Hamas Rocket Kills 3 Israelis, Wider War Emerges

Hamas Rocket Kills 3 Israelis Killed From Hamas Rocket, Wider War Emerges

On Thursday, a Hamas rocket instantly killed three Israelis on north of the Gaza Strip, drawing blood from Israel as the Palestinian death toll rose to 13 and the military face-off staggered closer to all-out war.

As Israeli warplanes bombed targets in and around Gaza city, tall buildings shaken and thick clouds of smoke and dust rolled up into the sky.

Israel's sworn enemy Iran, which supports and arms Hamas, condemned the offensive begun by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as "organized terrorism".

On Tuesday, Israel was more concerned about the mood in Egypt, whose new Islamist government negotiated a truce between the two sides; only see it shattered a day later when Israel assassinated the top Hamas military commander.

Hamas is an outcome of the Muslim Brotherhood which now controls Egypt, Israel's most powerful Arab neighbor and a crucial partner in the 1979 peace treaty that stands between fragile stability and regional chaos.

Cairo criticized the offensive and evoked its ambassador to Israel. Israel's ambassador left Cairo on what was called a routine home visit and Israel said its embassy would stay open.

Just first few hours of daylight on day two of Operation Pillars of Defense , Israel's Iron Dome interceptor system shot down dozens of some 130 rockets fired from Gaza, an army said.

But one of those that got through caught its victims before they could reach the blast shelters that are everywhere in the Negev region, prey to sporadic Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza for the past five years.

Posted by James Fried on Friday November 16 2012, 6:40 AM EDT. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0