on. confronted some palestinian mortar which launched from gaza to launched at military and military is busted in positioned around gaza. this is the last. right now. hamas security hamas military are imposing. lots of. stoning lots of them something like like checkpoints in the area. borders coming the area to make sure that there are no more is needed under cover units like that unit which has just assessing it is one of has command that was and was yes what can you tell us about those targeted in khan yunis in the israeli way. actually this trade

has been conducted by an injury done the company unit in it and see if it comes to the latest news is that they tried to kidnap one of the palestinian freedom fighters one of the hamas commanders but they could not they failed the bin and they exchanged fire they killed him that. during an exchange by other hamas. military other hammersmith god military their exchange fire with. with the israeli scud the cover scud during changing fire. and a strike intervene to save the discard which infiltrated. the three kilometers inside gaza from the same border. we can i can describe it that it is god has been trapped inside gaza and they could not leave.

they could be they could be taken as hostels but the israeli arabs like saved them and the. planes shot several. strike rocket around the incident and saved them so far maybe some of them get back all of them or more i'm not sure what normal is top on at this point. as a retaliation to the israeli airstrikes on so. some mortar some more third have been shot. at abbas near the border. and that's why regarding the palestinian side the total of the. six people one or one of them is military was being assassinated and five people have been killed during the israeli the strikes. the brief what happened but didn't out engine.

running over gaza can i just. ask just to be clear about this according to what you are hearing or the people that you are speaking to have all israeli forces that were that they all departed from the strip are they all left. honestly it is very very very very difficult to make sure about this why because hamas minister been for a year a minister of information or or hamas military. warns of publishing any accurate info that's why the info is taken just from hamas military wing and they did not mention if all of them. or not all of them withdraw or not if there is any of the member. anyone of the

rediscuss still in gaza or not it is not clear so far nobody can confirm even the israelis did not mention about this by. some israeli media talks about killing an israeli soldier and wanting three but we can we could not adopt this story we cannot confirm that as long as. the i.d.f. officially not so far has not. because live that out now nobody but it's not a mouth some of the mouth about. is very beginning that's why there's a growing so we will come up. now you're absolutely right as things stand at the moment the information that we have is very basic we know that israeli special forces went into the southern gaza city of han eunice six palestinians are killed

and we are waiting for some sort of reaction from the israeli government from the i.d.f. to understand more about this incursion into gaza why this incursion took place what might have triggered it what might have prompted something like this after it appeared that tensions was easing and a deal had been negotiated to get more aid into gaza to ease the effects of the blockade to see that some salaries were paid there and one thing we do know is that this raid targeted members of home aspecific lee the military wing the brigade and the a senior commander noor baraka was killed what can you can you give us some background on him how how important how senior was he within the group. yeah i know but. you know he is one of the.

of the commanders in east of gaza east of gaza city and unicity south of gaza he's a. wanted by the. military and the his house has been destroyed during an heiress trying to during the last four in gaza. and most of his life living as a hit single you know it is not important to live normal life because if he's wanted by the army. i think that maybe he as long as he is an active as. long as he is a freedom fighter big number as a hamas commander. he is wanted but i think that. he's a commander but there are other commanders maybe. maybe bigger than him i mean the

higher rank higher higher rank than him but why him. i expect there's nothing for i expect because he's living in that area and that area. which also has been strong they bombed in gaza during the last war on gaza was that a surprise very active activities. to pretend maybe. it is just an express station. maybe they just feel that as long as he is living there he will be an easy target let's get him for for taking some info from him. such incident they will destroy or if forced or the gloom of the if for which trying to lead for a truce between israel and the palestinian factions and i mean which means that gov is going as is that they would like the military escalation because it's

a mean old want it wants maybe that is good reason because they would be the winner because they have. the big military because it's there. and they can win a military win this war to stop. the egyptian or the european union reform them all the ability in gaza that we think means that flushing for. maybe well it's unclear how things are likely to unfold we have seen this cycle of violence between hamas and israel over the years but we still don't have details on what precisely is taken place in gaza or or indeed if it might lead to a deeper operation or indeed how hamas might now respond to the killing of this

commando but for now thank you very much sami i was saddam we appreciate you joining us harry force it is with us from west jerusalem harry any word from the israeli government or the i.d.f. on what might have taken place here. well the israelis are saying something they're saying that there was an operation that took place inside the gaza strip a military operation there saying that any reports of israeli soldiers being killed or indeed abducted are incorrect they say that all of the israeli soldiers have now been withdrawn into israeli territory other than that they aren't saying a great deal the greater level of information that we're getting is coming from the other side from the homicide. wing saying that these special forces soldiers were coming in in an undercover operation using a civilian vehicle that they were targeting the senior hamas commander that

