The death toll in Gaza has exceeded 2,000 since Tel Aviv launched their operation Protective Edge on July 8. A new ceasefire came into effect Monday, but broke down Tuesday with both Israel and Palestine threatening to quit truce talks.
26 August 2014
A long-term truce on Gaza has been agreed with Israel, a Palestinian official has told AFP.
More than 40 air strikes have been launched by Israel on Tuesday, and according to Palestinian authorities, four people have died from them in the last hour alone.
A statistical overview of 51 days of the IDF's assault on Gaza over the period July 6th to August 25th reveals that at least 2,123 Palestinians have been killed and at least 10,861 injured, the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department said in Monday’s ‘Gaza Under Fire’ report, WAFA, Palestinian news reports.
“Israel's deliberate targeting of civilians is a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to protect civilians during war. Israel is committing a war crime, a crime against humanity. We will follow those war criminals and bring them to justice,” the report quoted Director of the Palestine Center for Human Rights in Gaza (PCHR) Raji Sourani as saying.
The report claims that 9,600 structures were demolished including 277 schools. In addition 10 hospitals and 7 clinics were damaged while 5 hospitals and 44 primary health clinics were closed. Meanwhile the refugees amount to at least 600,000 people, a third of Gaza’s population.
“Lack of accountability will continue to fuel Israeli atrocities and crimes. Lack of international action will continue to increase the list of people killed, injured and displaced,” concluded the PLO.
A 14-floor residential tower has been destroyed by Israeli missiles, al-Aqsa Television reported. According to reports four rockets from Israeli drones plus another four heavy bombs from jets landed on the building and turned it into rubble. Ambulances at the scene evacuated the casualties. The building is believed to house 100 apartments and 150 stores.
Seems like this tower block known as "the Italian Mall" in Gaza has just been flattened in Israeli bombing. pic.twitter.com/UlkE2ZtvQx
— Jon Donnison (@JonDonnison) August 25, 2014
25 August 2014
At least twelve Palestinians were killed on Monday across the Gaza Strip, medics told Ma'an news. Another 25 people have been injured with the toll feared to rise as several houses and a mosque were damaged by airstrikes.
Israel has intercepted one rocket some 11 km east of Tel Aviv in a town called Kiryat Ono. Three further mortar shells fell in open areas in Israel's southern district, reported Haaretz.
Rocket sirends have sounded just south of Tel Aviv, reports Haaretz, as well as in central Israel and in Kerem Shalom on the Gaza border.
24 August 2014
A woman and her three children were killed in an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza on Sunday, Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesperson for Gaza's Health Ministry, said. The strike hit a home near Jabalia in the north of the Palestinian territory, he told AFP. Earlier in the day, a one-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy were killed in rocket fire. The death toll on the 48th day of the military conflict in the region has risen to at least 12.
Moments ago, several rockets and more than 5 mortars hit the Erez crossing injuring 4 civilians; one of whom was moderately injured.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 24, 2014
Israeli airstrikes have destroyed a seven-story office building and severely damaged a two-story shopping center in the Gaza strip’s southern town of Rafah early on Sunday, according to the AP.
The Israeli military claim both the buildings housed facilities linked to Hamas militants. The leveled seven-story Zourab building reportedly had an office of the Hamas-run interior ministry.
At least five rockets fired from Syria landed in different locations across the Golan Heights overnight, according to a statement by the IDF. There have been no reports of any injuries so far.
At least five rockets fired from Syria hit different locations across the Golan Heights.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 24, 2014
A rocket fired from Lebanon landed in northern Israel, east of Akko, late on Saturday, according to an Israeli army statement.
The missile hit a building in an open area in the Upper Galilee, The Jerusalem Post reports, adding two children were slightly injured in the strike.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Rocket sirens sound in towns near the Gaza border, according to Haaretz. An hour earlier up to five rockets exploded near communities in the Sdot Negev region, following a relatively quiet night.
23 August 2014
An Israeli airstrike has destroyed a residential block of flats in Gaza City. The air strike hit a 12-storey residential tower block in the center of Gaza City and there are reports of 13 people wounded. A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said that the building was being used as a command center by Hamas militants.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday vowed harsh retribution against Hamas after a mortar round fired from the Palestinian territory killed an Israeli child.
"Hamas will pay a heavy price for this attack," Netanyahu's spokesman Ofir Gendelman cited the premier as saying on his Twitter account, adding that the Israeli army and Shin Bet internal security service would intensify the military operation in Gaza.
PM:Hamas will pay a heavy price for this attack.IDF & ISA will intensify ops against Hamas until the goal of #ProtectiveEdge is achieved 2/2
— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) August 22, 2014
22 August 2014
A four year-old Israeli child has died after a mortar launched from Gaza hit a car in the south of the country. The boy was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the local hospital.
Earlier on Friday, Hamas rockets also hit a synagogue, injuring three, and the courtyard of a pre-school.
The boy was the fourth Israeli civilian killed since the start of the armed conflict in July.
A rocket fired from Gaza has hit a synagogue in the Israeli town of Ashdod. There are conflicting reports concerning numbers injured, with Reuters saying three have been wounded, while Israeli newspaper Haaretz puts the number at two.
"There is damage at the scene and a number of people were injured by shrapnel," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The attack came shortly before evening prayers ahead of the Jewish Sabbath. Ashdod is around 30 km from Gaza.
Earlier on Friday morning, a mortar shell landed near a preschool in southern Israel's Eshkol Regional Council, during continued barrages of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
At least 9 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza in the last 48 hours, bringing the total to 469 since the start of Israeli military operation on July 8, the top UNICEF field officer in Gaza has reported.
“The impact has truly been vast, both at a very physical level, in terms of casualties, injuries, the infrastructure that’s been damaged, but also importantly, emotionally and psychologically in terms of the destabilizing impact that not knowing, not truly feeling like there is anywhere safe place to go in Gaza,” Pernilla Ironside, Chief of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Gaza field office told at a Thursday press conference at UN Headquarters.
More than 3,000 Palestinian children have been injured, she said.
“Children need to have that sense of security… All they want is a sense of safety,” Ironside said, adding that nearly 280,000 people with children fled overnight into Thursday to 83 UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) schools in Gaza in search of safety.
21 August 2014
The Israeli cabinet has recalled 10,000 IDF reservists, two days after the collapse of negotiations crushing any hope of an end to more than a month of fighting with Hamas in Gaza. The IDF had called up 86,000 reservists during the first weeks of Operation Protective Edge in July but had send many of them home after a deal with Hamas looked like it could be reached.
20 August 2014
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday Israel's military campaign in Gaza may be an extended operation and he accused the territory's Hamas rulers of using "savagery" against civilians just like Islamic State militants in Iraq.
At a news conference in Tel Aviv, the Israeli premier said the Gaza war launched on July 8 "will be a continued campaign" aimed at restoring "calm and safety" to Israeli citizens.
Netanyahu said, however, that he saw a "new diplomatic horizon" ahead for Israel in the region, alluding to possible diplomacy with Palestinians ahead once the war was over. (Reuters)
The recent explosion heard in Tel Aviv was part of a barrage of 5 rockets fired at Israel in the past 30 minutes.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 20, 2014
An Israeli air strike on Gaza City has reportedly killed the wife and infant daughter of the Hamas military chief, Mohammed Deif, according to the group.He is still alive, however.
"The wife of the great leader was martyred with his daughter," said the Wednesday facebook post from exiled deputy leader Moussa Abu Marzouk, according to AFP.
According to him, Israel had been looking for an excuse to “target a big Hamas leader.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned “in the strongest terms” the breach of Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire, adding that he is “gravely disappointed” by the renewal of hostilities in Gaza, according to the latest UN statement.
“The Secretary-General reminds both sides of their responsibility not to let the situation escalate. The hopes of the people in Gaza for a better future and the hopes of the people in Israel for sustainable security rest on the talks in Cairo,” the statement said.
Ban Ki-moon is "gravely disappointed" by return to hostilities in #Gaza - more from @UN_Spokesperson is here: http://t.co/hi1Cl6RJ2j
— United Nations (@UN) August 20, 2014
A wife and a child of the Hamas military wing’s leader Mohammed Deif were among the three killed in Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday, AP cited senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk as saying.
19 August 2014
Gaza needs a new “recovery and reconstruction” deal, said Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Pierre Krähenbühl.
He urged the international community to “rethink the Gaza paradigm.”
“On World Humanitarian Day, let us put politics aside and focus on the human impact, on the utmost urgency of delivering a new deal for all those affected by the Gaza conflict,” Krähenbühl said. “Gaza must have its freedom; freedom of access, freedom of movement, freedom to import and export, freedom from aid dependency.”
UNRWA estimates that around 17,000 homes were destroyed or damaged during the latest Israeli-palestinian conflict, with about 100,000 people homeless.
Hamas threatened to target Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv – the country’s main international airport – and called on all the airlines to stay away from the area.
Hamas “has decided to respond to the Israeli aggression” by signaling out the airport as a “target of attack” for the day, Reuters quoted Hamas commander as saying in a statement.
Earlier, the group said that it had already launched a rocket at the airport. Israel did not confirm the claim.
Hamas launched around 50 rockets at Israel on Tuesday, IDF has stated.
Israel’s military called on all citizens living as far as 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Gaza border to open up bomb shelters.
Witnesses reported that the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted a rocket over Jerusalem, where red sirens went off earlier.
Israel rejected Palestinian claims that it was the one to blame for the breakdown in ceasefire talks in Cairo.
Rocket fire from Gaza “made continuation of talks impossible,” Reuters quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson Mark Regev as saying.
Hamas Islamists said on Tuesday they had fired 40 rockets at Israel, one of them aimed at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the country's main international airport.
There were no reported strikes near the airport though Israeli media reported rockets hit in the greater Tel Aviv area. (Reuters)
Sirens were just heard across central Israel. A rocket hit in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area. Updates to follow
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 19, 2014
A 5-year-old child has been killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli air strike, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. This is the first fatality since the five-day ceasefire broke down Tuesday.
Palestinians said Israel launched 35 air attacks, one of them on a house in Gaza City, which killed the woman and the child, which officials initially said was five.
Missing 21-year-old US-Israeli soldier, David Menahem Gordon has been found dead, reported the IDF. He disappeared on Sunday and was found in central Israel alongside his weapon. The army have contacted his relatives and have launched an inquiry.
PM Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered Israeli negotiators in Cairo to return home after several rockets from the Gaza strip struck Israel Tuesday, Reuters reported citing Israeli sources.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ordered the military to attack in the Gaza Strip in response to rockets fired from the enclave into Israel, a government source said, hours before a truce between the sides was set to expire.
"In response to Hamas's violation of the truce, the prime minister and defense minister have ordered the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] to once more attack terror sites in the Gaza Strip," a government official said.
The Israeli military said three rockets fired from Gaza hit near the Israeli city of Beersheba, causing no casualties. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. (Reuters)
18 August 2014
Egypt has officially announced a 24-hour extension in talks between Israel and Hamas on permanent Gaza truce.
“Palestinians and Israelis agreed on extending the cease-fire by 24 hours to continue current negotiations,” the Egyptian government said in a statement.
According to a Palestinian delegation source quoted by AP, the sides had exchanged draft proposals for a long-term truce that were to be addressed during the 24-hour extension in talks.
Israeli and Palestinian officials have agreed to extend a Gaza ceasefire by another 24 hours to allow time for the sides to continue truce negotiations, Reuters reports, citing sources in both delegations. The deal was reportedly confirmed in Cairo and then Jerusalem minutes before a five-day ceasefire was due to expire.
A Palestinian official close to the talks in Cairo said the extension would give both sides time “to complete the negotiations,” the agency said. An Israeli official and security source were quoted as saying in Jerusalem that “on Egypt’s request the ceasefire shall be extended by 24 hours to allow further negotiations.”
17 August 2014
Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters led by Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) marched on the Shara-e-Faisal district of Karachi, Sunday, Ruptly reports.
Protesters taking part in the "Gaza Million March" waved Palestine and Jamaat-e-Islami flags while chanting anti-US and anti-Israel slogans. JI recently announced August 17 as the Day of Solidarity with Palestine, an event given national recognition by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
JI chief Sirajul Haq addressed the rally saying that the time has come for the Pakistani army to “play a role against Israel.” He further said the party had collected 50 million rupees ($821,000) to donate to the people in Gaza.
A total of 1,975 Palestinians, including 1,417 civilians, have died since Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on July 8. A total of 67 Israelis, including 64 soldiers, have died. Some 365,000 Palestinians are being hosted at UNRWA schools while 218,367 are still seeking shelter.
15 August 2014
The EU said it will support the reactivation of its assistance mission for the Rafah crossing point (EUBAM Rafah) on the Egypt-Gaza border, the European Council said in a statement after holding talks in Brussels.
"The EU is ready to support a possible international mechanism endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, including through the reactivation and possible extension in scope and mandate of its EUBAM Rafah," the European Council said in the statement, posted on its website.
The EUBAM mission started to monitor the crossing in 2005 after Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip.EU foreign ministers added that they also supported the launch of a training program for Palestinian Authority customs personnel and police for redeployment in Gaza.
The Palestinian Interior Ministry has accused Israel of cross-border shooting which violated the five-day ceasefire set Thursday. The Israeli Defense Force has denied the accusations, saying it has “no knowledge of such an incident.”
An estimated 10,000 people rallied in Tel Aviv to show support for the IDF's military campaign in Gaza, urging the government forces to stop Hamas rocket attacks on Israel once and for all.
13 August 2014
Israel and the Palestinians agreed to extend the Gaza truce by five days minutes before an earlier ceasefire was set to expire, a Palestinian official said in Cairo.
Rockets were fired into southern Israel, Israeli radio reported, adding that warning sirens went off in the area. The firing came two hours before the scheduled end of the truce between Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas.
12 August 2014
Israel’s Foreign Ministry criticized the creation of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) panel to investigate Israel's violation of humanitarian law in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge.
The Foreign Ministry noted that the appointment of Canadian professor William Schabas, who has in the past called for PM Benjamin Netanyahu to be prosecuted for war crimes, will result in a pre-determined outcome.
"The results are known in advance," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, according to Arutz Sheva. "If any further proof was required, the appointment of the chairman of the committee, whose views and positions against Israel are known to all, proves beyond any doubt that Israel cannot expect justice from such a body, and that the panel’s report has already been written and all that is left is to determine who will sign it.”
Meanwhile, the deputy spokeswoman for the US State Department, Marie Harf, told reporters that any investigation should be impartial.
