Hamas and Israel exchange fire in threat to fragile truce

Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) — Israeli airstrikes and tank fire targeted Hamas positions along the Gaza border in retaliation for Palestinian snipers shooting at Israeli soldiers.

The incident Friday, in which no one was injured on either side, was the first disturbance of its kind in weeks since an unofficial truce between Hamas and Israel went into effect, Kan, the Israel Broadcasting Corp., reported. Last month, several rockets were launched into Israel, drawing retaliatory strikes.

As a result, the number of terrorist incidents recorded in March by the Israel Security Agency soared to 308 attacks – a 90 percent increase over the February tally. The bulk of the increase occurred in the Gaza Strip, which saw 181 terrorist attacks against Israelis in March compared to 65 in February.

Two people were killed and 17 were wounded in March, with both fatalities taking place in West Bank attacks. Of the incidents that ended with injuries to victims, only five were as a result of terrorist activity in Gaza.