your previous guest was just talking about nor baraka this thirty seven year old regional commander in communists in the southeastern area of the gaza strip that he was killed six other palestinians sorry five other palestinians were killed seven injured and as a result of the operation apparently going wrong and being exposed there was this firefight followed by israeli airstrikes and we are also hearing of rockets sirens being sounded in the areas of southern israel around the gaza strip and so what we wait to find out now is exactly how the palestinian side will respond from inside gaza the various palestinian factions are saying that israel will pay a heavy price for what has happened so far this evening so that leads one to suspect that there will be at the very least some rocket fire coming from gaza into

israeli territory we can then expect an israeli response to that so weird a situation now where we're teetering on the brink of a military escalation at the least and we will see how serious that becomes certainly the prime minister of israel has the. serious enough to cut short his visit to france and is on his way back to the country now. we know that as you say prime is innocent yahoo is on his way back to the country we had seen signs of a cease fire the was it it's it's always you know even when they reach these agreements when you have even when you have a period of quiet between israel and amass there is always this skepticism that it will not be maintained that it cannot hold and that something eventually happens to break that and so and yet we seem to have seen signs over the past few months that really neither side has the appetite for an all out war or confrontation of course

given the level of destruction that it's caused in this trip but how might israeli calculations of changed harry. well that's that's what one of the questions that we're waiting to find out there have been various instances throughout the last few months where exchange of rocket fire and israeli air strikes have taken place there was just in the last couple of weeks there was a rocket strike on an israeli town some forty kilometers away from the strip which from which the occupants of a house three israelis four israelis rather were very close to being injured if not killed and there was an israeli response to that there was the firing of rockets by islamic jihad a couple of fridays ago met by israeli airstrikes in response so far though both sides seem to have been able to read the rules of the game enough not to get this

really inflated to the level of an all out military escalation and a war what we're waiting to find out now is is whether they can do the same thing again this time because this is a different order of events the idea of an israeli special forces group coming in this is what the homicide is reporting at least coming in specifically to target this senior hamas military commander now there may well have been a tactical decision that this was a moment of opportunity from the israeli side for this to take place they may have felt that they could get in and get out either with him or having killed him without much else happening in the immediate vicinity around it well that isn't how it worked out and so whether this is accidental or not from the israeli perspective in terms of how a gunfight first erupted and then significant israeli air strikes and the like there was obviously decision that they were going to do this anyway at this time of

such important negotiations of progress that we've been seeing in terms of arriving at this long term truce at a time when. all the indications that we were getting from the very top of the israeli government and from the israeli military were that they were in favor of keeping the situation in gaza calm well to sanction a pretty high risk operation like this at such a time doesn't really jibe with what we've been seeing in the last few weeks so the very least this was if as is reported by the homicide if that is what it exactly happened this is the extremely high risk thing to do nic stream leave sensitive time in terms of does israel relations all right for now thank you very much for westerners still i'm sorry for that well phyllis bennis is a fellow at the institute for policy studies and she joins me over skype from washington and phyllis there is

a great deal we don't know about what has taken place in gaza israeli incursions i mean. perhaps israeli forces advancing into the strip. just a little way isn't necessarily an unusual thing but there are some unusual aspects to this particular raid because you have special forces going into the city of han eunice and they appear to have targeted senior members of the masses military wing very very difficult to know what precisely triggered something like this but what is your feeling your sense of why it might have happened now. well you know one way to look at this is to recognize that history is determined by when you start the clock so we could certainly say what convinced the israelis to move now but then the question would always be well what happened what it is really occupation forces do to make that happen whatever it was that they were responding

to so i think looking at it as a cycle misses the reality here this is an indication that despite the pull out of settlers and the redeployment of israeli soldiers out of the territory of gaza to instead be in a in a surrounding position where they are besieging gaza since two thousand and six or two thousand and five for the for the pull out and then two thousand and six when they began to surround and besiege the strip you have the continuation of occupation it's a different kind of occupation than you have in the west bank but the fact that they can and do on occasion as you said this is not an unusual thing for israeli special forces to go into the strip to operate with what they assume will be impunity in the strip is an example of this continuation of occupation gaza remains an occupied territory it is not allowed to engage with the rest of the occupied