“We’ve always said that if there are specific incidents that need investigation, that we think they should be. We said that with UNRWA schools and we’ve said that in other cases as well,” she said, adding that “there’s a way to investigate things that’s not one-sided and biased, and there’s a way that we don’t support.”
Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip resulted in the damage of 141 public schools, according to figures released by the Gaza Ministry of Education on Monday. Twenty-two schools were completely destroyed by the offensive, Ma'an reported, citing the undersecretary of the Gazan minister of education, Anwar al-Baraawi. Some 119 schools were partially destroyed, and 25 schools are being used as shelters. “The damage will cost some $10.5 million to be repaired,” said Baraawi. He added that 19 ministry employees were killed. Six universities were also damaged by the offensive.
11 August 2014
10 August 2014
An agreement on a new Egypt-proposed 72-hour Gaza ceasefire was reached on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing a Palestinian official. "The Israeli and the Palestinian sides have agreed to the new 72-hour truce to begin serious negotiations leading to a durable ceasefire," said the official, who is close to the Egyptian-mediated talks.
Cairo has called on both Israel and the Palestinians to accept the new ceasefire starting at 21:00 GMT on Sunday, in order to allow peace talks to resume, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
There was no immediate announcement from Hamas, nor Israel, which walked away from the ceasefire talks over the weekend after militants resumed rocket fire on southern Israel following the expiration of an earlier three-day truce. The official told Reuters that an Israeli delegation would return to Cairo before midnight (21:00 GMT), and that a ceasefire could begin at that time.
Tango Down - http://t.co/fn78zN2l2Z - http://t.co/OTb16v21zU#Anonymous#AntiSec / Israel will cry?
— Anonymous (@AnonymousGlobo) August 10, 2014
Minutes ago, 3 rockets fired from Gaza hit the Israeli city of Sderot.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 10, 2014
Three Palestinians have died today as a result of Israeli shelling, doctors told Reuters. Sunday marks the third day of renewed fighting, as international attempts to secure a ceasefire result in continuous failure.
The Palestinians have been firing rocktes at farmlands across the border, however, larger cities like Tel Aviv were spared after Israel wrapped up the ground phase of its month-old operation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will not agree to the terms of the Egypt-proposed peace talks with Hamas, until the latter stops firing rockets from Gaza, according to Reuters.
"Israel will not negotiate under fire," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks at the weekly meeting of hisministers in Tel Aviv.
"At no stage did we declare (Israel's military offensive) was over," the PM said. "The operation will continue until its objective - the restoration of quiet over a protraced period - is achieved. I said at the beginning and throughout the operation - it will take time, and stamina is required."
Israel launched more than 30 air attacks in Gaza on Saturday, killing nine Palestinian, Reuters reports.
09 August 2014
Palestinian negotiators will on Sunday leave Cairo unless Israel agrees to unconditionally return to Egyptian-brokered talks to end the war in Gaza, the head of the delegation, Azzam Ahmed, told Al Arabiya TV. “Tomorrow we have a meeting with the Egyptian leadership in the morning and on the basis of that we will decide our future plan. We will leave Cairo tomorrow if it is confirmed to us that they will not return except with conditions,” Ahmed said. Israel earlier stated that it will not take part in truce talks while fighting in the Gaza strip is ongoing.
Today, Hamas fired 30 rockets at Israel; of them 24 hit Israel & 5 landed short in Gaza.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 9, 2014
US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have urged both Israel and Hamas for an immediate end to the violence in Gaza, demanding action that would lead to a permanent ceasefire.
"On Gaza, they condemned the resumption of rocket fire and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities leading to a sustainable ceasefire," the White House said in a statement about the call between the two leaders.
The leaders also repeatedly supported “Israel’s right for self-defense while emphasizing the need for all sides to minimize civilian casualties.”
08 August 2014
Mortar shells explode outside a community in Eshkol Regional Council. #Israel
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) August 8, 2014
The Israeli army reported that 51 rockets had been fired from Gaza on Friday.
Five people have been killed in Gaza, including a ten year old boy, according to Palestinian officials. Two Israelis were also reportedly injured by mortars following the end of the three day truce on Friday morning.
Egypt has said that agreement between Israel and Hamas was reached over most major issues, with only a few remaining to discuss. Cairo has called for a ceasefire to continue due to the progress made.
A huge explosion and a plume of smoke were seen in Gaza City on Friday, apparently from an Israeli air strike, a Reuters witness said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman had no information about the strike but was checking for details. Islamist militants resumed rocket fire from the coastal enclave into Israel as a 72-hour ceasefire expired at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Friday.
Since 8:00 AM, Gaza terrorists fired a barrage of 5 rockets at Israel. Iron Dome intercepted 1 above Ashkelon; more rockets hit open areas.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 8, 2014
Israel has deployed its forces on Gaza’s border, as a rocket was intercepted over Ashkelon in southern Israel, according to Channel 2 TV.
It comes as the three-day truce between Hamas and Tel Aviv ends.
Hamas has said it will not extend the ceasefire beyond 5am Friday, Al Arabiya reported.
Earlier, a source told Reuters that the deal hasn’t been reached in the Egyptian-mediated negotiations on ceasefire, an hour before the 72-hour truce ended.
"Negotiations are difficult. Negotiations have not yet reached a final result," said the delegate, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"A rejection of extending the truce is likely. That announcement will come from our brothers in Gaza," he added.
It comes after Israel accused Hamas of firing two rockets into the Israeli territory before dawn, hours before the truce ended. Hamas denied it.
07 August 2014
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa canceled his official visit to Israel in protest against the military operation in the Gaza Strip. "I was planning to visit Israel in the second half of 2014...I also wanted to visit the Palestinians, but after the recent events we have canceled those visits,” Correa said.
06 August 2014
A senior Cairo-based Hamas official tweeted late on Wednesday that there was no agreement to extend the 72-hour ceasefire that began on Tuesday between the Israelis and Palestinians.
"There is no agreement on the extension of the truce," Moussa Abu Marzouk said.
According to Reuters, Abu Marzouk is not part of the Islamist movement’s inner circle, but dealt directly with Egypt during the recent talks. Egyptian officials said late on Wednesday that talks are still underway, the agency reported.
Israel has conditionally agreed to extend a ceasefire that ended a month of fighting in Gaza beyond a Friday deadline, an Israeli official said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official did not say for how much longer Israel had agreed to extend the truce. However, according to Al Arabiya the truce is to hold till Monday.
Hamas had no immediate comment.
More than 1,800 Palestinians have been killed – the majority of which were civilians, including hundreds of women and children – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement on Wednesday. Three civilians in Israel have also been killed, as well as 64 Israeli soldiers, he added.
“Of course we understand the legitimate security right to defend Israeli citizens from the threat of rocket attacks by Hamas,” Ban said.
But at the same time, the conflict has raised serious questions regarding the respect for principles of distinction and proportionality in international law, he elaborated.
“Perhaps nothing symbolized more the horror that was unleashed on the people of Gaza than the repeated shelling of UN facilities harboring civilians who had been explicitly told to seek a safe haven there. These attacks were outrageous, unacceptable and unjustifiable.”
#Netanyahu praising #IDF - says he's proud of it / calls it "moral army"
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) August 6, 2014
Germany, France and Britain proposed reactivating a European Union mission to reopen the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border to help stabilize the Palestinian enclave after a month-long war, a German diplomatic source said on Wednesday.
The source said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and counterparts in France and Britain favored restoring the crossing that is the main window to the world for isolated Gaza's 1.7 million Palestinians. (Reuters)
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said his country is in talks with Israel and Egypt about opening an air corridor to help evacuate Palestinians injured during Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza strip. Under his proposals, the wounded would be flown to Turkey for treatment.
Meanwhile, a German diplomatic source says that Germany, France and Great Britain are proposing an EU mission that would help to open a border crossing at Rafah. It is one of three major crossings out of Gaza, with the checkpoint at Rafah leading directly to Egypt.
Israeli authorities have confirmed the arrest of a Palestinian who is suspected of kidnapping and killing three Israeli teenagers in June. 40 year-old Hussam Kawsame is accused of murdering Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrah, who went missing on June 12. The three teenagers were found dead two weeks later.
Hussam Kawsame was initially arrested on July 11, but police only confirmed on Tuesday that he had been detained. An Israeli court said Kawasme had admitted to helping to organize the kidnapping. He secured funding from the Hamas Islamist group in Gaza and purchased weapons, which he passed on to the two other suspects who carried out the attack.
Kawasme also helped to bury the bodies of the teenagers in a plot of land he had bought a few months earlier, it said. Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha are the other two suspects in the case.
Weapons & ammunition we found in Gaza, next to a baby’s bed, 26/7 pic.twitter.com/BqYVpcvREH
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 6, 2014
Egypt has proposed for Israelis and Palestinians to extend the 72-hour ceasefire by another two days, Al Mayadeen TV channel reported. The truce, which came into effect on Tuesday morning, is set to end on Friday.
05 August 2014
Jordan has presented a new resolution on the Gaza crisis to the UN Security Council, UK Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters.
The draft resolution backed by Arab countries calls for a lasting bilateral ceasefire and a mechanism to monitor its implementation, as well as an international effort to rebuild Gaza.
The new text also calls for a full UN investigation of the attacks on UN-run schools used as shelters in Gaza and for the “sustained reopening" of crossing points into Gaza.
"We are in consultation with all the Council members and hope that in the next day or two we can come up with a product," Jordanian Ambassador Dina Kawar said.
Britain, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, said that talks will continue in the coming days.
Former Cuban president Fidel Castro compared Israel's offensive in Gaza to a "disgusting form of fascism.”
"I think that a new and disgusting form of fascism is emerging with considerable force at this moment in human history," Castro wrote in a column titled 'Palestinian Holocaust in Gaza' in Granma newspaper, AFP reported. "Why does the government of this country [Israel] think that the world will be impervious to this macabre genocide that is being committed today against the Palestinian people?" he asked.
"Maybe it hopes that the complicity of the North American [US] empire will be ignored in this shameless massacre?" the former president continued.
"There are facts that reflect the near total inability of the United States to face the current world problems," said Castro.
Communist Cuba broke diplomatic relations with Israel in 1973 after the Ramadan War – also known as the Arab–Israeli War, which was fought by the coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel.
The number of children killed during the Israel’s offensive operation in the Gaza Strip has reached 408, including a one-month old newborn, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF. At least 2,500 Palestinian children have been injured as a result of the Israeli strikes, the group said. Six Israeli children have been wounded in the conflict.
The Israeli army has reportedly completed its chief Gaza mission of destroying cross-border tunnels dug by Palestinians, Israel Radio and Army Radio said, as cited by Reuters. At least 32 of the underground tunnels were allegedly blown-up.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Israelis and Palestinians to observe the 72-hour ceasefire on Tuesday and to exercise maximum restraint. Ban welcomed the ceasefire in Gaza starting Tuesday morning. Earlier, the UN said it will use the temporary ceasefire to restock supplies at schools and other shelters for about 270,000 displaced Palestinians. Both sides have expressed support for the truce.
UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has condemned an Israeli missile strike near an UNRWA shelter in Rafah that killed nine people on Sunday, including five children.
UNRWA also reported that according to preliminary investigations five of its emergency shelters have been targets of IDF air strikes. One of the shelters was hit twice.
The UN agency added that about 95 UNRWA installations have been “damaged since 8 July 2014 in 135 strikes.”
US President Barack Obama on Monday signed a bill pledging $225 million to Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. The House passed the bill 395-8 Friday night.
The money will be used to replenish Israel’s defense system, which the Israeli Defense Forces say has been intercepting incoming rockets or mortars from Gaza with a 90 percent success rate.
“Not only have we been supportive of Israel in its right to defend itself, but in very concrete terms - for example, in support for the Iron Dome program that has intercepted rockets that are firing down on Israeli cities - we've been trying to cooperate as much as we can to make sure that Israel is able to protect its citizens," Obama said during a press conference.
04 August 2014
The preliminary investigations by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) says that five of its shelters have been subjected to direct kinetic strikes by the Israel Defense Forces. One of the shelters was hit on two occasions.
Our preliminary investigations indicate that 5 of our shelters have been subject to direct kinetic strikes by IDF, 1 of them on 2 occasions.
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) August 4, 2014
Palestinian factions have accepted the new ceasefire draft presented by Israel, and are scheduled to lay down their weapons at 8 am Tuesday morning, Haaretz reports. Meanwhile, the Times of Israel cited senior negotiators as saying that the Palestinian factions are set to announce a 72-hour truce within next few hours. The Maan news agency reported that that Egypt will announce the ceasefire 8 am Tuesday.
Israel says it has said destroyed all known Gaza tunnels, AFP reported.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “after completing the operation against the tunnels” the IDF “will prepare for our continuing action according to our security needs … until we obtain the objective of returning security to you the citizens of Israel.”
At least one Israeli citizen was killed as a truck rammed into a bus in Jerusalem, Israeli media reported. Earlier, the police said that the driver of the truck was “neutralized,” adding that the incident “looks like a terrorist attack."
Israel and Palestine should consider transferring control of Gaza to the UN, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.
"Everyone is asking what happens after the operation ends? Suppose Israel defeats Hamas. There are a few options. International control of Gaza by the UN should certainly be considered."
Lieberman cited the examples of UN mandates in East Timor and Kosovo.
"We saw it works quite well there," he said. “It requires an agreement between us and the Palestinian Authority. It doesn't require consent from the UN, just from the parties involved – Israel and the PA."
A tractor has collided with a bus in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem and overturned it, police spokesman said, as cited by Reuters. He added that the accident “looks like a terrorist attack."
According to the Magen David Adom ambulance service, no one was killed in the incident but two people were injured. The police shot the driver of the construction vehicle, "neutralizing him." The service made no comment about the driver’s condition.
According to Israeli media outlets, the vehicle was driven by a Palestinian man who was shot dead by police troops.
#IDF rejects full responsibility for the damage on #UN school, insisting it was targeting three militants on motorcycles nearby.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) August 4, 2014
A child was killed and 30 people wounded when a refugee camp in Gaza City was air-struck just minutes after a ceasefire declared by Israel had taken effect. The missile hit a house in the camp, killing an eight-year-old girl, emergency services told AFP.
There is no confirmation yet on the missile being Israeli – it’s military says it is currently looking into the incident.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says that Israel's right to defend itself does not justify the "slaughter of civilians". He argued also that a political sollution must be 'imposed' on Israel and the Palestinians, AFP reports.
The IDF said they had started observing a seven-hour ceasefire in most parts of the Gaza Strip, AFP reported.
