Netanyahu Vows ‘Intensified’ Strikes on Hamas After First Israeli Death

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed an escalation in the military conflict between Israel and Hamas Tuesday afternoon, after a Hamas strike claimed its first Israeli casualty.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the rocket attack that left a 30-year-old civilian dead. Almost 200 Palestinians have died from Israeli strikes since the battle between the two began over one week ago.

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The fatality follows a sort of-not really ceasefire Tuesday morning that Israel accepted; Hamas rejected any arrangement, saying it had not been consulted. Following continued shelling from the Palestinian group, Israel restarted its bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip.

“It would have been preferable to have solved this diplomatically, and this is what we tried to do when we accepted the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire, but Hamas leaves us no choice but to expand and intensify the campaign against it,” Netanyahu said.

[h/t Reuters]

[Image via ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com]

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