Israel bombards Gaza as it confronts mob violence at home

FOR THE past four days, the world has anxiously watched Israel’s border with Gaza, where, on the Israeli side, infantry and armoured battalions have been massing. Palestinian militants in Gaza have launched hundreds of rockets at Israel, which has responded with hundreds of air strikes. Scores of people have already been killed, mostly Palestinians. Then, on May 14th, the Israeli army launched a big new attack on Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza. The offensive included dozens of air strikes and artillery barrages. Hamas then fired more rockets.“We will continue to do what we’re doing with great intensity,” said Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister. “This operation will continue as long as necessary.” But Mr Netanyahu also has problems at home. In cities and towns across Israel, Arabs and Jews—all Israeli citizens with supposedly equal status—have clashed. Rioting and mob violence have left places such as Lod also looking like war zones: a line of burnt-out vehicles extended from the central marketplace to the city’s entrance. Israeli leaders warned of civil war. “There is no greater threat now than these riots,” said Mr Netanyahu a day before the Gaza offensive.