Earlier, Israel declared that its military would observe a ceasefire in most of the Gaza Strip, except for in the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
The ceasefire started at 07:00 GMT Monday. The IDF would still fight back if attacked, the Israeli Defense Ministry said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged both Israel and Hamas to stop the ongoing fighting, calling on Israel to lift its blockade, Xinhua reports. He stressed China's support for the five-point proposal on ceasefire by Egypt and other countries.
"All movements including airstrikes, ground offensive and launches of rockets should be stopped. Any abuse of force that caused deaths of civilians is unacceptable. All behavior of violence against violence should be abandoned," Wang told a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukry.
Wang also said that China will provide humanitarian funding for Gaza.
"China will grant 1.5 million U.S. dollars in emergency humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, while the Chinese Red Cross will also provide humanitarian support towards the Gaza Strip," Wang noted. "China is willing to work with the international community and to make contributions to ending the Palestine-Israel conflict."
Hamas have urged civilians of Gaza to exercise caution in wake of the announced temporary Israeli ceasefire.
"The calm Israel declared is unilateral and aims to divert attention away from the Israeli massacres. We do not trust such a calm and we urge our people to exercise caution," said the group's spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, Reuters reports.
Israeli Parliament members have criticized Israel's cabinet decision to start scaling down the Gaza offensive without securing security guarantees from Hamas.
"We didn't achieve the objectives of the operation because we were busy with a secondary threat, the tunnels," Uzi Landau tourism Minister said, Haaretz reports. "The main objective we should have addressed is the threat of the missiles and rockets."
"Israeli deterrence is likely to erode in such a situation," he said. "You don't see any other dramatic achievements in this operation, given the price in fatalities we've paid," referring to 63 Israeli soldiers that have lost their lives.
Danny Danon from Likud Party also voiced concern over the decision. “The security cabinet chose the spirit of [Justice Minister] Tzipi Livni and gave the Israel Defense Forces an order to move back. You don't hesitate against terror, you fight it,” he said, the publication quotes.
“Hamas has not been defeated and the countdown to the next round has already begun. Without defeating Hamas we won't have quiet for the long term. Instead of battling Hamas, the government gave the army an order to retreat. There's a real concern that full security for the residents of the south has not been achieved.”
03 August 2014
A Military source told Haaretz that an Israeli Air Force strike targeted three militants on a motorcycle near the school. It not evident that the damage to the school was due to the strike, the publication reports, citing preliminary investigation by the IDF. The IDF intends to examine video footage from the event, based on surveillance at the area.
Israel has declared its military would hold fire in most of the Gaza Strip, except for the southern Gaza town of Rafah, for seven hours on Monday.
The humanitarian truce is due to start at 7:00 GMT on Monday and last for 7 hours to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid and for displaced Palestinians to return to their homes. The IDF however would still fight back if attacked, the Defence Ministry said.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned that Israel would "drown in the blood it sheds" inside Gaza as he addressed his supporters ahead of the Aug. 10 election. Erdogan again linked Netanyahu's actions to those of Hitler.
"Just like Hitler, who sought to establish a race free of all faults, Israel is chasing after the same target," Erdogan said in an Istanbul arena. "They kill women so that they will not give birth to Palestinians; they kill babies so that they won't grow up; they kill men so they can't defend their country ... They will drown in the blood they shed," he said.
Today, Gaza terrorists fired 119 rockets at Israel. That's 119 attempts to kill Israelis.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 3, 2014
Palestinian factions have agreed on a document that includes four conditions for ceasefire. The delegation, which included representatives of both Fatah and Hamas, demanded the immediately halt to fighting in Gaza, withdrawal of Israeli troops from the coastal enclave, lifting of the siege on Gaza and the reopening of all border crossings to ensure the free movement of goods and people into Gaza. This document is expected to be presented to Egyptian officials. Local media reported the truce talks were “positive”.
The delegation of several Palestinian groups to Cairo was headed by Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior Fatah official, who played a major role in brokering the reconciliation deal with Hamas last April.
It also consisted of four Hamas officials: Musa Abu Marzouk, Khalil al-Haya, Izzat al-Risheq and Emad al-Alami.
The Egyptian authorities previously refused to receive any Hamas officials in Cairo unless they were part of a Fatah-led delegation.
Earlier Hamas rejected the ceasefire proposal, insisting that any truce agreement should be based on lifting the blockade on Gaza and the reopening of all border crossings, first of all at Rafah along the Egyptian border.
A team of negotiators from Hamas has arrived in Cairo for scheduled talks with an Egyptian mediator on a possible ceasefire in Gaza.
Israel, however, has ignored Egypt’s invitation, saying that Hamas will not abide by any agreement.
An air strike launched by the IDF has killed at least seven people and injured 30 others in a UN school in the town of Rafah, southern Gaza, medics said. The missile struck the entrance of the school. Israeli authorities declined to comment on the accident.
In the past 24h, 86 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at #Israel, 58 of which landed in the country.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) August 3, 2014
The crisis in the Gaza strip is “intolerable” and risks becoming “an endless loop of violence,” British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond said.
“The British public has a strong sense that the situation of the civilian population in Gaza is simply intolerable and must be addressed – and we agree with them,” Hammond told The Telegraph. “There must be a humanitarian ceasefire that is without conditions. We have to get the killing to stop.”
He added that reprisals against Israel may soon lead to more anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish communities in the UK.
Palestinian Health Ministry figures say that throughout the Gaza Strip on Friday and Saturday at least 256 people have been killed, and 813 wounded.
Israeli aerial bombardment of Rafah between 10 AM Friday and 10 AM Saturday forced the city's medical facilities to place corpses in cold storage designed for fruits, Haaretz reports. The hospitals are running out of place to keep the dead as cemeteries are also being bombarded and people are afraid to bury the dead.
In Rafah alone 123 civilians were killed, including 30 children and 14 women, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
02 August 2014
An Israeli soldier feared abducted by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, was determined to have been killed in action, an army statement said on Sunday.
“A special committee led by the Israel Defence Forces Chief Rabbi, announced the death of the IDF infantry officer of the Givati Brigade, Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, who was killed in battle in the Gaza Strip on Friday, August 1, 2014,” the statement said.
We join Lt. Goldin's family in mourning their loss and will continue to support them through the grieving period.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 2, 2014
Britain says the situation on the ground in Gaza could lead to an increase in anti-Semitic attacks on British Jews.
“The British public has a strong sense that the situation of the civilian population in Gaza is intolerable and must be addressed — and we agree with them,” Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in an interview to be the Daily Telegraph adding that his office receives thousands of emails from Britons "deeply disturbed" at events in Gaza.
"We understand that Israel has concerns, we understand that Hamas has concerns. We are not saying we’re not interested in those," he said. "But we cannot allow them to stand in the way of a humanitarian ceasefire. We have to get the killing to stop."
Jewish advice group The Community Security Trust reported there were 130 anti-Semitic incidents in July alone, the second highest monthly total on record, ITV reports.
Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands announced that the country will allocate €750,000 to provide emergency assistance to residents of the Gaza Strip, Itar-tass reports.
Militants in Gaza fired 84 rockets into Israeli territory, the Iron Dome missile defense systems shot down six of them. Meanwhile the IDF attacked 153 targets in the Gaza Strip, Ynetnews reports.
Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) has continued the distribution of the relief aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Emad Abul Laban, director of the ERC office in Gaza said 3,000 food parcels, 3,000 health parcels, 3,000 parcels including clothes, as well as mineral water were distributed today to the displaced people, Gulf today reports.
Gaza medical authorities said Saturday's death toll had risen to 84, as Israeli forces continued their bombardment of the besieged coastal enclave by air, land, and sea, Maan reports.
At least 296 Palestinian children have been killed so far in the IDF led operation in the Gaza Strip, the UN says.
"Children make up 30 percent of the civilian casualties," said UNICEF adding the toll is only rising. "The number of child casualties during the last 48 hours may rise as a number of incidents are pending verification," it said in a statement.
#DC4Gaza at the Washington Post pic.twitter.com/Yo8tq2EDMZ
— Andrew Panda Blake (@apblake) August 2, 2014
Israel is prepared to continue fighting Palestinian guerrillas in the Gaza Strip after the army completes its primary mission of destroying cross-border tunnels from the territory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.
"After completing the anti-tunnel operation, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will act and continue to act, in accordance with our security needs and only according to our defense needs, until we achieve our objective of restoring security to you, Israel's citizens," he said in a televised speech.
The PM also threatened to exact an "intolerable price" from the Gaza Strip's dominant Hamas Islamists should there be continued attacks from the Palestinian territory.
"We do not accept a continuation of the shooting," Netanyahu told reporters. "It [Hamas] will have to understand, however long that takes, that it will pay an intolerable price, from its perspective, for continuation of the shooting."
Some Israeli ground forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, two Israeli television stations reported, after the military said it was close to achieving its main war goal of destroying Hamas cross-border tunnels.
Asked about the reports, an Israeli military spokesman said she could not comment on troop deployments. (Reuters)
Since midnight Hamas has fired 74 rockets at Israel, 7 were intercepted by Iron Dome and 67 fell in open areas.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 2, 2014
The Israeli military told Palestinians who had fled fighting in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya they could return on Saturday, signaling its offensive in the area was winding down.
"The residents are advised to beware of explosive devices Hamas has spread across the area," the military said in a statement summarizing what it said had been all-clear messages relayed to Beit Lahiya's 70,000 residents. (Reuters)
Over 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's military in the space of a night, as they made well on their promises to step up their military offensive in retaliation for the alleged kidnapping of one of their soldiers - someone who might have also been killed in last night's shelling of southern Gaza, along with his captors, Naharnet reports.
Hamas believes that the missing Israeli officer was killed in an Israeli bombardment.
"We lost contact with the group of combatants that took part in the ambush, and we believe they were all killed in the bombardment. Assuming that they managed to abduct the soldier during combat, we assess that he was also killed in the incident," the militant organization said in a statement, Haaretz reports.
According to the statement the group said that they were ready for a humanitarian cease-fire and they would not shoot rockets into Israel.
Thousands of people took to London's High Street Kensington to protest against the on-going Israeli military offensive against Gaza.
After the main demonstration outside the Israeli embassy, a group of protesters staged a 'die-in demonstration', blocking the entrance to a McDonald's, Tesco and Starbucks on High Street Kensington.
The protesters, members of the growing Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, target retailers that they say do business with, or are supporters of, Israeli.
The Israeli bombardment of the Islamic Uni. few mins ago in Gaza City. taken from @jehadsaftawi 's camera. ... https://t.co/NYMZGikVjg
— Lara (@laraaburamadan) August 2, 2014
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters marched to Berlin's Potsdamer Platz, to demonstrate against continued Israeli aggression against Gaza. Miniature coffins representing the Palestinian children killed by Israeli Defense Forces were laid out in the iconic square as protesters waved Palestine flags and held aloft banners denouncing Israel's military incursion into the Gaza Strip.
Groups that use mosques for military purposes shouldn't complain when mosques may become legitimate military targets. http://t.co/rZai4kcH9W
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 1, 2014
01 August 2014
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in Gaza, as he urged the militant Palestinian faction to show restraint and return to the 72-hour truce that was broken.
"The secretary-general demands the immediate and unconditional release of the captured soldier," his spokesman said in a statement, AFP reports. Ban was "shocked and profoundly disappointed" by the renewed violence and warned that if reports of the attack on Israeli soldiers were confirmed "this would constitute a grave violation of the ceasefire," the statement added. "Such moves call into question the credibility of Hamas' assurances to the United Nations."
Hamas has so far denied responsibility for capturing a soldier claiming fabrication by Israel to "cover up its crimes."
"Israel claims that a soldier was captured to hide its crimes and to divert the public opinion to speak of the captured soldier instead,” Senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan told France 24 network
"We do not have any information about a captured soldier," he added, saying no soldier was captured by any Palestinian faction.
US President Barack Obama says Hamas must show that it is capable of observing a ceasefire.
“I think it’s going to be very hard to put a ceasefire back together again if Israelis and the international community can’t feel confident that Hamas can follow through on a ceasefire commitment,” he told reporters.
He also “unequivocally condemned Hamas and the Palestinian factions that were responsible for killing two Israeli soldiers, and abducting a third almost minutes after a ceasefire had been announced.”
“The point is, when they sign on to a ceasefire, they’re claiming to speak for all the Palestinian factions. And if they don’t have control of them, and just moments after a ceasefire is signed, you have Israeli soldiers being killed and captured, then it’s hard for the Israelis to feel confident that a ceasefire can actually honored.”
President Mahmoud Abbas said he and a Palestinian delegation would head to Cairo on Saturday to discuss "all future steps" regarding the crisis in Gaza, Maan reports.
So far Friday's death toll in the Palestinian Territories surpasses 100, Maan reports citing medical sources, with at least 40 were killed in intense shelling of Rafah. The deaths bring the total in IDF's assault to more than 1,600 as well as nearly 9,000 injured.
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) permitted emergency services, the press, and families affected by the ongoing crisis in Gaza to enter the devastated town of Khuza'a on Friday. Khuza'a has been bombarded by IDF shelling since July 21, killing hundreds and leaving the town without electricity, internet or a telephone connection.
Locals ran through the town in the South of Gaza, carrying bodies in blankets and searching through the rubble of destroyed houses for further victims. Several corpses scarred by IDF aerial fire could be seen inside buildings affected by the shelling.
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO
Before the IDF began its operation in Khuza'a on July 21, Israeli officials ordered residents to evacuate their homes. Some 70 percent of the town's locals complied with Israeli demands, fleeing to UN shelters and houses of relatives. However, at least 3000 Palestinians remained in the town.
An Israeli airstrike on an ambulance has killed a paramedic, seven passengers were wounded, Maan reports. According to the Gaza's ministry of health a total of 16 health workers have so far been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the IDF assault 25 days ago. It is also the 13th ambulance to be targeted by the Israelis.
Israeli forces launched further ground movements in Shujaiyya in eastern Gaza City, Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Turkey will do what it can to help free an Israeli soldier whose capture led to the breakdown of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas but the priority should be the reinstatement of a truce, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Friday.
"What is important is that the ceasefire is reinstated. To ensure this, together with others, we can take any step that could resolve this Israeli soldier issue. If Turkey can do anything, we will do our best," Davutoglu told reporters. "But if the ceasefire is stopped because an Israeli soldier is kidnapped, somebody should account for the 70 Palestinians killed (today). In our eyes, all people are equal." (Reuters)
Secretary of State John Kerry is condemning an "outrageous" violation by Palestinian militants of the Gaza cease-fire he helped to broker. Kerry's demanding the immediate release of an Israeli soldier apparently abducted by the radical Hamas movement.
