It's not too long ago that any conflict between Israel and the terrorists of Gaza would have received heavy coverage on BBC One's main news bulletins, with BBC reporters rushing to the scene. Except for overnight, when BBC One broadcasts the rolling news channel, this past week's BBC One news bulletins have totally ignored the latest goings-on there. I don't know whether this is a good or a bad thing, but they used to have an obsession with the story - and that wasn't good. Maybe the war in Syria has finally put things into perspective for them?
Even the BBC News Channel hasn't devoted much time to reporting the latest violence, with nearly all the coverage being broadcast overnight. Here, for the record, is the BBC's daytime reporting of the story. It all occured on Tuesday:
12 November 2019 1:38pm
Newsreader: Fresh fighting has broken out between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip, with dozens of rockets fired into Israel and air strikes being carried out against sites in Gaza. It follows Israel's killing of a commander of a Palestinian militant group. Tom Bateman is near the Israeli border with Gaza. This was a man that Israel said was responsible for hundreds of attacks on its territory?
Tom Bateman: Yes, he was the senior commander for Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the north of the Gaza Strip. He controlled hundreds of fighters, but had ncreasingly been seen as acting independently outside of the control of the dominant militant force in Gaza, that is Hamas. I'll just give you a sense of where we are. This is the Israeli town of Sderot, which is a couple of miles from the Gaza Strip. Behind me here is a warehouse. These firefighters have been trying to douse the flames for well over two hours now. It took a direct hit from a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. As we showed up we heard three extremely loud blasts which appeared to be interception by Israel's anti-missile system shooting down another barrage of rockets. The trigger for all of that is the predawn air strike by Israel of Abu al-Ata this this morning in which they said that he needed, in their view, to be killed because he posed an imminent threat to Israel. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described him as "a ticking bomb", and the significance of that is this is something that Israel has not done in this way for a very long time, targeted killings of senior militant figures. We have not had that for around five years, this kind of level. As for militants in Gaza, well, they said this was "a red line ", that they would respond. We have seen now waves of air strikes by the Israelis on militant targets in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian media are saying that in addition to Abu al-Ata and his wife, who was killed, there have now been the deaths of another two Palestinian militants.
12 November 2019 7:20 pm
Newsreaders: Fresh fighting has broken out between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip. It follows Israel's killing of a senior commander of the Palestinian militant group, Islamic Jihad. Baha Abu al-Ata was killed along with his wife when a missile hit their home. At least 150 rockets have since been fired at Israel from Gaza in response, injuring more than a dozen people. More airstrikes are being carried out on sites in Gaza too. The Hamas-run health ministry says two Palestinians have been killed. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is warning of prolonged tensions in Gaza while the Palestinian presidency has called for international pressure to stop Israel's attacks. Let's speak to our Middle East correspondent, Barbara Plett Usher, who's in Jerusalem for us. Barbara, if I can go back a bit, what can you tell us about this top Gaza leader that's been killed, and how this operation, how long it was in the planning?
Barbara Plett Usher: He is the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the commander of the northern Gaza region, and he has been in the Israeli news and in the Israeli Defence Force's discussion for quite some time as a person who is quite aggressive and operates independently and has been responsible for many of the recent rocket attacks in Israel, and they say he was planning more to come and that he would even challenge the main Islamist movement in Gaza, Hamas, which had taken a more moderate approach. So there was a rocket attack in September in which the Israeli Prime Minister had to run for cover and, since then, there has been discussion in the security cabinet about his fate, and we understand that ten days ago they decided to kill him and they had been waiting for the moment, they said, when they could do it in a surgical way with as few casualties as possible, and so they said today that was the day.
Newsreaders: And more rockets today from Gaza, Barbara, but it's interesting that the Israelis are putting the focus very much on Islamic Jihad and not on Hamas. Seemingly..,It looks as if they are trying to give them an off ramp here.
Barbara Plett Usher: It is interesting, because the past three Gaza wars have been between Israel and Hamas, which is the governing body in Gaza and the main Islamist movemen. But the Israelis have been sending quite clear messaging that their confrontation is with Islamic jihad. They have been attacking Palestinian Islamic Jihad sites not Hamas targets, which they've done in the past. They've also said that they are not planning to resume their policy of assassinating militant leaders. They haven't done this for five years. It's the first time they've carried out a so-called targeted killing in five years, and I think the message behind that is they are saying to the Hamas leaders, we are not coming after you, this is about this particular leader of Islamic Jihad. Now, Hamas has so far joined together with Islamic Jihad in a statement saying that Israel has crossed all red lines and it's going to be responsible for the consequences, but it's not clear what action it' going to take.