palestinian territory the west bank and occupied east jerusalem it is still under siege despite the temporary small shifts that we saw just in the last couple of weeks of allowing in some cash some fuel and some truckloads of food it still remains besieged in the sense of complete israeli control that has not changed and i think in this context looking at what we do know which is that there were israeli soldiers operating inside gaza and territory we don't know the details we don't know exactly who they were we don't know exactly what the what their goal was was their original goal of the assassination. that would be consistent with what israeli policy has done both in gaza other parts of the occupied territory and indeed internationally it makes for good partnerships if you will between for example israel and saudi arabia both have been known to carry out. to carry out

assassinations of critics of various sorts in other countries as well as in their own territory so i think we're dealing here with a continual reality of occupation of gaza and if we're looking at this in the context of what the united states things they're going to be able to do with the so-called deal of the century something that that jerry questionnaire is allegedly trying to negotiate with the support of the crown prince of saudi arabia in partnership with israel still operating as israel's lawyer as one of the u.s. envoys once described the role of u.s. state department officials that's the role of the united states to act as israel's lawyer they are continuing to do that and it again shows that this is not going to work you can talk about small steps towards quieting the situation but as long as gaza remains under occupation and specifically besieged as long as there is no

engagement with civil society who is in fact leading the protest not a mass a mass has supported the protests but they didn't originate with him as they originated from civil society organizations from trade unions youth groups women's organizations who created the plans for these weekly protests at the wall that have led to such a high number of casualties caused by israeli sharpshooters israeli snipers. we can't look at this as something that is an actual move to end the crisis in gaza gaza remains in crisis that's what i think is the one thing that we can be clear about in the situation where we don't yet know a lot of other details as you say that gaza has been subject to a great deal of pressure through the years as israel along with egypt has maintained a blockade on gaza or in an attempt to weaken hamas but. phyllis it's that that's

not the whole story is it because we have also seen president mahmoud abbas and the palestinian authority impose economic sanctions on the strip they too have contributed to a worsening financial collapse in an ever worsening humanitarian crisis the factor between the palestinians. that's certainly true that has made everything worse but i think the reality is that mahmoud abbas has very little power in even the west bank where he is nominally in control despite his official term having expired years ago. but the the distinction or the the fighting between the factions in palestinian leadership between how master being in control in gaza in gaza and afterward the palestinian authority ostensibly being in control in the west bank. that's not the real quick that's not really the real power lies the real power still lies with the israeli occupation and of course with the role of egypt

maintaining the closure of the rough a crossing into gaza so helping this process of besieging gaza the siege of gaza that has gone and are now for a decade you know this is an extraordinary thing and i think that while it has been exacerbated it has been made worse by the split between the palestinian factions by the imposition of these sanctions as you say that's not the fundamental problem the fundamental problem is still the u.s. backed u.s. funded israeli occupation of gaza all right well thank you very much for now phyllis bennis thank you for sharing your thoughts with us and on the line again sani abacha a journalist based in gaza sami have you heard any more about what has happened in khan yunis or indeed developments elsewhere in gaza in terms of those injured casualties sustained. the last info we had that.

noah baraka in. command and. it is and it is not sure why he has been targeted. in because he is a mass commander actually there are one hundred or maybe thousand i'm not sure about the number one hundred. ten so hamas commander twice they say they kicked in the north america. with. security or the israeli intelligence but it seems that he's very active in that's why his house was destroyed in the us in the last war in the us is a war and doesn't two thousand and fourteen it means it is an attempt of assassination but this time it is important that the plan is to

kidnap him maybe because he has a brother or more who is a scientist in physics and they need some info i don't know. this is this isn't a. kerosene and factions in the f.l.p. and. public resistance and. they are warning and saying that this is a big crime and is and should big. price for that. this means according to them it means that that means that the does not believe in peace does not believe in negotiations or truce that's why retaliation should be hard going against them. danny can i ask you what do you think we're likely to see now because of course mass is not the only group that functions within gaza you have islamic jihad you have other groups. you

might have difficult to know there is an unpredictable nature to how these things can unfold but how how might have mass now respond to what has happened. so actually hamas is not alone right now. other factions like islamic jihad and the f l b. i mean lift this factions all of them are in solidity right now against the attack first of all they are praised they have praised the confrontation and praised how they confront confront the elites. try to to couldn't they parade how much they are brave and also they have just said that they are going to hold. a meeting this night. this night that meeting for the what is called joint chamba which means that all