He says the militant attack was an affront to the assurances that both sides had given to the United Nations about respecting the cease-fire. Kerry is demanding that Hamas move to "immediately and unconditionally release" the missing Israeli soldier. The attack also killed two Israeli soldiers.
Kerry says he has spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the developments, which led Israel to declare the cease-fire over. Kerry says it would be a "tragedy" if the attack led to more violence and suffering. (AP)
So far today, Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip have fired 61 rockets at Israel.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 1, 2014
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah slammed the inaction of international community over Israel's Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip, describing it as "war crimes against humanity."
"This [international] community, which has observed silently what is happening in the whole region, was indifferent to what is happening, as if what is happening is not its concern. Silence that has no justification," King Abdullah said in his speech.
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has topped 50, according to the local Health Ministry. This escalation took place amid a resumption in hostilities, after Israel called off the 72-hour ceasefire, following tit-for-tat accusations.
"Over 50 were killed and 220 wounded in Rafah," Medhat Abbas, director of the Health Ministry told Reuters.
Israel has called off the latest, 72-hour UN-brokered ceasefire, after the sides started trading accusations of hostile behavior. The collapse of the short-lived truce happened as 40 Palestinians had died in the shelling and Israel accused Hamas of firing rockets early morning.
This morning, Hamas fired at our forces in S. Gaza in violation of a ceasefire. We suspect that an IDF soldier was kidnapped moments later.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 1, 2014
#IronDome intercepts six rockets over #Ashdod, while three others land in open areas near the city. #Israel
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) August 1, 2014
An Israeli soldier was apparently captured by Palestinian militants during a clash in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday, an Israeli military spokesman said.
"[Israeli] forces operating to decommission an [infiltration] tunnel were attacked. Initial indications are that a soldier has been abducted by terrorists during the operation," the spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said in a conference call with journalists. (Reuters)
Shattered remains of 4 houses- families came out during the ceasefire 2 recover their belongings&found nothing #Gazapic.twitter.com/HiNsgpswkA
— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) August 1, 2014
There are reports on social media of heavy naval and aerial bombardments of northern Gaza over the last hour before a UN-sponsored 72-hour ceasefire is due to come into effect.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the new death toll stands at no less than 1,437 people, while 23 percent of those killed so far have been children and 12 percent have been women, Maan reports. On Thursday, 79 Palestinians were killed and 350 injured, health ministry spokesman al-Qidra said in a statement. The toll of those injured now stands at 8,265 people, 30 percent of whom have been children, 20 percent women, and 4 percent the elderly. Twenty-nine medical facilities including thirteen hospitals have been damaged by Israeli attacks, the ministry said.
Yesterday, 5 IDF soldiers were killed by mortar fire during operational activity along the Gaza border.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) August 1, 2014
31 July 2014
Israel and Hamas have agreed to unconditionally begin a 72-hour ceasefire in the embattled Gaza Strip on Friday, the United States and United Nations said Thursday.
The ceasefire will begin at 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Friday, Aug. 1, US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said in a joint statement. During the three-day cessation, forces on the ground will remain in place.
After 24 days of the IDF's mission, at least 1382 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are women and children, while more than 7800 others have been injured, Palestinian News Agency WAFA reports. At least 19 Palestinians, including children, a disabled female and two journalist, were killed in a series of Israeli air and artillery attacks across the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
So far today, 73 rockets fired from Gaza have hit Israel; an additional 17 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 31, 2014
The Pentagon called on Israel on Thursday to do more to protect civilian life during its military operations in Gaza, saying the conflict was taking too high a toll on civilians.
"The civilian casualties in Gaza have been too high. And it's become clear that the Israelis need to do more to live up to their very high standards – their very high and very public standards – for protecting civilian life," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said at a news briefing.
Gaza officials say more than 1,370 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the battered enclave. Israel says 56 of its soldiers and three civilians have been killed. (Reuters)
Khalil al-Haya of #Hamas claims #Netanyahu is “searching for a way out,” after suffering “blows from the resistance forces.”
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 31, 2014
Rocket sirens in Tel Aviv
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 31, 2014
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay accused Israel and Hamas of violating international humanitarian law and “committing war crimes” in the ongoing Gaza conflict.
"Locating rockets within schools and hospitals, or even launching these rockets from densely populated areas are violations of international humanitarian law," Pillay said, regarding Hamas.
In the harshest words she criticized Israel saying that attacking civilian areas with schools, hospitals, homes and UN facilities doesn’t appear “accidental.”
"They appear to be defying — deliberate defiance of — obligations that international law imposes on Israel."
She also slammed the US for providing financial support for Israel's Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system.
"No such protection has been provided to Gazans against the shelling," Pillay said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel was determined, regardless of ceasefire efforts, to complete the destruction of tunnels that Palestinian militants have built under the Gaza-Israel border.
"We are determined to complete this mission with or without a ceasefire," Netanyahu said in public remarks at the start of a cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv. "I wont agree to any proposal that will not enable the Israeli military to complete this important task for the sake of Israel's security."
Major General Sami Turgeman, chief of Israeli forces in Gaza, said on Wednesday they were "but a few days away from destroying all the attack tunnels". (Reuters)
Over 100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, among them the casualties from the UN school bombing and the strike on a market.
At least 17 people died in Shejaiya, near Gaza City, while in other parts of the strip, Israel observed a four-hour humanitarian cessation, AFP reported.
At least 200 others were wounded in the strike, medics said.
Earlier, two more people died of wounds, bringing the total death toll from over three weeks of violence to 1,363, according to AFP.
Israel is set to mobilize 16,000 additional reserve forces for the Gaza operation, bringing the total number of reservists called since July 8 to 86,000.
The order was announced along with the morning rocket fire from Gaza, the Jerusalem Post reported.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said that Gaza is a “humanitarian disaster area,” Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA reports, claiming that he sent a letter to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, urging the UN to take necessary measures to declare it as such.
“I decided to declare the region a humanitarian disaster area and I call upon you to shoulder your responsibility in this regard as per the provisions of the UN Charter, particularly Article No. 99," Abbas wrote.
"The UN and its affiliate agencies must meet the urgent needs of our people in Gaza and provide them with relief aid," the message said, according to the report. "The brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza resulted in a humanitarian emergency and suffering for countless numbers of people,” Abbas wrote Ban.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict said there are “no safe places for the children of Gaza.”
“Another UN school, used to shelter 3,300 displaced people was hit by Israeli shelling, despite clear information provided to the Israeli army from the UN that the school was housing IDPs. Civilians, including children, were killed and injured. I strongly condemn this grave violation of international law,” Leila Zerrougui said in a statement.
She says that over a quarter of all Palestinians killed are children, with more than 40 percent of the Gaza Strip being affected “by evacuations or declared no-go zones, the civilian population is left with little possibility to seek protection.” In addition, she said healthcare facilities are being destroyed.
At the same time Zerrougui said, “Rockets fired into Israel by Hamas have injured children and damaged schools. Israeli children also deserve to live in peace.”
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel reiterated US “support for Israel's security and its right to defend itself," according to a statement released by the Department of Defense.
In a conversation with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Hagel also stressed “the need for a humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities and leads to a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
The secretary also said that the long-term solution should “lead to the disarmament of Hamas and all terrorist groups."
Ban Ki-moon condemns #Gaza school attack, demands accountability & justice. More updates: http://t.co/WiohNZsvZ5pic.twitter.com/GmsI1KHYyc
— United Nations (@UN) July 31, 2014
Hacktivist group Anonymous has claimed it has taken down the website of Mossad, the Israeli security service responsible for intelligence and special operations. The attack came as part of the so-called #OpIsrael waged in protest of Israel’s Gaza offensive. As of 00:40 GMT, mossad.gov.il remained offline.
#Anonymous takes down: >http://t.co/Hn3U0Sygkm< #OpSaveGaza#OpIsrael#AnonGhost#Palestine#PalestineResists#Gaza#GazaUnderAttack
— Operation Egypt (@OperationEgypt) July 30, 2014
Mossad tango down! http://t.co/wXvIxHWGZapic.twitter.com/6Ze3iEG4v6
— Thadeus Zu (@deuszu) July 30, 2014
According to Palestinian Health Ministry 129 people were killed and at least 400 people wounded on Wednesday in the Gaza Strip in the ongoing IDF operation, Ria Novosti reports. The death toll now stands at 1,359 people with 7,677 wounded.
50 of the rockets fired from Gaza in the last 24 hours landed in Gaza.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 30, 2014
30 July 2014
Gaza terrorists fired more than 140 rockets at Israel over the past 24 hours. That's almost 1 rocket every 10 minutes.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 30, 2014
Palestine is preparing to file a law suit against Israel to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for committing "war crimes" in the Gaza Strip, information portal Al-Arabi al-Jadid reports. The report says that the case will be prepared and filed by the Palestinian Minister of Justice Salim Al-Sakka.
UN shelters should be safe zones, not combat zones. RT if you agree & see more updates here: http://t.co/gGuWpvxlzBpic.twitter.com/1b5cDJJYQG
— United Nations (@UN) July 30, 2014
Three IDF soldiers were killed in Southern Gaza on Wednesday while uncovering a Hamas tunnel, Israeli Foreign Ministry reports. The ministry also stated that the “temporary humanitarian corridor did not apply to areas in which IDF soldiers were operating.” The ministry added that during the temporary ceasefire, 26 rockets were fired at Israel, two of which were intercepted over Ashkelom and Netivot.
French President Francois Hollande condemned the Wednesday morning shelling of the UN school in Gaza, which killed at least 16 people AFP reports citing the statement of the Elysee Palace.
"The French president agrees with the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, who considers this measure unjustified," said the official statement, adding that "France calls for the immediate introduction of the ceasefire"
The Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos has condemned the intensity of the violence in Gaza, as another UN school serving as a shelter was hot in what she called a “gross violation of international law”.
“Yesterday the UNSCO/UNOCHA Headquarters in Gaza was hit five times over a period between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Gaza’s sole power plant was also hit and is unlikely to be operable for the foreseeable future leaving most homes with an average of 2 hours of electricity per day,” she said.
Israeli strikes near a market in the eastern Gaza Strip killed 15 Palestinians on Wednesday, the local health ministry said.
Residents said that Israeli shelling and two missiles from the air hit the area in Shejaia, on the fringes of the city of Gaza. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman of the Gaza Health Ministry, said 160 people were also wounded. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was checking the report.
Ninety people were killed in the enclave on Wednesday, according to the ministry. (Reuters)
The UN relief and works agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has strongly condemned the Israeli shelling of a UN school last night.
“Children killed in their sleep; this is an affront to all of us, a source of universal shame. Today the world stands disgraced,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl said in a statement.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms this serious violation of international law by Israeli forces,” he said, calling on the international community to take deliberate international political action to put an immediate end to the continuing carnage.
#BreakingNews: #Hamas breaks #IDF-initiated humanitarian #ceasefire in less than 8min, by firing more rockets at #Ashkelon and #Ashdod.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 30, 2014
The IDF has announced a unilateral four-hour humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza beginning from 3pm local time (12:00 GMT).
The IDF also warned Gaza residents not to return “to areas from which they have been asked to evacuate.”
The IDF has opened a humanitarian window in Gaza from 15:00 to 19:00. Window does not apply to areas where IDF soldiers are operating.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 30, 2014
*GRAPHIC*: #Gaza hospital overrun by civilian wounded http://t.co/gBEEu7ZozM
— Ruptly (@Ruptly) 30 июля 2014
An Israeli shelling of a UN school in northern Gaza killed around 20 people in a shelling that hit the UNRWA girls' school in Jabalia in the north of the Palestinian territory. AFP reports citing medics. At the same time a UN official put the number at between 13 and 15.
Israel has dropped over 40,000 rockets and missiles on #Gaza in the past 22 days.
— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) July 30, 2014
Israeli Operation Protective Edge killed at least 21 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip early on Wednesday, Reuters reports citing medical authorities. The agency also reports that 53 soldiers and three civilians have been killed since the start of the offensive on July 8 on the Israeli side.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it had found a cache of rockets at one of its schools in the Gaza Strip.
"We condemn the group or groups who endangered civilians by placing these munitions in our school. This is yet another flagrant violation of the neutrality of our premises. We call on all the warring parties to respect the inviolability of UN property," the agency's spokesman Chris Gunness said in a statement.
Chile and El Salvador have recalled their ambassadors in Israel for consultations due to the increased violence in the Gaza Strip against civilians. The move follows similar actions by Ecuador, Brazil and Peru who have also recalled their ambassadors.
According to Itar-tass, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile said that Santiago is following the IDF actions in Gaza "with great concern". Chile believes that actions of the Jewish state "violate fundamental rules of international humanitarian law, as evidenced by the death of over a thousand civilians, including women and children."
"Although Chile continues to condemn rocket attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians, it is necessary to point out that Israel during the military operation in the Gaza Strip violates the principle of proportional use of force,” the Ministry said.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has also consulted her Peruvian counterpart Ollanta Humala, who also decided to withdraw his country's ambassador from Israel.
In addition, Ambassador of El Salvador in Israel has also been recalled after the country's President Sanchez Ceren issued orders.
"This is in connection with the serious escalation of violence and the implementation of Israel's bombing in northern Gaza," said the Foreign Ministry. They stressed that IDF actions have “led to the deaths of children, women and men, and also became the reason for thousands of Palestinians to leave their homes."
An Israeli assault in the early hours of Wednesday has so far killed 12 Palestinians including at least three children, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.
An 11-year-old handicapped girl died from shelling in the northern Gaza Strip while a subsequent artillery barrage killed a 16-year-old girl. A strike in the city of Khan Yunis killed nine members of a single family, including one child.
The deaths brought the total Palestinian death toll toll to at least 1,242, Qudra said.
.
Woah rt @AFP: An Israeli military strike hits Gaza City sending debris and black smoke high into the sky pic.twitter.com/ruEm8RausV"
— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 30, 2014
At least 100 Palestinians have been killed since Monday midnight after Israel beefed up its military operation in the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza health officials.
29 July 2014
In about three weeks, Hamas has fired over 2,600 rockets at Israel's civilians. pic.twitter.com/lrsgFewwm1
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 29, 2014
Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif declares that, "There will be no ceasefire without [Israel's] lifting of the siege" and stated, "Victory will be ours,” Jpost reports.
Deif who broke years of silence when he resurfaced on Tuesday said the IDF faces fighters "craving to die."