Newsreaders: Barbara we're going to have to leave it there. And some context: This comes as Israel is in deadlock after a second election this year didn't produce a government. That escalation of violence there likely to have a knock-on effect.
12 November 2019 9.15 pm
Ros Atkins: There's been intense fighting in the Gaza Strip after Israel carried out a missile strike against his man. He's called - or was called - Baha Abu al-Ata, a senior commander of the Palestinian militant group, Islamic Jihad. And we have these pictures which show the aftermath of that missile strike. It destroyed a whole floor of his home. Authorities in Gaza say five people died - and two other missiles strikes elsewhere in Gaza killed three people. Well, in return militants based in Gaza fired around 150 rockets into Israel. This is footage of one of them striking a motorway, and you can see how close it came to hitting some motorists as they drove along near to the city of Ashdod. So far, more than 20 people in Israel have been injuredl Well, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, says Israel is not interested in an escalation, but he has said. "We will do everything required to protect ourselves..." And he's added, "This could take time". Well, let's here from the BBC's Barbara Plett Usher is in Jerusalem.
Barbara Plett Usher: This is a serious escalation because this is the first time the Israelis have carried out a so targeted killing against a militant leader in Gaza in five years, and in the past that has lead to wider conflict. But the Israelis have very much been stressing that this is about this man, it's about these circumstances, they say that he is responsible for most of the rocket attacks in recent months from Gaza into Israel and that he was planning more attacks, and so they had to act. They say they are not looking for further escalation but they are prepared for it should it happen. Now whether this goes on for just a few more days or whether it continues for much longer than that depends on the number of casualties. So for around 20 or so Israelis have been slightly injured, and that includes people who suffered from shock or who hurt themselves as they are running for shelter. Seven Palestinians have been reported dead. It also depends on the position of Hamas, the main Islamist movement that governs Gaza. And it has a different strategy than Islamic Jihad. It has been involved in tacit truce arrangements with Israel, trying to alleviate the economic and humanitarian suffering in Gaza. And Islamic Jihad has been challenging that with these rocket attacks. Now, the Israelis have been signalling pretty strongly that they want Hamas to stay out of this fight, that this is about a confrontation with Islamic Jihad only. They've been targeting Islamic Jihad sites, not Hamas targets. And they've also said they don't plan to resume their policy of assassinating militant leaders. In other words Hamas leaders don't need to worry about whether they might get hit. So far the group has joined together with Islamic Jihad and put out a statement saying Israel has crossed all the red lines and that it will suffer the consequences, but it's not clear what sort of action it plans to take.
Even the BBC News Channel hasn't devoted much time to reporting the latest violence, with nearly all the coverage being broadcast overnight. Here, for the record, is the BBC's daytime reporting of the story. It all occured on Tuesday:
12 November 2019 1:38pm
Newsreader: Fresh fighting has broken out between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip, with dozens of rockets fired into Israel and air strikes being carried out against sites in Gaza. It follows Israel's killing of a commander of a Palestinian militant group. Tom Bateman is near the Israeli border with Gaza. This was a man that Israel said was responsible for hundreds of attacks on its territory?
Tom Bateman: Yes, he was the senior commander for Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the north of the Gaza Strip. He controlled hundreds of fighters, but had ncreasingly been seen as acting independently outside of the control of the dominant militant force in Gaza, that is Hamas. I'll just give you a sense of where we are. This is the Israeli town of Sderot, which is a couple of miles from the Gaza Strip. Behind me here is a warehouse. These firefighters have been trying to douse the flames for well over two hours now. It took a direct hit from a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. As we showed up we heard three extremely loud blasts which appeared to be interception by Israel's anti-missile system shooting down another barrage of rockets. The trigger for all of that is the predawn air strike by Israel of Abu al-Ata this this morning in which they said that he needed, in their view, to be killed because he posed an imminent threat to Israel. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described him as "a ticking bomb", and the significance of that is this is something that Israel has not done in this way for a very long time, targeted killings of senior militant figures. We have not had that for around five years, this kind of level. As for militants in Gaza, well, they said this was "a red line ", that they would respond. We have seen now waves of air strikes by the Israelis on militant targets in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian media are saying that in addition to Abu al-Ata and his wife, who was killed, there have now been the deaths of another two Palestinian militants.
12 November 2019 7:20 pm
Newsreaders: Fresh fighting has broken out between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip. It follows Israel's killing of a senior commander of the Palestinian militant group, Islamic Jihad. Baha Abu al-Ata was killed along with his wife when a missile hit their home. At least 150 rockets have since been fired at Israel from Gaza in response, injuring more than a dozen people. More airstrikes are being carried out on sites in Gaza too. The Hamas-run health ministry says two Palestinians have been killed. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is warning of prolonged tensions in Gaza while the Palestinian presidency has called for international pressure to stop Israel's attacks. Let's speak to our Middle East correspondent, Barbara Plett Usher, who's in Jerusalem for us. Barbara, if I can go back a bit, what can you tell us about this top Gaza leader that's been killed, and how this operation, how long it was in the planning?
