Israeli commandos and Hamas fighters engaged in a deadly gun battle inside Gaza late on Sunday, straining hopes that the two sides were close to reaching a ceasefire agreement. One Israeli officer and seven Palestinians were killed in the fighting near Khan Younes in the southern Gaza Strip. The initial gun fight was followed by heavy Israeli air strikes and a volley of Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza. Hamas, the Islamist militant group which controls Gaza, said the shooting broke out when an Israeli “undercover force” infiltrated the strip and assassinated Nour Baraka, a 37-year-old senior Hamas commander. The Israeli raiding party entered Gaza in a civilian vehicle and was attacked by Palestinian fighters after carrying out the killing, Hamas said. Israeli aircraft began launching strikes to cover the commandos’ retreat out of Gaza, according to Hamas. The Israeli military did not give details of the operation but denied that the commandos were in Gaza to kill or kidnap a Hamas commander. Israeli media reported it was more likely a botched intelligence gathering operation. Israel launched heavy air strikes after the shooting began Credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo “During an Israeli Defence Forces special forces operational activity in the Gaza Strip, an exchange of fire evolved. At this incident an IDF officer was killed and an additional officer was moderately wounded,” the military said in a statement. Residents of southern Gaza reported heavy Israeli airstrikes at around 9pm on Sunday. The Israeli military said at least 17 rockets were fired from Gaza in the hours that followed. By Monday morning the situation appeared quiet. The spasm of serious violence was surprising because Israel and Hamas appeared to be nearing an agreement, in which Israel would ease its decade-long blockade of Gaza in return for Hamas keeping the situation quiet. In recent weeks, Gaza’s dire electricity shortages have eased after Israel allowed Qatar to begin paying for power plant fuel. Israel also allowed Qatar to deliver a suitcase with $15 million (£11.6 million) in cash to help pay salaries to civil servants inside Gaza. Just hours before the fighting broke out, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, defended the Qatari deal and said it had been endorsed by the Israeli cabinet as a way of easing Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and lowering the chances of conflict. “I am doing everything I can to avoid an unnecessary war,” he said. The fighting appeared to take the Israeli government by surprise and led Mr Netanyahu to cut short a trip to France, where he had been marking the centenary of the end of the First World War alongside fellow world leaders. Both Israel and Hamas have said they do not want another war and the UN will be hoping that the fighting on Sunday night will not derail what appeared to be promising steps toward a longterm ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attend a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris Credit: AFP Israel cancelled school for children living near the Gaza border on Monday and shut down the train line between Ashkelon and Sderot as a precaution. Some of the Palestinian rockets were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system. Tal Russo, a retired Israeli general, said Israeli forces were likely carrying out an intelligence-gathering operation inside Gaza and were caught, rather than trying to assassinate Hamas leaders. “Activities that most civilians aren’t aware of happen all the time, every night and in every region. This action - an operation that was apparently exposed - wasn’t an assassination attempt. We have other ways of assassinating people and we know how to do it much more elegantly,” he said, according to the Times of Israel. The Israeli officer killed was identified by the military only as Lieutenant Colonel M, in line with Israel’s practice of not naming its special forces troops. "I am shocked and saddened at the loss of Lt Col M, the IDF officer killed last night, and praying with all citizens of Israel for the swift recovery of the injured soldier," said Reuven Rivlin, the Israeli president. The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza said seven Palestinians had been killed. One of them was Nour Baraka, a commander in the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. Several of the dead were also Hamas fighters, according to Palestinian media. It was not clear if any civilians had been killed. Hamas rarely inflicts casualties on Israeli forces and by Monday morning the group was hailing the gun battle as a victory for its side. “Qassam fighters stopped the Israeli aggression east of Khan Younes in a legendary and heroic way,” a spokesman said.
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