The IDF targeted the home of Hamas military wing head Muhammed Deif, Israel Radio reported Wednesday morning. Two people were killed in the explosion, the militant leader was absent at the time of the assault.
The Palestinian Health Ministry has announced that the death toll in Gaza has now reached 1,210. The announcement comes as five Israeli soldiers were confirmed killed in clashes with Palestinian commandos in a tunnel near the border with Gaza bringing the number of Israeli military deaths to 10.
Thirteen Palestinians have been killed since 3pm local time by Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip, on the eastern part of the Jabalia refugee camp and the Tel al-Zaatar neighborhood, according to Haaretz. The Israeli Defense Force had issued a warning for Palestinians to evacuate from the area, but some families said they had nowhere to go.
Fourteen homes were damaged by the air strikes, 40,000 people were left without electricity and 20,000 people without wastewater disposal.
Two Israeli tank shells have hit the Gaza Strip’s only power plant, according to a spokesman for Gaza's electricity distribution company.
A huge cloud of black smoke was seen rising above Gaza City after the explosion.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Even before the strike, Gaza residents only had electricity for about three hours a day.
A Hamas representative will be part of a Palestinian delegation set to arrive in Egypt on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza. The parties, along with Hamas and Fatah, will discuss the possibility of a 48-hour ceasefire, according to a report in Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen and cited by Ynet.
An Israeli fighter jet has struck the residence of Hamas Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh, Gaza's Interior Ministry said early on Tuesday. No one was injured. Haniyeh's son confirmed the strike on his Facebook page, stating that the house was empty. An Israeli military spokeswoman had no information on the report but was checking the information, Reuters reported.
28 July 2014
At least 26 people have been killed and 241 others injured in Gaza as of Monday night, bringing the day's death toll to 44 people, Ma'an news agency reports.
A four-year-old boy in the northern Gaza Strip was killed by a tank shell as the Israeli air force conducted strikes against alleged Hamas targets. Ten people, including eight children, were also killed when an Israeli missile hit a playground, Ma'an reports. Forty-six people were wounded in the two attacks.
Overall, a total of 1,088 Palestinians have been killed and 6,470 others injured in the 21-day Israeli military campaign, according to a Gaza Ministry of Health spokesman. Of those killed, at least 251 were children and 50 were elderly persons. A total of 1,980 children and 259 elderly persons have been injured.
The IDF said that since midnight on Monday, 51 rockets have been fired into Israel – six of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome.
Five Israeli soldiers were killed on Monday as a result of mortar fire from Hamas militants, the IDF announced. One of the five has been identified as 20-year-old Staff Sgt. Moshe Davino. Families of the victims have been notified.
In addition, four IDF soldiers were killed along the Gaza border today as a result of mortar fire. Their families have been notified.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 28, 2014
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country has to be prepared for a lengthy campaign.
“We will continue to act until our mission is completed,” he told a media conference.
Palestinian gunmen slipped into Israel from the Gaza Strip and penetrated a village near the border before being repelled by the army, reports Reuters, citing Israeli television. Five militants were reportedly killed.
Meanwhile, Hamas said in a statement that their fighters had killed 10 Israeli soldiers in the incident before returning home safely.
Palestinian sources have said there has been a huge blast at the Shifa hospital in Gaza city, the biggest in Gaza. The blast was reportedly caused by an Israeli rocket. Local Palestinian media is reporting several children are among the dead but precise casualty figures have not been given yet. Pictures of the hospital broadcast on television show a scene of chaos, the Times of Israel reports.
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that both parties in the Gaza conflict have “expressed serious interest” in his request for a further 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire but “have not yet agreed on the timing” of when it would be implemented.
Israel and Palestine should immediately stop fighting in Gaza and launch talks on the settlement of the conflict, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
“It is necessary to stop the fighting; and it quite realistic. Then it is necessary to start talks – even if that would be through mediators - for coordinating long-term parameters of the ceasefire,” Lavrov told a media briefing. He added that such an agreement could meet the interests of both parties.
France: Thousands of pro-Israel protesters take to streets
The Israeli Air Force has carried out three airstrikes in central and northern Gaza, targeting Hamas rocket launchers and civil infrastructure installations, AP reports. The strikes on Monday were the first after a relative 12-hour ceasefire due to the beginning of a Muslim holiday. The IDF reported the destruction of two rocket launchers and a rocket manufacturing factory. The strikes have been launched in response to Hamas rocket shelling Israel earlier this morning.
ROCKET COUNT: Hamas has fired 2,538 rockets at Israeli civilians since Operation Protective Edge began. pic.twitter.com/YdGuBl6Wcx
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 28, 2014
An Israeli halt of fire in the Gaza Strip is "unlimited," a military source said on Monday, as fighting with Palestinian militants abated.
"The halt of fire is defined as unlimited, and we continue to tackle the tunnels," the source said, referring to a network of underground passages Israel says are used by Hamas gunmen to attack Israelis and store weapons. (Reuters)
The diplomats called for "an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire, allowing for the delivery of urgently-needed assistance" to Palestinians in the Gaza strip.
The statement was drafted by Jordan and "urged all parties to accept and fully implement the humanitarian ceasefire into the Eid period [Islamic holiday] and beyond," and “calls on parties to engage in efforts to achieve a durable and fully respected ceasefire, based on the Egyptian initiative."
Australia has pledged to send around AU$5 million (US$4.6 million) in emergency humanitarian aid to the victims of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, RIA Novosti reported. The money will be transferred in addition to the already promised $53 million for the development of Palestinian territories in 2014-2015.
The UN Security Council has agreed on a statement calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and is to meet at 4 a.m. GMT in New York to adopt it.
10.000 People at Pro #Gaza protest in Rotterdam the Netherlands #wesupportGaza#StopKillingChildrenInGazapic.twitter.com/DUKGoARgcl
— Lonneke Maraczi (@LonnekeMaraczi) July 27, 2014
27 July 2014
US President Barack Obama has phoned Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stress the need for an "immediate, unconditional" ceasefire in Gaza, the White House said in a statement.
Obama "made clear the strategic imperative of instituting an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities now and leads to a permanent cessation of hostilities based on the November 2012 ceasefire agreement," the statement said.
The Iron Dome just intercepted 4 rockets over Beersheba. Hamas continues to fire at Israel from Gaza.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 27, 2014
Fighting subsided in Gaza on Sunday after Hamas said they backed a 24-hour humanitarian truce, but there was no sign of any comprehensive deal to end their conflict with Israel.
Hamas said it had endorsed a call by the United Nations for a pause in the fighting in light of the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, expected to start in the next couple of days.
The IDF has resumed fighting in the Gaza Strip, saying that Hamas ignored a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire. "Following Hamas' incessant rocket fire throughout the humanitarian window, which was agreed upon for the welfare of the civilian population in Gaza, the (army) will now resume its aerial, naval and ground activity in the Gaza Strip," a statement from Israeli forces said.
Earlier, Israel extended the humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza for 24 hours, but said that it will retaliate if Hamas fires rockets from Gaza territory. But the Palestinian militant group rejected Israel's proposition.
An IDF soldier has been killed by a mortar shell near the Gaza border as Operation Protective Edge enters its 20th day, reports Haaretz.
26 July 2014
At anti-war protest in Tel Aviv "Forgive us" written in 1043 candles marking the number of ppl killed in Gaza &Israel pic.twitter.com/v5ZIBr3mHs
— Elizabeth Tsurkov (@Elizrael) July 26, 2014
From the anti-war protest tonight in Tel Aviv. About 5,000 people attended. #EndGazaAttackpic.twitter.com/d157N7NPs7
— Elizabeth Tsurkov (@Elizrael) July 26, 2014
Two more IDF soldiers died in hospital, raising the Israeli death toll in the Gaza operation to 42 people.
Cpt. Liad Lavi, 22 & Chief Warrant Officer Rami Chalon, 39, both injured in battle, died of their wounds today. May their memory be blessed.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 26, 2014
Israel extended the humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza for 24 hours, the country's cabinet decided late Saturday.
"At the request of the United nations, the cabinet has approved a humanitarian hiatus until tomorrow (Sunday) at 24:00," an unnamed official said in a statement.
However, Israel warned that it will retaliate if Hamas fires rockets from Gaza territory. In addition, the IDF "will continue to neutralize the terror tunnels inside Gaza. Four terror tunnels were neutralized in Gaza on Saturday, despite the ceasefire that was in place from 8:00 a.m.," the Jerusalem Post reported.
Hamas rejected Israel's 24-hour extension of the humanitarian ceasefire, a spokesman for the group said, as cited by AFP.
Canada's Toronto saw two protests running simultaneously: to support Israel and against its operation in Gaza.
Palestinians on one side, Israelis on the other. Barrier down the middle. Insults flying. Will there ever be peace? pic.twitter.com/OMBfiF1Qm9
— Momin Qureshi (@Momin680News) July 26, 2014
Hamas has rejected extending the 12-hour truce till midnight, the group told AP.
Huge turn out today at the #Dublin march for #Gaza#ISupportGazapic.twitter.com/zWrzhvebe1
— Dara de Brún (@DaraDeBrun) July 26, 2014
Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, has stated that Israel rejected a long-term ceasefire proposal "at the last moment", reported Hurriyet Daily News. Top diplomats had been meeting in Paris in order to try and establish a proposal for a long-term ceasefire.
Rocket sirens sound in south, minutes after an official end of humanitarian pause, Haaretz reports. Earlier, Israel agreed to extend the truce till midnight (21.00 GMT).
Moments ago, 3 mortars fired from Gaza hit Israel.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 26, 2014
Thousands of protesters are swarming through London marching against Israeli strikes in the Gaza strip, passing by the Israeli embassy and reaching Parliament square. Those participating have been chanting "Long live Gaza; long live Palestine".
The United Kingdom unites to stand with the indigenous people of Palestine. @Number10gov does not represent us. #Gazapic.twitter.com/uZb4ehj81L
— Rachel Michelé Green (@MissRMGreen) July 26, 2014
A group of foreign ministers have called for an extension of the 12-hour truce in Gaza after meeting in Paris. The UK, the US, France and Germany were amongst the countries represented as top diplomats attempted to lay the groundwork for a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
"All of us call on the parties to extend the humanitarian ceasefire that is currently underway," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius after a gathering that included the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Turkey and the United States.
85 bodies recovered during ceasefire in #Gaza bringing Palestine’s death toll to 985 - Health Ministry http://t.co/uw3vcn3Qn1
— RT (@RT_com) July 26, 2014
Thousands of people in Germany, Spain, India and Iran took to the streets to protest the Israeli offensive on Gaza. Polly Boiko reports from the London demonstration.
At least 60 bodies have been recovered by rescue forces from buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, during the first two hours of the humanitarian truce between the IDF and Hamas, reported the Palestinian Authority's official radio station, as cited by Haaretz.
Turkey lifted a ban on flights to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport after a ceasefire was agreed between Israelis and Palestinians, the state's SHGM aviation authority said on Saturday.
"Taking into account the current ceasefire situation, the flight ban on Israel's Ben Gurion airport has been lifted, pending a subsequent announcement," it said via its Twitter account.
SHGM introduced the ban late on Tuesday and had repeatedly extended it due to security concerns. (Reuters)
Ceasefire, truce, humanitarian break.. Question is, what do people go back to? RT @nicolealjazeera: Shajayia #Gazapic.twitter.com/fTjIbUJpxh
— Rawya Rageh (@RawyaRageh) July 26, 2014
At least 35 bodies have been pulled from rubble in Gaza after Israeli troops and Hamas agreed to a 12-hour truce, which started at 7am, Israeli time (0400 GMT), on Saturday, medics said, as cited by AFP.
So far, we have held our fire for 2 hours today in order to allow a humanitarian window in Gaza. Live updates http://t.co/5xxxYZLzYB
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 26, 2014
A family of 18 Palestinians were killed by Israeli tank shelling in the southern Gaza Strip shortly before a 12-hour humanitarian ceasefire came into effect, the Gaza health ministry said. The victims were members of the Al-Najar family, who had been trapped inside their house in Khuzaa village east of Khan Younis since Thursday, ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra said. The shelling also injured many others, he added.
#BREAKING : No Israeli strikes in #Gaza 13 minutes after ceasefire kickoff
— ANADOLU AGENCY (ENG) (@anadoluagency) July 26, 2014
A casualty arrives at the hospital. The doctor discovers it's his martyred son. He takes one last photo. #Gazapic.twitter.com/naBiWJhrzx
— Belal - Gaza (@Belalmd12) July 25, 2014
25 July 2014
Saudi Arabia is to disburse $26 million in additional medical aid to Gaza upon decree by the country’s leader, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. The decision follows another order by the king to distribute $53.3 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory a week ago, reports Al Arabiya. According to Saudi Health Minister Adel Faqih, the aid is intended to serve the emergency needs of injured Palestinian civilians during the Israeli offensive, which has killed over 800 so far and pressed medical services to the verge of collapse. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has appealed to its member states and NGOs to provide aid to Gaza, in particular medical supplies.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said IDF may soon broaden its ground operation in the Gaza Strip significantly.
The troops on the ground “need to be ready for the possibility that very soon we will instruct the military to significantly broaden the ground operation in Gaza," Yaalon said, as quoted by the Defense Ministry.
The statement comes shortly after US Secretary of State John Kerry announced in Cairo that he has been unable to facilitate an agreement for a temporary weeklong ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has stated that he is confident Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is committed to reaching a resolution with regards to the Gaza conflict and potential ceasefire.
He added that "serious progress" had been made but there was more work to do. He made the comments during a press conference in Cairo.
Air France has begun flying to Tel Aviv once more after halting all of its Israel-bound flights on Tuesday when a rocket fired from Gaza landed near Ben Gurion airport. The first flight will depart at 9pm GMT.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shokri had made calls for a week long humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, reports AFP.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet has rejected proposals for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a government source told Reuters.
US Secretary of State John Kerry had been hoping for 18 days of fighting and exchanges of rocket fire to draw to a close.
However, the official, who expressed a wish to remain anonymous, stated that Israel was seeking changes to proposed agreements. Hamas is yet to respond.
A French lawyer has filed a complaint on behalf of the Palestinian justice minister at the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the Israeli military of carrying out “war crimes” during its ongoing military operation in the Gaza Strip, AFP reports. The complaint targets “war crimes committed by the Israeli army in June and July 2014 in Palestine” in the context of the operation known as Protective Edge, Gilles Devers told reporters.
“Israel, the occupying power, is carrying out a military operation which in principle and form violates the basis of international law,” he said. “Every day new crimes are committed and over 80 percent of the victims are civilians. Children, women, hospitals, UN schools... the Israeli soldiers respect nothing.
