JERUSALEM — Border hostilities between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip continued for a second day Thursday as Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians, including five boys, while a Gaza-launched rocket struck a home in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon.
Thursday’s airstrikes brought the Palestinian death toll to 29 during the two-day burst of violence. In Israel, officials said more than 60 rockets had been launched out of Gaza over the two days. A college student in southern Israel died in an attack Wednesday; no Israeli deaths or significant injuries were reported in Thursday’s attacks.
The surge in hostilities has built pressure on the Israeli government to move decisively against the rocket threat and uproot the militant group Hamas, which seized full control of Gaza in June.
“We must prepare for continued escalation,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. “Hamas will pay the price for its actions.”
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, on a trip in Japan, said the rocket attacks from Gaza are “testing Israel’s patience” to its limit.
But despite rising public anger, some officials and observers warned Thursday against a large-scale invasion and reoccupation of the coastal strip that is home to an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians.
“It will not solve the problem. It must be remembered that the Qassams were flying while we were still in Gaza,” retired Gen. Danny Rothschild said in a radio interview Thursday. “You may know when you go in to Gaza, but you never know when you’ll get out.”
Among the Palestinian dead was Hamza Haya, son of prominent Hamas leader Khalil Haya. At the morgue of Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, the elder Haya eulogized his son, who was a leader of a militant cell.
“I thank God for this gift,” Khalil Haya said. “This is the 10th member of my family to receive the honor of martyrdom.”
