In less than twenty-four hours, from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning, 11 Palestinians were killed and at least 30 injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. These strikes come just a week after Israel condemned Gaza as a “hostile territory”

The attacks were apparently in retaliation to the 11 rockets and 24 mortar shells fired from the Strip into Israel since Wednesday. According to Ha’aretz, only two of the eleven rockets hit the Israeli town of Sderot with no reported injuries. Nevertheless, Israeli spokesperson David Baker, publicly justified their actions as part of a “continuous policy of preventing terrorist activity against our civilians, including our taking pre-emptive measures as needed to thwart these attacks."

On Wednesday evening, Israeli tanks and jeeps encircled the neighborhood of Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the Strip in order to quell Qassam rockets from being launched into Israel. Soon after, an Israeli tank fired a shell at a group of people between two houses which resulted in the death of four Palestinians and wounding 25. Those killed and injured in the blast were believed by the Israeli military to be a military group specialized in anti-tank combat.

Hours later, in the south east Zaitoun quarter of Gaza City, a car carrying 5 members of Jaish al-Islam was hit by the Israeli Air Force. All five members of the “Army of Islam”, the group responsible for the kidnapping of BBC journalist Alan Johnston and allegedly behind the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, were killed. The passengers were ostensibly transporting rockets to be used to fire against Israel.

In addition to these attacks, al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas claimed that they had lost two combatants in an Israeli missile attack on Beit Hanoun in the early hours of Thursday morning. Five other Palestinians were also injured in this incident.

Hamas aide, Mohammed Madhoun, strongly denounced the attacks and issued a response that this aggression will not deter them but “the honorable Palestinian blood shed by this Nazi army will only make us more steadfast.”

Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, long an advocate of military action in Gaza, stated that “we will use all our diplomatic means to weaken the Hamas leadership and its effectiveness.” The former Israeli Prime Minister also insinuated that an extensive operation into the Gaza Strip was “imminent”.

While the Palestinians mourn those who have died in the last day, Israel will celebrate Sukkot, the “Feast of the Tabernacles”, which will convey more dismay for the Palestinians. As Israel now feels at greater risk of attacks, they have decided to completely close off the West Bank and Gaza, implementing more restrictions than are usually imposed on the Palestinians.