“This is a military attack against the Palestinian population.”
The Palestinian Authority, which has non-member observer state status at the United Nations, is yet to sign up to the ICC Hague-based ICC. Devers, who said the ICC issue stemmed from “political” quarrels over the Palestinians’ status, maintains the complaint is still valid.
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has confirmed that Sgt. Oron Shaul, who had previously been declared missing, did not survive the attack on his APC in Gaza on Sunday, Haaretz reports.
A special committee established by IDF Chief Rabbi Rafi Peretz concluded that Shaul has been defined as "a soldier killed in action whose burial site is unknown".
Shaul's family has been notified.
Hamas had initially reported that it had captured Shaul and was holding him hostage, citing his alleged military ID. Having an Israeli soldier as a hostage could have proved a significant bargaining chip for Hamas in future negotiations to end the ongoing military operation.
Three Palestinians were shot dead in separate incidents occurring in the West Bank, according to medics and witnesses. A man who appeared to be a Jewish settler had killed a Pelestinian in Nabrus, while another was killed shortly after clashes with the military close by. The third death occurred near the city of Hebron, medica said, according to Reuters.
Rising tensions among civilians are beginning to be a reflection of the 18-day conflict at this point.
Rocket alerts sound across wide areas of central, south #Israel.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 25, 2014
The WHO has spoken of a need for a humanitarian corridor in order to evacuate the wounded and bring in supplies and medicine, Reuters reports.
Due to hospital damages that have taken place since July 8's airstrikes by Israel, people are in dire need of care emergency care.
"WHO calls for the creation of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of the injured, as well as for the supply of life-saving medicines. The humanitarian corridor should extend to protect the safe passage of patients to access crossing points and exit outside the Gaza Strip for medical care," the statement by the health organization reads.
Palestinian Fatah movement leaders in the West Bank have called for a “day of anger” on Friday, which is one of the last days of the holy month of Ramadan.
At least 117 Palestinians died on Thursday, making it one of the deadliest days since the Israeli operation began. The latest losses brought the total death toll to 797-- including at least 200 children, 75 women and 40 elderly. More than 5,100 people have been wounded.
24 July 2014
Around 10,000 Palestinians near Kalandia checkpoint in the West Bank demonstrated against the Israeli offensive, The Jerusalem Post reported. Clashes erupted as protesters threw rocks, firebombs, and fireworks at Israeli police. Two protesters were killed and dozens were injured during the scuffles, according to Palestinian media reports. Thirteen Israeli police officers were slightly wounded.
Heart wrenching scenes at hospital where dead & wounded brought from UN school in Beit Hanoun that was shelled #Gazapic.twitter.com/42CUuVOXl0
— Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous) July 24, 2014
Hamas fired from a populated area near an UNRWA shelter & prevented civilians from evacuating after we sent warnings. http://t.co/LhITV3rspZ
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 24, 2014
The UN has condemned Thursday's attack by Israel on the UN-run school.
"I am appalled by the news of an attack on an UNRWA school in Northern Gaza where hundreds of people had taken refuge," said the statement by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon published on Thursday.
"When I briefed the Security Council from Ramallah just two days ago, I condemned Hamas rocket fire and called on Israel to exercise particular care to avoid any attack on United Nations premises where civilians have taken refuge," he added.
Ban Ki-moon is appalled by news of attack on @UNRWA school in N Gaza where 100s of people had taken refuge - stmt: http://t.co/MxkYuDOS6M
— United Nations (@UN) July 24, 2014
UK budget airline easyJet is to resume regular flying to Tel Aviv on Friday, with one other flight leaving on Thursday afternoon. "EasyJet will continue to monitor the safety advice on travel to and from Tel Aviv from all relevant authorities," the company said in a statement emailed to Reuters. The airline made the announcement after it a recommendation by US and EU regulators not to fly there was lifted.
At least 15 people have been killed and several wounded when Israel's forces targeted a UN-run school sheltering Palestinian refugees in northern Gaza on Thursday, Gaza's Ministry of Health said.
#Gaza health official: at least 15 dead after shelling of #UNRWA school
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 24, 2014
"Such a massacre requires more than one hospital to deal with it," Ayman Hamdan, director of the Beit Hanoun hospital told Reuters. Medical centers in the same area are receiving those who have been injured.
Israel's army had obtained 'precise coordinates', according to a United Nations Relief and Works Agency spokesman.
Precise co-ordinates of the UNRWA shelter in Beit Hanoun had been formally given to the Israeli army RT
— Chris Gunness (@ChrisGunness) July 24, 2014
#BreakingNews: More rockets fired at #TelAviv in less than 15 min since the last attack.
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 24, 2014
The FAA has lifted its ban on US flights to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, citing work with the US government over the past 24 hours to assess any remaining security risks to civil aviation.
The Palestinian death toll topped 700 as Israeli tank fire killed 16 people in the Gaza strip’s coastal territory before dawn, including six members of the same family, Palestinian health officials said, as cited by Reuters.
The UN Secretary-General has expressed "outrage and regret" at the placement of rockets in a UN-run school in Gaza, according to a statement by a spokesman for Ban Ki-moon.
Ban also said he was alarmed to hear that the weapons now "have gone missing," demanding a full review into the issue. The UN said that this is the second time such an incident has happened during the current conflict.
"Those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children," UN staff and anyone seeking shelter, the statement said.
BREAKING NEWS: 140,469 displaced people in 83 UNRWA shelters across #Gaza. The flood of civilian displacement continues unabated RT
— Chris Gunness (@ChrisGunness) July 23, 2014
23 July 2014
The United Nations Human Rights Council announced that it is launching an independent inquiry into violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
The council adopted a resolution to send an investigative team during an emergency meeting, with 29 countries voting in favor, 17 abstentions, and a sole negative vote by the US. The resolution strongly condemns Israel’s failure to stop the prolonged occupation of the area.
German astronaut Alexander Gerst, a member of the European Space Agency aboard the International Space Station, tweeted a photo of the conflict between Israel and Gaza, as seen from orbit. He called it his “saddest photo yet.”
My saddest photo yet. From #ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over #Gaza & #Israelpic.twitter.com/jNGWxHilSy
— Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) July 23, 2014
The leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, said Wednesday that he is ready to accept a humanitarian truce in Gaza, but said that any truce would depend on Israel ending their siege of the tiny strip of Palestinian land.
The US state Department said Wednesday that Hamas is possession of rockets that can hit Israel’s Ben Gurion airport, although the accuracy of the rockets is limited. US aviation companies extended a ban on US flights to Tel Aviv for the second day on Wednesday.
The death toll in Gaza has now reached almost 700, with 693 deaths, 166 of them children as well as 37 elderly men. 4519 people have been injured, including 1213 kids and 161 elderly men, according to a spokesman for the health ministry.
@DaliaHatuqa what about Syria?
— Jack (@jackthearsenal) July 23, 2014
Gaza's only power plant was shelled by Israel at 3am today. Vast majority of Gazans already only get 4hrs elec/day pic.twitter.com/TRBkzeqPzu
— Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous) July 23, 2014
With Israel’s air forces overhead, the navy to the west, tanks and ground troops to the north, east and south, there is no shortage of extreme risks for the Palestinian paramedics.
“While we were on our way to Middle Gaza, the taxi driver we were using basically got a phone call saying his home has been destroyed,” RT’s Harry Fear who is at the scene of the violence said, pointing at the debris of the driver’s home.
Over the last days, ambulances have come under Israeli fire and one medic has already died.
Watch more in Harry Fear’s report from Gaza
Russian airline UTair has suspended all flights to Tel Aviv from Samara and Ufa, the company stated, who posted the information on their Facebook page. “Due to the unstable situation in the Middle East, UTair has come to the decision to stop flights from Samara and Ufa to Tel Aviv for the time being. The measures were taken to ensure the safety of our passengers. Those who have bought tickets will be fully compensated,” the airlines press service said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that some progress had been made in efforts to bring an end to 16 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
"We have certainly made some steps forward. There is still work to be done," Kerry said shortly after arriving in Jerusalem for a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He declined to give any details.
Israel and Palestine have traded accusations at an emergency debate at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva and both said their actions during Israel's assault on Gaza were within the rules of international law.
"Israel will destroy Hamas' military infrastructure," Israel's ambassador to the body, Eviatar Manor, said, referring to the Palestinian militant group controlling Gaza. "However, the Gaza residents are not our enemy. Israel is fully committed to international law," he added.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki urged world powers to end what he called Israel's impunity, adding: "Israel must be held accountable for its crimes." His speech was greeted by loud applause.
Israel maybe committing war crimes in Gaza according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she sited punitive house demolitions and the killing of children raise the "strong possibility" that Israel is violating international law. Pillay also condemned the indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars by Hamas into Israel.
5 rockets were just intercepted above Ashkelon.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 23, 2014
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to seek ways of ending the deadliest violence in years between Israel and Gaza's Islamist Hamas.
"Secretary Kerry arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, this morning to meet with officials to discuss the ongoing ceasefire efforts," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
"He will also travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank, and will be meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Palestinian Authority President (Mahmoud) Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu." (Reuters)
British lawmaker David Ward of the Liberal Democrats has triggered a barrage of angry comments on social media after he wrote on Twitter that he would probably fire rockets at Israel if he lived in Palestinian territory.
The big question is - if I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket? - probably yes
— David Ward (@DavidWardMP) July 22, 2014
Twitter users called the comment a disgrace and called on party head Nick Clegg to suspend Ward for his comments. Clegg said the party takes the matter very seriously and Ward will be disciplined accordingly.
“We utterly condemn David Ward's comments, they are not representative of the Liberal Democrats,” the party said in a statement.
118,300 Palestinian civilians and counting are now seeking refuge in every available #UNRWA school in… http://t.co/PrsHrnpEXY
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 22, 2014
DAILY RECAP: Day 15 of Operation Protective Edge. We struck more than 260 terror targets pic.twitter.com/JLnJoNZuUg
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 23, 2014
Gaza health officials say at least 633 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of Israeli military assault on July 8, but the exact number of militants and civilians killed is not clear, reports AP.
22 July 2014
Israel has appealed to airlines that have halted flights into the country to reverse their decision. The country’s Transportation Ministry has said that Tel Aviv was “safe for landings and departures.”
"Ben Gurion Airport is safe and completely guarded and there is no reason whatsoever that American companies would stop their flights and hand terror a prize," it said in a statement.
Netanyahu is reported to have personally appealed to US Secretary of State John Kerry to reverse the FAA’s advisory against flights into Israel. Politically, the decision to suspend airline service into Ben Gurion is seen as a blow to the Israeli PM.
Palestine has asked the United Nations to investigate "all violations" of human rights and humanitarian law that they say have been committed by Israel during its military offensive in Gaza.
The draft resolution is to be debated by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday at an emergency session also requested by Egypt and Pakistan, Reuters reports.
The Palestinian observer mission to the United Nations seeks to have the 47-member forum "urgently dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry ... to investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, in the context of the military operations conducted since 13 June 2014 ..."
A Turkish Airlines plane from Istanbul bound for Tel Aviv is the latest aircraft to return back home, a company spokesman stated. He also added that flights have been halted for 24 hours.
Aeroflot flight 504 bound for Tel Aviv has turned back to Moscow, the airline’s press service has informed. The plane is currently in the region of the Black Sea as it returns to the Russian capital. The company also stated that the next flight, which is set to leave soon, has been preliminary put back three hours due to the situation in the Middle East.
The European Air Safety Agency (EASA) says it has issued a 'strong recommendation' to avoid Tel Aviv airport until further notice.
The French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and end to violence in Gaza, which has now left over 600 Palestinians dead.
“In Israel and in Gaza, the situation is very hard. Nothing justifies continued attacks and massacres which do nothing but only claim more victims and stoke tensions, hatred. France will act forcefully to demand an immediate ceasefire,” said Mr Fabius as he arrived for a meeting of European Union foreign ministers.
Swiss International Air Lines has also cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv on Tuesday and Wednesday and is monitoring the situation, a spokeswoman said, in line with similar measures by other airlines.
"As a precautionary measure given the situation we are discontinuing our flights to Tel Aviv and continue monitoring the situation very closely," Swiss International Air Lines spokeswoman Susanne Muehlemann said.
The Russian airline Transaero decided to turn back a flight that was bound for Tel Aviv. Flight number 311 was enroute to the Israeli city but instead headed back to Moscow. A spokesman for the company said that Wednesday’s flights to Israel have also been cancelled.
The Foreign Ministries of all 28 members of the European Union have called for Hamas to stop its “criminal and unjustifiable acts” while saying they were “particularly appalled” at the human cost of the Israeli operation, where many civilians have died.
At a press conference after the ministerial meeting, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said all ministers recognized ‘’Israel's legitimate right to defend itself against any attacks’’ but the EU statement underlines that the Israeli military operation “must be proportionate and in line with international humanitarian law.’’
The EU called for an ‘’immediate cessation of the hostilities based on a return to the November 2012 ceasefire agreement’’, welcoming on-going efforts by regional partners, and in particular by Egypt, and reiterating its readiness ‘’to provide the necessary support to this end.’’ ‘’The EU calls on all sides to implement in good faith an immediate cease fire.’’
‘’We are in contact with several parties in the region, including US Secretary of State John Kerry (who is Egypt),’’ Ashton said.
A whole host of European airlines are also halting services to Israel in the wake of the decision by US carriers to stop flying to the country. Germany's largest airline Lufthansa said it would suspend flights to Tel Aviv for 36 hours, citing security concerns.
KLM and Air France are also cancelling flights to Israel. A spokeswomen for the Dutch airline said, "we have cancelled our flight to Tel Aviv as a precaution because we can't secure passengers' safety. We'll review the situation every day."
US Airways, United Airlines and Delta say they are immediately suspending flights to and from Israel after a rocket attack near Ben-Gurion International Airport.
The decision was taken following a warning from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), after a rocket fell in the city of Yehud, which is just five kilometers from the airport, Haaretz reported.
The FFA has ordered US airlines not to fly to or from Ben Gurion Airport "for a period of up to 24 hours."
Nevertheless, the FFA has not issued any warnings regarding flights over the Gaza region, despite the current conflict, the White House said on Tuesday.
"As it relates to the airspace in Gaza ... the FAA has not issued any notices related to the ongoing violence in that region of the world," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.
"This does serve to illustrate, though, that its individual carriers who make the decisions about their flight plans and whether or not to alter specific routes based on hostilities on the ground," he said.
