Khirbet Silm, south Lebanon – Israel and its arch foe Hezbollah are waging an increasingly heated war of words, fanning concerns about another bruising encounter between the two enemies who fought a devastating but inconclusive conflict in 2006.

Israel’s air force on Thursday wrapped up a large-scale four-day exercise which simulated its ability to defend against missile and jet strikes from Syria and Iran, a military official said.
The exercise was aimed at testing the air force’s ability to counter rocket and missile attacks from the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria and archfoe Iran, as well as the infiltration of jets overland, the official told AFP.
This is the first time the Israeli army has simulated strikes from the Islamic republic, located more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) away, he said.

Days after Israel blasted a United Nations report claiming the IDF had failed to take adequate precautions to ensure that UN installations and civilians in the Gaza Strip would not be harmed during Operation Cast Lead, a UN team set up to probe alleged war crimes announced plans to visit Israel and the Gaza Strip.
The fact-finding mission appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate rights violations during the Gaza war also renewed a call for Israel to support its investigation.

The Israeli military on Wednesday presented the conclusions of several internal investigations into its conduct during the war in Gaza and stated that it had operated in accordance with international law, countering widespread international criticism over its actions and continuing accusations of possible war crimes.
The military said in a statement that it had “maintained a high professional and moral level” during the 22-day war, which ended Jan. 18, though it faced “an enemy that aimed to terrorize Israeli civilians whilst taking cover” among Palestinian civilians and “using them as human …

An Israeli military college has printed damning soldiers’ accounts of the killing of civilians and vandalism during recent operations in Gaza.
One account tells of a sniper killing a mother and children at close range whom troops had told to leave their home.
Another speaker at the seminar described what he saw as the “cold blooded murder” of a Palestinian woman.
The army has defended its conduct during the Gaza offensive but said it would investigate the testimonies.
The Israeli army has said it will investigate the soldiers’ accounts.

Two rockets fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip slammed into open fields in southern Israel overnight, without causing any casualties or damage, the Israeli military said on Saturday.
“The two Qassam-type devices were fired from the northern Gaza Strip and landed in the western Negev,” a military spokeswoman said, referring to the crude, homemade rockets used by Palestinian armed groups.
Gaza militants have fired more than 160 rockets and mortar rounds on Israel since the end of a massive Israeli offensive at the turn of the year aimed at halting the projectiles, …

Israel launched airstrikes into Gaza on Saturday, responding to a series of rockets fired by Hamas the day before, the Israeli military said.
Hamas security forces also reported Saturday’s strikes. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The Israeli air force struck two “smuggling tunnels” on the southern Gaza border and one “weaponry storage site” in Gaza City, a military spokesman told CNN.

Salam Fayyad former Palestinian prime minister resigned in a move intended to pave the way for a power-sharing deal between the two rival Palestinian political forces

The Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, resigned on Saturday in a move intended to pave the way for a power-sharing deal between the two rival Palestinian political forces – Hamas and Fatah.
But Hamas officials quickly rebuffed Mr Fayyad’s announcement, casting doubt on whether or not his gesture would help lead to reconciliation between the sides.
The main goal of such a government would be to end the current situation in which the militant Hamas movement rules the Gaza Strip and Fatah, considered more moderate and supported by the West, rules the …

Israeli air raids on Hamas-run Gaza killed four militants just hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended her first Middle East trip vowing to breathe life into the peace process Thursday.
An air strike in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Thursday killed three militants and wounded two others, medics said.
An army spokesman said the raid targeted a group who had fired an anti-tank shell at an army unit on the Israeli side of the border.
Late Wednesday, an Israeli air raid killed a senior …