War and Conflict Journal

On August 18, 2011, squads of heavily-armed Popular Resistance Committee (PRC)  guerrillas from Gaza travelled about 120 miles through Egyptian Sinai to attack Israeli citizens near the southern Israeli city of Eilat, killing eight Israelis. Israel retaliated with airstrikes on targets inside Gaza. The PRC is a relatively small Palestinian resistance group that has at times served as an ally of Hamas.

This attack on Israel took place just as Egyptian forces began targeting Salafist Islamist guerrillas who have been attacking Egyptian  pipelines in the Sinai. These attacks by bySalafist Islamist forces believed tied to al-Qaida, prompted Egypt’s military rulers to seek permission from both Israel (due to troop level restrictions in their mutual peace agreement), and from Hamas, the Palestinian faction that rules over Gaza.  Egypt sent over 1,000 security forces backed by armored personell carriers launched a campaign to defeat the Islamist guerrillas.

 http://www.historyguy.com/gaza_war.htm#gazawar2011

http://www.historyguy.com/wars_of_egypt.html

See also:

New Gaza war ‘a question of when, not if’

The UN says at least 62 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli action in Gaza so far this year

A senior Israeli army officer has told the BBC that as long as Hamas remains in control of the Gaza Strip, another war is “a question of when, not if”.

He said the Palestinian Islamist group had rearmed so much since the Israeli offensive two years ago that it was now in a stronger position militarily.

There has been an increase in rocket fire coming from Gaza in the past week.

Earlier, Israeli defense officials said tanks fitted with a new missile defense system would be deployed near Gaza.

The Israeli-developed active protection system (APS) known as Trophy is designed to destroy missiles like the Russian-made AT-14 Kornet, one of which hit a Merkava Mk3 tank on 6 December.

The laser-guided missile – which carries 10kg (22lb) of high explosive – penetrated the tank’s armour, but did not injure its crew.

“Fortunately, it did not explode within the tank. It is a heavy missile that is among the most dangerous that we have seen on this front and was not used even during the Lebanon war,” Israeli Chief-of-Staff Lt-Gen Gabi Ashkenazi told a closed-door parliamentary session on Tuesday.

According to  Lt-Gen Gabi Ashkenazi Israeli Chief-of-Staff

“The situation in the south is very fragile and explosive.”

The Trophy APS, which has so far been fitted to a battalion of more advanced Merkava Mk4 tanks, uses radars and sensors to identify threats, then releases special explosives to neutralize them.

No Palestinian militant groups have said they were behind the attack.

Hamas is not thought to have been behind the increased rocket fire from Gaza this week, to which Israel retaliated with air strikes.

However, Israel has said it will increase attacks on Hamas facilities even if the movement is not responsible.

The UN has said at least 62 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli action in Gaza so far this year. Over the same period, one Thai farm worker has been killed by rockets fired from the coastal territory into Israel.

Israel’s 22-day clash with Palestinian militants in Gaza left an estimated 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

The Israeli military launched an airstrike on Hamas-ruled Gaza early Wednesday, Nov. 5 after Israeli troops battled Hamas militants after Hamas fired mortars rounds into Israel. Six Palestinians were killed in the renewed fighting. This was the first battle since a June truce between Israel and Hamas brought relative peace to the region.

The Israeli army said the battles broke out late Tuesday, Nov. 4, after Israeli forces found a tunnel in central Gaza built by Hamas in order to abduct Israeli soldiers. A Israeli special army unit destroyed the tunnel. One Palestinian was killed in the gunbattles at the tunnel.

The timing may be coincidental, but it is interesting that this clash took place on the same night that the American Presidential campaign concluded with a victory by Democrat Barack Obama.  Many people worry about a possible Israeli-American strike at the Hamas/Hezbollah/Syria/Iran alliance in the waning days of Republican control of the White House.  Might this small battle lead to more clashes on other borders, with a possible Iranian and/or Syrian response?

This situation bears watching…

Palestinians Die in Hamas-Fatah Battles

Once again, Palestinian factions battled it out in the Gaza Strip,
as the two main factions, Hamas and Fatah, wrestle for control of the
Palestinian non-state known as the Palestinian Authority. (Hamas
controls the Gaza Strip, from which Hamas continues to fire hundreds
of rockets at Israel), while Fatah controls the West Bank.

5
Palestinians Killed in Hamas-Fatah Clashes in Gaza–By VOA News,
December 31, 2007