The lower house of Jordan’s parliament condemned Israel’s “brutal and racist aggression” in Gaza Tuesday and described the death of more than 590 Palestinians as “the most atrocious mass killing operation”.
Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994, the second Arab country to do so after Egypt in 1979.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu says the international community must hold Hamas responsible for its attacks on Israeli civilians, during a press-conference with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Netanyahu also added that "what we are seeing from Hamas is an example of Islamic extremism." He compared them to Isis, Hezbollah and Boko Haram. "In the face of such terror, Israel has no option but to defend itself... We will do what we have to do to defend ourselves."
In response, UN Chief says too many Israeli and Palestinian mothers are “burying their children” and urges both sides to “stop fighting and start talking.” He also added that he urges “Israel to show maximum restraint.”
#IDF reporting that they did not target #AlJazeera office in #Gaza
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 22, 2014
An Israeli soldier is missing in the Gaza Strip and presumed dead, local media quoted the military as saying on Tuesday, two days after the Islamist Hamas group announced they had captured a soldier during clashes.
Israel's Channel 10 News said the military believed the man was killed along with six other troops in an attack on an armoured vehicle on Sunday. However, the army has only identified six bodies. (Reuters)
The Iron Dome just intercepted a rocket above the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Another rocket hit the city of Yehud in central Israel.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 22, 2014
Nine more Israeli soldiers were killed on the 14th day of Operation Protective Edge. The IDF death toll reached 27 on Monday, with all of the servicemen being killed after the ground phase of the operation began. Recent IDF losses are the heaviest since the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Palestinian losses have reached almost 600 and over 3,300 have been wounded.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is en route to Egypt. According to a statement by State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki Kerry hopes to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas by engaging Egyptian officials--the country is widely considered a critical piece in any potential compromise as it controls Gaza’s border into the Sinai, and thus has oversight over tunnels operated by Hamas used to traffic goods and weapons, namely rockets, into the blockaded region.
"The United States — and our international partners — are deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation, and the loss of more innocent life," Psaki said. "We believe there should be a cease-fire as soon as possible — one that restores the cease-fire reached in November of 2012."
21 July 2014
Over 100 Palestinians were killed on Monday, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). "The past 24 hours marked the deadliest period since the current escalation of violence began, with 107 Palestinians killed, including 23 women and 35 children," the UNRWA said on Monday. "Tragically, the total number of children killed in the current conflict has now passed 100 and represents almost one quarter of all Palestinian fatalities. 13 Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in this 24-hour period.”
US State Department issued a travel warning to US citizens for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, stressing concerns over fighting in the area.
"The Department of State recommends that citizens consider the deferral of non-essential travel to Israel and the West Bank and reaffirms the longstanding strong warning to US citizens against any travel to the Gaza Strip," it said in a statement.
"The security environment remains complex in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, and US citizens need to be aware of the risks of travel to these areas because of the current conflict between Hamas and Israel.”
Turkey declared three days of mourning Monday for the Palestinian victims of Israel's military operation in the Gaza strip and has called the assault a "massacre".
US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Egypt’s capital for talks on ways to halt the fighting between Israel and the Islamist militant group of Hamas in Gaza.
In the past 24 hours, 7 IDF soldiers were killed while fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 21, 2014
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Cairo on Monday for talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi and other officials on the fighting in Gaza, his spokesman said.
"The (UN secretary-general) is looking forward to his meetings with President Sisi and the foreign minister and the secretary general of the Arab League to discuss the ongoing situation in Gaza and the efforts to secure a ceasefire," Stephane Dujarric told Reuters by telephone. (Reuters)
At least four Palestinian's have been killed and dozen's wounded after an Israeli airstrike hit a hospital in central Gaza, the Daily Star of Lebanon reports.
The death toll of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge has now surpassed 500 after 16 more Palestinians were found dead, medics have told AFP.
Following an emergency session of the UN Security Council the 15-member body expressed “serious concern” over the growing number of casualties in Gaza and called for an immediate end to hostilities.
President of #UNSC addressed the media following closed consultations on #Gazapic.twitter.com/kBfqLMgRdU
— Mission of Rwanda UN (@RwandaUN) July 21, 2014
At least 476 Palestinians have been killed in the IDF special operation in Gaza Strip so far, emergency services spokesman for the Gaza Strip Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.
Two Americans were among the 13 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza on Sunday, the U.S. State Department said.
Max Steinberg, was a sniper in the Golani Brigade of the IDF, according to a letter sent by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles to its email list. Nissim Sean Carmeli was also fighting in the Golani Brigade, the Houston Chronicle reported.
US branch of Amnesty International is calling for a UN-imposed comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups, and has started an online petition titles, “Urge the US Government to stop arming Israel.”
“It is time for a UN-mandated international investigation into violations committed on all sides amidst Israel’s invasion of Gaza and indiscriminate rocket fire from Palestinian armed groups into Israel,” the call to action reads.
In Downtown San Francisco thousands of people also protested the Israeli’s bombing Palestinians.
Downtown San Francisco. Thousands of people protesting Israel bombing Palestine. Just observing. #Gazapic.twitter.com/6sqeD1bjxx
— BlueSF (@BlueSFPolitico) July 21, 2014
Israel's UN Ambassador Ron Prosor has dismissed reports that an Israeli soldier was captured during the fighting in Shejaia.
"There's no kidnapped Israeli soldier and those rumors are untrue," Prosor told reporters at the United Nations as the Security Council held an emergency meeting on the crisis.
DAILY RECAP: Day 13 of Operation Protective Edge. Our mission to restore security to the people of Israel continues pic.twitter.com/wT6Wb8pKAF
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 21, 2014
Pro-Palestinian rallies were also held in Amsterdam on Sunday protesting against Israel's “horrific massacre” in Gaza.
Amsterdam today protesting against Israel's horrific massacre in Gaza! #BDS#GazaUnderAttack#Genocidepic.twitter.com/IN1JQvqRjB
— Delic #BDS (@HamdoDelic) July 20, 2014
In Los Angeles, a rally in support of the Palestinian cause has also been held.
NOW: THOUSANDS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE STREETS IN LOS ANGELES FOR #GAZApic.twitter.com/qLGkQvinYg
— Mike Prysner (@MikePrysner) July 21, 2014
China's special envoy for Middle East Affairs, Ambassador Wu Sike urges Israel and all parties involved to cease fire immediately to stop civilian losses in Gaza, CCTV reports.
In the wake of international outrage over the ‘Shejaia massacre’ in Gaza the IDF has published a blogpost, explaining that it had warned civilians in Shuja’iya to evacuate the area many days before striking the terror infrastructure within it. "Dropping leaflets, making phone calls and sending text messages are just some of the many actions the IDF has been taking to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza," the post reads.
Many days ago, we dropped this Arabic flyer warning residents of Shuja'iya to evacuate. Read the English translation. pic.twitter.com/14REpZqhB3
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 20, 2014
Thousands have gathered in Morocco in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle, as protesters condemned the Israeli military operation in the Gaza strip.
Morocco, Rabat. Today. For #Gazapic.twitter.com/O8OcnEpM2F
— Soukaina M (@SoukainaPL) July 21, 2014
According to the Times Of Israel, the IDF denies Hamas claim to have kidnapped a soldier.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is heading to Cairo to hold meetings on Monday concerning the situation in Gaza.
"The United States - and our international partners- are deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation, and the loss of more innocent life," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. "We believe there should be a ceasefire as soon as possible - one that restores the cease-fire reached in November of 2012."
Psaki added that Kerry "is working to support Egypt's initiative to pursue that outcome, and will travel to the region as part of those efforts."
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said the army is seeking to fulfill its military goals in the next few days, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said, RIA reports.
"I think that in two or three days, most of the tunnels will be eliminated,” Ya'alon said, as the IDF seeks to destroy most of the underground tunnels of the Palestinian militants, which they have dug under the border with Israel for possible attacks, thereby fulfilling the main task of "land phase" operation in Gaza.
20 July 2014
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the BBC Broadcasting House in Belfast Sunday, voicing their concerns over what they view as "biased" reporting by the BBC on the current Israeli military offensive in Gaza. A vigil was held at 8 p.m. local time (1900 GMT), where protesters lit candles and held a minutes silence in support of victims of the current campaign.
The protesters accuse the BBC of pro-Israeli bias in its coverage, such as providing scant coverage of Palestinian solidarity protests in the UK.
Heavy bombardment in #Shujaia East of #Gaza now. An explosion sounds close to our House Via: @AsemAlnabeh
— صلاح السيف (@SHDAlsaif) July 20, 2014
Thirteen members of the Cheikh Yassine Collective were arrested in Paris Sunday, after staging a demonstration in solidarity with the people of Gaza despite authorities' warnings not to do so.
The protest was met by a large police presence and comes after protesters clashed with police Saturday in Paris after the prohibition of another demonstration in solidarity with Gaza.
In a telephone conversation with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, President President Obama "reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself,” but expressed “serious concern about the growing number of casualties, including increasing Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza and the loss of Israeli soldiers," the White House said in a statement.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated in downtown Chicago at the Israeli Consulate, demanded an immediate halt to Israel’s military action in Gaza.
#NOW | Chicago marching in the thousands to call #Israel out for murder, war crimes & genocide #Gaza#GazaUnderAttackpic.twitter.com/gICNP59P8a
— NEW MEDIA NEWS (@HamdiCelikbas) July 21, 2014
Now reading names of the dead in #Chicago | #GazaUnderAttackpic.twitter.com/ccbA3tttfY
— Rachael P (@plussone) July 20, 2014
Protesters clashed with police and set fire to rubbish bins while smashing cars and shop windows in the French municipality of Sarcelles Sunday, after the mayor of Sarcelles banned a protest in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
The clashes follow similar confrontations that occurred Saturday in Paris after the prohibition of another protest in support of the Palestinians.
UNSC is to hold an emergency meeting on the situation in Gaza at the request of Jordan on behalf of the Arab Group of the UN Security Council.
#UNSC to convene an emergency meeting on #Gaza tonight at 9:30pm
— Mission of Rwanda UN (@RwandaUN) July 20, 2014
Since the beginning of the ground phase of the operation, the IDF has engaged and killed 110 terrorists & targeted 1302 terror sites.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 20, 2014
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas calls on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency session over the "massacre in Shujaiyeh,” Haaretz reports.
Israeli forces heavily shelled the eastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shuja’iyeh on early Sunday morning, killing at least 60 Palestinians, including children, forcing thousands to seek shelter in UN facilities.
#UNSG Ban Ki-moon meets with #Abbas in #Qatar, reiterates call for immediate ceasefire http://t.co/vqwhjiMpFx@UNRWApic.twitter.com/RVVh1aeoqk
— UN News Centre (@UN_News_Centre) July 20, 2014
Medhat Abbas, Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza said there are “at least 60 dead in Shuja’iyeh, and hundreds wounded,” he added, “I don’t have the number now because there is no electricity, no nothing,” mondoweiss.net reports.
Hamas says it has captured an Israeli soldier. Speaking on a Hamas television station, a masked spokesman, Abu Ubaida, said they “have captured a Zionist soldier and the occupation has not admitted that.”
“The Israeli soldier Shaul Aaron is in the hands of the Qassam Brigades,” he added. Israel has yet to comment on the claim.
Now shouting over several loudspeakers across #Gaza City. Gunfire, thuds after Hamas announces capture of an Israeli soldier, alive.
— Janis Mackey Frayer (@janisctv) July 20, 2014
So far today, 70 rockets fired from Gaza have hit Israel; an additional 16 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 20, 2014
Several thousand Free Palestine supporter in Vienna reach final destination #AustriaForGaza@Ruptlypic.twitter.com/bxn343ctTz
— denise reese (@denice_ruptly) July 20, 2014
More than 2000 protesters gathered in Sydney to show their support for Palestine and condemn Israel’s continued bombardment of the Gaza strip.
13 Israeli soldiers were killed on Saturday night and early Sunday in several incidents across the Gaza Strip, bringing to a total 18 troop fatalities in less than two days, according to Haaretz.
Since last night, 13 soldiers from the IDF's Golani Brigade were killed while fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 20, 2014
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel will take "whatever action is necessary" to halt Hamas cross-border rocket attacks from Gaza and restore calm but insisted his forces were doing their utmost to avoid civilian casualties there.
"We try to target military targets and unfortunately there are civilian casualties which we regret and we don't seek," Netanyahu said shortly after an Israeli attack on a Gaza neighborhood killed at least 89 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The United States believes Israel has a right to defend itself from rockets fired from Gaza and from attacks launched out of cross-border tunnels, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday.
"You have a right to go in and take out those tunnels," Kerry told Fox News. "We completely support that. And we support Israel's right to defend itself against rockets that are continuing to come in."
Israel, which has accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of using civilians as human shields by launching rockets from residential areas, sent ground forces into the Gaza Strip on Thursday after 10 days of air, naval and artillery barrages failed to stop the salvoes.
An image of smoke coming from Gaza City after Israel shelled the area. At least 89 Palestinian's have died according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The death toll of Israel’s Operation Defensive Edge has passed 400, the Palestinian Health Ministry reports.
The Red Cross has called for a three-hour humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli officials confirmed to Haaretz. Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri says Hamas has already agreed to the ceasefire, but claims Israel has refused the request. There has been no official response from Israel as of yet.
Israeli shelling of Shejaia neighborhood in the Gaza Strip on Sunday resulted in killing at least 40 Palestinians, a medical official told Reuters.
"Forty martyrs have been counted so far and bodies were picked up. Medics are searching for possibly more casualties,” the director of Gaza's Shifa hospital, Naser Tattar, said, adding that about 400 people were wounded in the Israeli attack.
Rt @jonjensenCNN This is what Shaja'ai looks like right now in #Gaza, after more than 12 hours of heavy bombardment pic.twitter.com/m4pkKqjNxh
— Bel Trew - بل ترو (@Beltrew) July 20, 2014
A Palestinian cameraman and a paramedic have been killed in violence in North Gaza, AFP reports, citing medics.
The death toll in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza City has risen to 20 and dozens have been wounded, reports Haaretz.
Hamas has launched an ambush on an IDF armored personnel carrier and a tank close to Gaza City, reports Haaretz, citing Hamas sources. According to the reports, Hamas fighters opened fire on the vehicles with antitank missiles and explosives.
Israeli bombardments killed at least 12 people in Gaza on Sunday, medics said, Arab News reports, bringing the toll in a 13-day long campaign to 355 Palestinians, and five Israelis, including two civilians.
IDF says its goal remains to strike a blow to Hamas' capabilities so "that the citizens of Israel can live in safety and security."
