a covert israeli operation in the gaza strip apparently went bad sunday killing at least seven palestinians creditsaid khatibagence francepresse getty imagesnov 11 2018jerusalem a covert israeli operation in the gaza strip apparently went bad on sunday leaving at least seven palestinians dead including one senior hamas military commander and puncturing a nascent ceasefire with a flurry of airstrikes and rocket firean israeli lieutenant colonel was killed and another officer was wounded in the action near khan younis the first known israeli ground incursion into gaza since operation protective edge in july 2014 set off a sevenweek warthe impetus for the israeli operation and its nature were unclear reports in the israeli news media generally described it as an intelligence mission that went awrypalestinian militants responded with waves of rockets aimed at israeli communities near gaza and israeli aircraft pounded targets in gaza for a time with sirens going off repeatedly in the gaza periphery israel ordered its citizens there to remain close to airraid shelters and schools were closed on mondaythe israeli military took the unusual step of announcing that none of its personnel had been captured in gaza and by early monday the israeli news media were playing down the significance of the countrys soldiers operating in gaza territorya former israeli military commander in charge of longrange missions tal russo made the rounds of television studios assuring viewers this had been an intelligence operation not an assassination or abduction mission it was of the sort he said that are carried out all the time every night and in all frontswhatever the incursions purpose the fighting it set off threatened to damage if not scuttle delicate multilateral efforts to calm the israelgaza borderthose efforts have appeared to be bearing fruitisrael has allowed new shipments of diesel fuel to gazas power plant which is supplying many more hours of electricity to residents of the impoverished enclave over the weekend hamas distributed 15 million in qataridonated cash as back pay to thousands of its civil servants who have received only a fraction of their salaries for monthsimagecredittsafrir abayovassociated pressbut the perception that israel by allowing the fuel and cash shipments into gaza was paying off hamas set off acrimonious wrangling between two rival rightwing members of israels security cabinetearlier sunday education minister naftali bennett called the cash infusion protection money defense minister avigdor lieberman accused mr bennett of having supported such payments and of having opposed in recent weeks the more aggressive military reprisals against hamas that mr lieberman favoredprime minister benjamin netanyahu who was in paris for the armistice day centennial assured reporters earlier in the day that he was working in every possible way to restore the quiet to the residents of gaza and also prevent a humanitarian crisis he said that the border was in the first stage of a lull and that he was doing everything i can in order to avoid an unnecessary warby nights end mr netanyahu had cut short his trip and was flying