factions are going to meet and the to decide what to do exactly because actually there is no palestinian faction in gaza taking any individual decision to to retaliate or help to retaliate but the atmosphere right now is expected to be a scale. which means that it could be lead to a war or a military expanding gagne at the border or near inside the cities otherwise if the israeli story if the egyptian media and the. europeans as well will intervene to settle down. and the. other diplomatic but i am not sure it will succeed like before because this time it is called assassination. for example last week the ada skilled five

terracini ends and the palestinian factions in short. made projectiles at the towns near the gaza strip the condition was very horrible the egyptian and european mediators intervened and stopped. this time maybe maybe it will be released repeated on. the nose on the if then kerosene and factions will accept mediate a mediation and. come down or not and we will not exclude the regional tract i mean for example shall iran will ask their reality in gaza to escape late or not from zombie like islamic jihad. another group called sub their own they are going to receive orders from iran which does not believe in a truce with israel does not believe any negotiation or any peace process. which

means that this time is very sensitive not similar to last week so it is expected that the supply is condition. otherwise if qatar which has just paid fifteen million million dollars for. simply using. their fund. for the door to. intervene i think they have strong influence on. san francisco or especially. which is that man for action in gaza which is rewarding drugs right now and of course we know that hamas has been under a great deal of pressure in gaza that has been the blockade that has been maintained by israel by egypt you also have salaries that have not been paid to financial collapse humanitarian. problems i mean that the list just goes on really doesn't it the whole point of the recent deal allowing money to go into the strip

fuel to go into the strip was to the effects of what is becoming a humanitarian crisis can hamas really afford to get involved in in a confrontation with israel at this point in time just when the people of gaza might reap the benefits of a summer spite. i don't think so i i'm not sure of this point because even even according to the even hamas military has become bigger but finally it is still very very limited not only hamas but the palestinian factions the miserable others that limited even let's remember that the last. fifty one days of strikes on gaza. there were no is. it is just. some israeli soldiers have been killed we

at the border and. after that we were just to think them all the fifty one days that's why the buddha or hamas could not. could not observe absorb any military war and could not make any balance. a balance i mean balance to a political balance which based on military power which means that make them stronger in negotiations with israel even after the negotiations brokered by egypt israel did not commit by the result for example the. movement on crossings. fishing area and they did not commit to any of them and in the record and hamas factions in gaza could not. stop by by what they have agreed upon and this is the second time and

honestly. the dew point of view people could not accept anymore with. a little bit to. satisfy. on the on the human level try with some financial support. for hamas maybe it will inject some life to the gaza strip but it does not inject. peace and safety. to the gaza strip the gaza to living in or even even if there is no bombing because if there is not claiming a bombing so people are waiting for bombing. that's why in the two cases it is fear and. anxious and even military wing i think that not all not all. are with

confrontation with the military living. all right we'll leave it there for now summing up with saddam sharing his thoughts from gaza and i understand that we do have an image that we can bring you now but this is an image of one of those targeted in the raid in khan yunus we know that a senior hamas commander senior commander within the military brigade nor baraka was killed and these are the latest reports that we have but an image here of no baraka we understand one of those targeted in on eunice we know that six palestinians were killed in this raid. israeli special forces entering the strip

in an operation that pay is to have come as a surprise just a time when tensions along the border appear to be easing as you hearing there. a deal had been struck to get more aid into gaza to get fuel into gaza or and also negotiations taking place mediated by egypt to sustain a cease fire but here we have an image of one of those targeted in the raid by israeli special forces in han eunice we have not heard anything as yet from the israeli army or these really government but we do know that the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu who had joined world leaders in paris for world war one commemorations has cut short his visit he will be returning to israel he was receiving live updates on the situation there and in terms of the response coming from gaza so far we know the rockets have been fired and reports of sirens

sounding. for israeli communities just along. border. whenever there is a spike in tension like this the fear is that could lead to a broader confrontation between israel and hamas a cycle that we have seen repeated a number of times through the as and of course earlier this year we saw protests along the border just along the frontier. gaza's frontier with israel. and of course have been concerned an international condemnation of the disproportionate use of force israeli snipers killing maiming targeting palestinian protesters the israelis arguing that. they were simply protecting their borders and the protesters with that to breach the borders but there were protests taking place those appeared to have.