Israeli tanks and helicopters raided the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing the militant son of a Hamas leader and 10 other Palestinians in one of the bloodiest days of fighting since Hamas took over the territory in June. Palestinian sniper fire across the border killed a volunteer from Ecuador at an Israeli communal farm. That death, and the killing of Hussam Zahar, 24, the son of hardline Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, threatened to fuel the violence at a time when Israel and the Palestinians are trying to move peacemaking into high gear. At the morgue at Shifa Hospital, Mahmoud Zahar held his lifeless son’s head in his hands and closed his eyes, then kissed him three times on the forehead and recited a verse from the Muslim holy book, the Quran. Hamas, he vowed, “will respond in the appropriate way. We will defend ourselves by all means.” Full Story
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