Gaza–Israel clashes (May 2019)

On 3 May, during the weekly protests at the Gaza–Israel border, two Israeli soldiers were injured in an attack by a Gazan sniper who, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF), was connected to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).[8][9] In response, the Israel Air Force targeted a nearby Hamas post with an airstrike, killing two people and injuring two others. The men killed were identified as Abdullah Ibrahim Mahmoud Abu Salouh, 33 and Alaa Ali Hasan al-Boubli, 29. Hamas pledged to respond to the "Israeli aggression".[10] In addition, two other Palestinians were killed and 60 wounded,[7] 36 of them by Israeli gunfire.[11]

According to IDF, more than 250 rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel, causing serious injury to at least one person.[7]

The Israeli Air Force and IDF struck more than 120 sites in the Gaza Strip.[7] According to the Health Ministry of the Gaza Strip, these airstrikes killed four people – two men, and a woman with a toddler.[12] According to Palestinian officials, the woman and toddler who died were identified as Falestine Abu Arar, 37, and her niece Siba Abu Arar, 14-months old. Thirteen other Palestinians were reportedly injured during the day.[13] The IDF denied responsibility, stating that the woman and toddler were killed by Palestinian rocket fire.[12] Al-Risala News run by Hamas also denied the claims against the IDF, saying that the PIJ was responsible for the deaths.[14]

At least 200 more projectiles were launched from Gaza towards Israel, killing four people and injuring several others. An Israeli man was killed when a rocket struck in front of his home.[15] The man was identified as Moshe Agadi, a 58-year-old father of four.[16] A rocket fired overnight damaged an empty kindergarten in Sderot, after landing in its yard and exploding.[17] Later that day, a rocket directly struck a factory in the city of Ashkelon, leaving a man dead and two others injured.[18] A Kornet anti-tank missile hit a private van in the kibbutz community of Yad Mordechai, killing the Israeli driver.[19] Three people were injured in the Eshkol Regional Council – two lightly when a mortar shell landed in a yard, and a Thai worker was moderately wounded by a rocket that exploded in a field where he was working. A 35-year-old man was killed by shrapnel from a rocket that hit his Ashdod home later that day.[20]

In response, the IDF struck over 210 sites in the Gaza Strip during the day. A Hamas commander was killed by an airstrike during the day while travelling in a car down a street, marking the first targeted killing carried out by Israel in several years.[21] The man was identified as Hamed Ahmed Abed Khudri, and was accused of transferring funds from Iran to Gaza. Palestinian factions threatened to use long-range rockets to attack Israel if the "aggression" continues.[12] During the day, Israel deployed the 7th Armored Brigade and the Golani Brigade to the Gaza–Israel border.[22] Later that day, an Israeli airstrike killed 3 people in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, including a pregnant woman, according to the Health Ministry of the Gaza Strip. The woman was identified as 33-year old Amani al-Madhoun.[23]

In the early morning of 6 May, a ceasefire agreement mediated by Egypt in its capital city Cairo[24] was reached, taking effect at 4:30 A.M (1:30 UTC). At 7:00 A.M., Israel announced all restrictions for residents of the south were lifted, and schools opened normally.[25]