Hamas caught in bind as Gaza violence heats up

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- A new round of violence between Israel and Palestinian militants has Gaza's Hamas rulers caught between reluctance to take on Israel and discomfort with reining in fellow Islamists from smaller, more radical groups involved in the fighting.

The fighting has killed 10 Palestinians and an Israeli, casting doubts on assessments that the recent prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas might improve relations between the bitter foes. Despite the worst bloodshed in months, both sides indicated they were interested in restoring calm.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has avoided direct involvement in the latest burst of fighting. Hamas lost hundreds of men in a fierce Israeli offensive against rocket squads three years ago and has largely maintained calm since then.

At the same time, the group, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks, remains committed to armed struggle against Israel. Threatened by even more radical rivals in Gaza, Hamas has not criticized anyone for attacking Israel.

"The Palestinian resistance has the full right to defend itself against the Zionist crimes against the Gaza Strip," Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas official, told the group's website.

Most of the violence this weekend has been between Israel and Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed group that is considered even more extreme than Hamas. Israel says it holds Hamas responsible for attacks from Gaza, and there is little doubt that Hamas' control -- when it wants to exercise it -- is strong.

In the latest violence, an Israeli airstrike hit a pair of militants in Gaza on Sunday as they prepared to fire a rocket into Israel, the military said. Gaza's Health Ministry said one man was killed and a second was wounded. Just before nightfall, Gaza militants fired another rocket into southern Israel which landed in an open area and caused no injuries or damages, the army said.

The fighting Sunday came a day after eight Palestinian militants and an Israeli civilian were killed. It took place as Egyptian mediators were trying to broker a truce. Egypt, which borders Gaza to the south, brokered this months' prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli defense officials confirmed that there are contingency plans for a broad invasion of Gaza to topple Hamas. But they said this is a worst-case scenario among many options, and the preference is to restore the calm that has largely prevailed since 2009.

Likewise, Hamas officials signaled that they, too, would like to prevent the violence from spinning out of control.

"We want to keep the Palestinian people away from suffering from war and aggression," said a senior Hamas official. "But if Israel chooses confrontation, we are ready."