Palestinian factions have said that as of midnight New Year's Eve they would no longer be bound by a calm with Israel. The deadline passed as an Israel Air Force strike killed two Palestinians and injured wounded others in the newly created north Gaza Strip "buffer zone" on Saturday night, Palestinian medical sources said.
Israeli sources said the strike targeted Palestinians preparing to fire a rocket from the evacuated settlement of Elei Sinai. Palestinian sources claimed the victims were innocent farmers. Relatives identified the dead as Mu'taz Hamdouna, 26, and Hamza Hamdouna, 22.
The Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and some elements of Hamas have claimed they were no longer committed to following "a period of calm" despite the attempts of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas to preserve a ceasefire.
Hamas has not clearly declared it will resume attacks now that the calm is over. "Hamas and Qassam (the armed wing) will deal with any Zionist attack against our people in a suitable manner and in that way preserve the election process and preserve Palestinian blood," said a Hamas spokesman. Palestinian elections are slated for January 25.
"The truce is dead. By continuing its assassinations and occupation, Israel killed it long before it actually expired," said Abu Qusai, a spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Farah. "The formula is bombardment for bombardment and targeting civilians for targeting civilians."
