JERUSALEM – Fighting in the Gaza Strip on Thursday killed at least six Palestinians, including a militant commander, as Israeli forces continued a drive to stop cross-border rocket attacks into southern Israel.
Amid the clashes, a 57-year-old Palestinian woman blew herself up near Israeli soldiers, slightly injuring three. The suicide bomber was identified by family members as Fatma Al-Najar, a grandmother and member of the military wing of the ruling Hamas movement.
Female suicide bombers are relatively rare, and those older than 30 rarer still.
The Israeli army said the woman approached troops near the farming town of Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, and set off the explosives after soldiers spotted her and hurled stun grenades to make her stop.
It was the second time in recent weeks that a female suicide bomber set off explosives near Israeli soldiers operating in the northern Gaza Strip. On Nov. 6, a woman blew herself up near soldiers during a raid in Beit Hanoun, lightly injuring one.
“I received the news with happiness. We are all proud of our mother. She was always hoping to be a martyr,” said one of her sons, Fuad al-Najar, 32, as well-wishers handed out sweets and tossed flowers outside the family home in Jabaliya.
Elsewhere in Gaza, an Israeli air strike killed Fayek abu al-Qumsan, the northern Gaza commander of the Popular Resistance Committees, one of the groups firing homemade Kassam rockets over the border into southern Israel.
Palestinian militants clashed with Israeli troops, who were backed by tanks and aircraft, on the edges of several communities in the northern Gaza Strip. Also killed were gunmen belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. A 22-year-old Palestinian civilian also died, according to medical workers.
The Israeli push, begun earlier this week, is the army’s latest effort to stop militants from launching the crude Kassams. Previous attempts, including raids, frequent artillery shelling and air strikes against rocket-launching teams, have failed to quell the salvoes.
Militants have launched 166 rockets this month, including five Thursday, the Israeli army said.
Palestinian officials criticized the Israeli incursions as a dangerous escalation.
“It’s not enough for Israel to control every aspect of life in Gaza, it (seems it also) has to visit untold horrors on an imprisoned and embattled civilian population,” said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator. “This is a war crime that the international community must address.”
Israeli military commanders have considered plans for a wide-scale incursion into Gaza to stem the attacks, but a major offensive carries political risks for Israeli leaders and the possibility of high casualties on both sides.
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