Barbara Plett Usher: He is the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the commander of the northern Gaza region, and he has been in the Israeli news and in the Israeli Defence Force's discussion for quite some time as a person who is quite aggressive and operates independently and has been responsible for many of the recent rocket attacks in Israel, and they say he was planning more to come and that he would even challenge the main Islamist movement in Gaza, Hamas, which had taken a more moderate approach. So there was a rocket attack in September in which the Israeli Prime Minister had to run for cover and, since then, there has been discussion in the security cabinet about his fate, and we understand that ten days ago they decided to kill him and they had been waiting for the moment, they said, when they could do it in a surgical way with as few casualties as possible, and so they said today that was the day.
Newsreaders: And more rockets today from Gaza, Barbara, but it's interesting that the Israelis are putting the focus very much on Islamic Jihad and not on Hamas. Seemingly..,It looks as if they are trying to give them an off ramp here.
Barbara Plett Usher: It is interesting, because the past three Gaza wars have been between Israel and Hamas, which is the governing body in Gaza and the main Islamist movemen. But the Israelis have been sending quite clear messaging that their confrontation is with Islamic jihad. They have been attacking Palestinian Islamic Jihad sites not Hamas targets, which they've done in the past. They've also said that they are not planning to resume their policy of assassinating militant leaders. They haven't done this for five years. It's the first time they've carried out a so-called targeted killing in five years, and I think the message behind that is they are saying to the Hamas leaders, we are not coming after you, this is about this particular leader of Islamic Jihad. Now, Hamas has so far joined together with Islamic Jihad in a statement saying that Israel has crossed all red lines and it's going to be responsible for the consequences, but it's not clear what action it' going to take.
Newsreaders: Barbara we're going to have to leave it there. And some context: This comes as Israel is in deadlock after a second election this year didn't produce a government. That escalation of violence there likely to have a knock-on effect.
12 November 2019 9.15 pm
Ros Atkins: There's been intense fighting in the Gaza Strip after Israel carried out a missile strike against his man. He's called - or was called - Baha Abu al-Ata, a senior commander of the Palestinian militant group, Islamic Jihad. And we have these pictures which show the aftermath of that missile strike. It destroyed a whole floor of his home. Authorities in Gaza say five people died - and two other missiles strikes elsewhere in Gaza killed three people. Well, in return militants based in Gaza fired around 150 rockets into Israel. This is footage of one of them striking a motorway, and you can see how close it came to hitting some motorists as they drove along near to the city of Ashdod. So far, more than 20 people in Israel have been injuredl Well, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, says Israel is not interested in an escalation, but he has said. "We will do everything required to protect ourselves..." And he's added, "This could take time". Well, let's here from the BBC's Barbara Plett Usher is in Jerusalem.
Barbara Plett Usher: This is a serious escalation because this is the first time the Israelis have carried out a so targeted killing against a militant leader in Gaza in five years, and in the past that has lead to wider conflict. But the Israelis have very much been stressing that this is about this man, it's about these circumstances, they say that he is responsible for most of the rocket attacks in recent months from Gaza into Israel and that he was planning more attacks, and so they had to act. They say they are not looking for further escalation but they are prepared for it should it happen. Now whether this goes on for just a few more days or whether it continues for much longer than that depends on the number of casualties. So for around 20 or so Israelis have been slightly injured, and that includes people who suffered from shock or who hurt themselves as they are running for shelter. Seven Palestinians have been reported dead. It also depends on the position of Hamas, the main Islamist movement that governs Gaza. And it has a different strategy than Islamic Jihad. It has been involved in tacit truce arrangements with Israel, trying to alleviate the economic and humanitarian suffering in Gaza. And Islamic Jihad has been challenging that with these rocket attacks. Now, the Israelis have been signalling pretty strongly that they want Hamas to stay out of this fight, that this is about a confrontation with Islamic Jihad only. They've been targeting Islamic Jihad sites, not Hamas targets. And they've also said they don't plan to resume their policy of assassinating militant leaders. In other words Hamas leaders don't need to worry about whether they might get hit. So far the group has joined together with Islamic Jihad and put out a statement saying Israel has crossed all the red lines and that it will suffer the consequences, but it's not clear what sort of action it plans to take.
Isn't it more likely a concern to avoid reviving memories of "Our friends from Hamas!" - Corbyn's infamous quote.
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