into the coastal town of Ashdod in the southern occupied territories early on Friday, police spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP, saying two rockets had hit the town. The second caused no damage or injuries, she said. The latest firings raised to 12 the total number of rockets fired from Gaza into occupied southern Palestinian territories since midnight, the military said. Eight Israelis were killed Thursday in a coordinated series of attacks on a desert road near the Red Sea resort town of Eilat. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has accused resistance groups in the impoverished coastal sliver of organizing the attacks and vowed a “full force” response against the Palestinians in the besieged territory. However, Hamas strongly dismissed the allegations and warned against any act of aggression against the enclave. U.S. President Barak Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the attacks. White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the U.S. government condemns "the brutal terrorist attacks in southern Israel today in the strongest terms… our deepest condolences go to the victims, their families and loved ones, and we wish those injured a speedy recovery. The U.S. and Israel stand united against terror, and we hope that those behind this attack will be brought to justice swiftly." U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement on Thursday that the "brutal and cowardly attacks near Eilat appear to be premeditated acts of terrorism against innocent civilians". Clinton said the violence "only underscores our strong concerns about the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula," and urged the Egyptian government to find a lasting resolution. She added that the U.S. stands with Israel "as our friend, partner and ally - now and always."

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