Our goal remains, to strike a significant blow to Hamas' terror capabilities so that the citizens of Israel can live in safety and security
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 20, 2014
IDF says it is expanding its ground offensive against the Palestinians as Operation Edge enters its 13th day.
"This evening, the ground phase of Operation Protective Edge expands, as additional forces join the effort to combat terror in the Gaza Strip and establish a reality in which Israeli residents can live in safety and security," the army said in a statement.
We are currently expanding our ground operation against Hamas in Gaza.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 20, 2014
At least five soldiers were wounded in the military operation in Gaza and have been hospitalized, Israeli media reports. One of the soldiers appears to be in critical condition while others suffered moderate injuries.
2nd Lt. Bar Rahav, 21, and Sgt. Bnaya Rubel, 20, were killed yesterday while fighting Hamas terrorists.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 20, 2014
An Israeli airstrike on the home of Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayyah killed three members of his family and a neighbour, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said. The Hamas leader was not home when the airstrike occurred.
In the last 48 hours the IDF has targeted 500 sites in Gaza city with 2,500 targets in the entire Strip. Thirteen tunnels have been discovered, five of which lead into Israel. Another 34 tunnel openings have been uncovered. Thirteen terrorist suspects have been arrested, Jpost reports.
Hamas has fired approx. 1 rocket at Israel every 10 minutes for the past 12 days, altogether 1,768 rockets pic.twitter.com/GziMXHUZvA
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 19, 2014
19 July 2014
Protesters opposed to Israeli military operations in Gaza took to the streets of Berlin Saturday, rallying near Alexanderplatz and the city's iconic Fernsehturm (TV Tower). Under the watchful eyes of police, demonstrators accused Israel of war crime.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called for an understanding of the Israeli position in its assault on its neighbor in a meeting French Foreign minister Laurent Fabius.
"I don't think the international community should create any kind of symmetry between a democracy legitimately acting in its own self-defense trying to avoid civilian casualties and a terrorist organization that deliberately targets millions of innocent civilians," Netanyahu told Fabius.
Hundreds of Palestinians mourned the deaths of four young children, one of which was a five month old baby, in Gaza, Saturday, after they were killed by one of the Israeli air strikes launched on the city.
A funeral procession was held by hundreds of mourners, with family members and fathers holding the dead bodies of the children, who were wrapped in blankets blood-stained by the air strike.
Warning the video contains graphic footage!
Photos from today at the Erez crossing where we helped transfer 100 tons of medicine and supplies for Gaza hospitals pic.twitter.com/J45KXD4DLu
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 19, 2014
Today we facilitated the transfer of 5 trucks carrying 100 tons of medicine & supplies via the Erez crossing en route to hospitals in Gaza.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 19, 2014
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Israel’s disproportionate use of force in its ground invasion of Gaza as “barbarism that surpasses Hitler,” AP reports. In his presidential campaign speech on Saturday, Erdogan strongly condemned Israel’s operation that he says derailed efforts to normalize Turkish-Israeli ties.
Since IDF ground forces entered Gaza on July 17, they have killed 70 Hamas terrorists.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 19, 2014
Two Israeli soldiers were killed and two more injured when Hamas representatives tried entering the country through a cross-border smuggling tunnel in Eshkol on Saturday, local media reported.
The Israeli soldiers killed were named by IDF to be Sgt. Adar Barsano, 20, of Nahariya and Maj. Amotz Greenberg, 45, of Hod HaSharon. One Hamas soldier was also killed in the gun battle while others fled back to Gaza.
About 5,000 people gathered near the Israeli embassy in the Chilean capital Santiago to protest the Israeli military operation in Gaza. The protesters glued photos of Palestinian children who died as the result of Israeli strikes to the walls of the embassy. The demonstrators then marched to the US embassy.
Chile is home to a sizable Palestinian community. The Latin American country recognized Palestine as a sovereign state in 2011.
It's nighttime in Gaza and the deep booms of Israeli naval artillery being fired fills the sky
— Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous) July 19, 2014
Thousands of protesters gathered in London to demand an end to Israeli military action in Gaza and "justice and freedom" for Palestine, ITV reports.
Up to 15,000 people marched through the capital from Downing Street to the Israeli embassy in Kensington after it emerged more than 300 people have now been killed in the conflict.
The rally was peaceful, but one organizer said 10 people had fainted due to the heat.
In London, tens of thousands of people on the streets in solidarity w/ #Palestine & #Gaza & against Israeli warcrimes pic.twitter.com/RJhw1gEcLK
— Matthew Vickery (@MMVickery) July 19, 2014
Two Palestinians have been killed after Israeli jets carried out an airstrike on Deir al-Balah in the centre of the Gaza Strip.
More pics coming in from the Paris protest.
#France - A #Gaza solidarity demonstration in #Paris was attacked and broken up by police. p/v @Will_ldpic.twitter.com/UVeypT1NHi
— ѕyndιcalιѕт (@syndicalisms) July 19, 2014
This is Paris a few minutes ago near the Basilica of Sacré Cœur. 'Death to the Jews' chanted followed by a riot. pic.twitter.com/dWoWFCYpwU
— Richard Waghorne (@richardwaghorne) July 19, 2014
Violence broke out on the streets of Paris after thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters defied a ban imposed against such demonstrations after rioters attacked synagogues in the city during clashes last week.
Police reportedly used tear gas to disperse those who attended the unsanctioned march.
French President Francois Hollande said he understood the emotional volatility surrounding the deaths of hundreds of civilians in Gaza, but would not allow violence to hit the streets of France.
"That's why I asked the interior minister, after an investigation, to ensure that such protests would not take place," Reuters cites him as telling journalists during a visit to Chad.
WOW pro #gaza protesters face tear gas in #Paris !! Photo by @haaretzcompic.twitter.com/80kH3aJVz8
— Jessy El Murr (@JessyTrends) July 19, 2014
Israeli soldiers in tanks have dug into a mile-wide strip of Gaza's eastern frontier, with the intention of creating a 2.5 km buffer zone and destroying secret tunnels dug by Hamas in 2012, reported Reuters.
Meanwhile, Palestinian officials have stated that so far, military strikes have killed more than 300 people - the majority of whom have been civillians.
The IDF has reported that it clashed with a group of Hamas fighters who tried to infiltrate into Israeli territory through an underground tunnel. One of the fighters was killed in the clash while others retreated. The Israeli casualties include two injured soldiers.
Weapons used by Hamas terrorists in their attempted massacre of Israeli civilians today pic.twitter.com/irMX8pXwl7
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 19, 2014
A Hamas rocket fired at southern Israel has killed one Israeli citizen and injured several others. It's the second Israeli fatality in the period of escalated violence, which claimed over 300 Palestinian lives.
Destroyed house of the Israeli civilian killed by a Hamas rocket today pic.twitter.com/dtgVfdnrku
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 19, 2014
Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich said there was a "skirmish with terrorists on the border fence" of Gaza Saturday morning, Ynet news reports. Hamas had earlier said its fighters were "behind enemy lines" and exchanging fire with the IDF near the Gaza border fence in the center of the Gaza Strip. They claim Israeli soldiers were wounded in the skirmish.
The Popular Resistance Committees also said that they ambushed the IDF in northern Gaza, where they exchanged fire.
Two Israeli soldiers were also reportedly taken to hospital after coming under sniper fire in the northern Gaza Strip. The soldiers were taken to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva and are reportedly in moderate condition.
Up to 1500 attend a pro-Palestinian protest in Auckland, New Zealand.
Big turnout for Free Gaza protest in central Auckland pic.twitter.com/EVKZypFXUk
— Katie Bradford (@katieabradford) July 19, 2014
The marchers hoped to shut down the Israeli Embassy in New Zealand's most populous city.
1000s of #NZ4GAZA supporters flood Queen St Auckland pic.twitter.com/FschIKcM1U
— Decentralise Occupy (@endarken) July 19, 2014
The march led them to the US consulate in the city, where they held a moment of silence outside the US consulate.
A moment of silence for the dead in Palestine, in front of the US consulate in Auckland. #nz4gazapic.twitter.com/Q6WanZ9g1D
— Daniel (@DMcdougall7) July 19, 2014
An activist who administers a popular Facebook community page called 'The Road to Palestine' out of Ramallah posts pictures of a purported Israeli assault on a residential compound in Gaza.
The Israeli gunboats firing at AlMokabrat apartment building in Gaza now... #GazaUnderAttackpic.twitter.com/fMLYRgPqjR
— فلسطين i (@iFalasteen) July 19, 2014
The death toll in Gaza has climbed past 311, with well over 2200 injuries. The ground operation launched by Israel by its second day claimed 69 lives, including nine children.
Two IDF soldiers were lightly injured & one was severely injured overnight in a confrontation with terrorists in northern Gaza
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 19, 2014
Israel must stop the ground operation in Gaza, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated at a meeting with a group of Egyptian intellectuals and journalists in Cairo on Friday.
"This operation would only lead to more bloodshed and complicate the situation and efforts to stop the [Israeli] aggression," he said as cited by MENA news agency.
Abbas is visiting Egypt amid a diplomatic effort to de-escalate violence in the region.
CNN journalist Ben Wedemen tweets that Hamas claims it took down an Israeli tank and injured three soldiers.
Hamas military wing sends SMS claiming they were able to destroy an Israeli tank at Bayara Abu Rahma in Bait Hanoun, wounding 3 soldiers.
— benwedeman (@bencnn) July 18, 2014
18 July 2014
Shabbat begins in Israel, but we won't rest until our operation is complete. Shabbat Shalom from the IDF. pic.twitter.com/oP9kqSpQ0b
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will be traveling to the Middle East on Saturday in an attempt to help bring an end to hostilities between Israel and Palestine.
Palestinian radicals in Gaza have fired at Tel Aviv for a second time today. The Iron Dome system shot down two rockets over the city this evening, reported the press office of the Israeli army.
Egypt has renewed its call for a truce in the region. Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri, speaking at a news conference in Cairo said: "We hope that all sides will support this initiative so that bloodshed stops and this escalation does not get worse. We call on all sides to accept this proposal. We are working to find a framework so that both sides agree," reported Reuters.
Israeli tank shells have killed three in Gaza, including children, medics told AFP.
CNN has pulled correspondent Diana Magnay out of her post covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the reporter tweeted that Israelis cheering bombs hitting Gaza, and who had allegedly threatened her, were “scum.”
Deleted tweet from CNN reporter in Sderot pic.twitter.com/S2nqlurOsY
— Andrew Brett (@andrewbrett) July 17, 2014
A CNN spokeswoman said Magnay has been reassigned to Moscow.
Rocket sirens in Tel Aviv
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
Shortly after the air raid siren report, the IDF tweeted that its Iron Dome air defense system had intercepted rockets over Tel Aviv.
The Iron Dome just intercepted 2 rockets over the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
The United Nations said it is going to ramp up emergency aid to Gaza, where Israel's ground invasion intensified water shortages and fears of sewage contamination and water-borne diseases, Reuters reports.
"We are still very concerned about the water supply in Gaza, about half of the population are without water supply at this time," UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokeswoman, Amanda Pitt, told a news briefing in Geneva.
On Tuesday, UN aid agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that Gaza’s water system has been degraded over the course of years, with potential infrastructure damage incurred during the assault leaving the entire coastal strip vulnerable to a water crisis within a matter of days.
IDF attempt to show they abide by the Geneva Convention by providing medical treatment to a wounded combatant.
According to the first Geneva Convention - 'for the Amelioration of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces and Field' - if a member of the armed forces is wounded or sick, and therefore is unable to actively engage in combat, he is no longer part of the fighting force and becomes a vulnerable person in need of protection and care.
Today IDF forces wounded this terrorist in a firefight in Gaza. Now we are taking him to the hospital. pic.twitter.com/ddf8QypJeB
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of state terrorism and genocide, saying the two states would not find rapprochement on his watch.
"Israel threatens world peace. Israel threatens peace in the Middle East. Therefore, I personally, can never contemplate anything positive with Israel as long as I remain on duty," Erdogan told reporters after Muslim Friday prayers:
"Israel is at the moment waging terrorism; Israel at the moment is carrying out genocide," he said.
Turkey and Israel had been working toward improving ties after Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and one Turkish American during a raid on a pro-Palestinian aid ship in 2010. Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and recalled its own top envoy following the incident. Israel ultimately apologized to Turkey for the deaths and agreed to pay compensation under a US-brokered arrangement in 2013. In March, Turkish officials said the two sides had come close to reaching a compensation deal which would fully restore ties.
Cihan News Agency has posted video footage showing the pro-Palestinian rallies outside of the diplomatic missions in Istanbul and Ankara on Thursday. The first video, shot in Istanbul, shows police deploy a water cannon and pepper spray to disperse protesters after some turned violent, smashing windows and attempting to scale the compound gates.
The video from Ankara depicts a heated by far more peaceful scene, though there are unconfirmed reports that the compound in the Tukrish capital was attacked on Friday.
Turkey has since bolstered security at the facilities, though Tzachi Moshe, a spokesman for Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, said Israel "sharply protested the flagrant violation of diplomatic rules."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said since there is no way to deal with the tunnels only from the air, “our soldiers are doing it now from the ground,” the Jerusalem Post cites him as saying during the opening session of an emergency cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu said the ongoing military operation did not offer a100 percent shot at success, though everything would be done to get “maximum results.”
The Israeli PM said the army had been readied for the possibility of a significant expansion of the ground operation, blaming Hamas for not upholding its end of an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire proposal on Tuesday.
“We decided to launch the action after we tried all the other ways, and with an understanding that without this operation the price we will have to pay later would be much higher,” he said.
He added that intense diplomatic efforts had given Israel the political capital necessary to use force against the “terrorist organization,” and that the supreme consideration at this point was to “restore security to civilians” and return the country to a state of calm.
“There is not a more moral army than the IDF, and we do not want to harm even one innocent civilian. Not even one. We are operating only against terror targets.”
He blamed Hamas for civilian casualties on both sides, claiming they were attacking Israeli towns and cities from behind human shields.
He said media distortions of the conflict were virtually “unpreventable.”
“But unlike in the past, this time there are many in the international community who understand that Hamas alone bears responsibility for the victims,” he said. “This is something very important for Israel.”
Hamas' tunnel network connects rocket launching sites with command centers. Some tunnels have openings inside Israel & enable infiltration.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
The Israeli Defense Force is live tweeting images of so-called 'terror tunnels', the ostensible reason the ground operation was launched into Gaza.
Here's one of the tunnels that we have uncovered in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/R5RcEESSwf
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
What do you think this tunnel was used for? Our soldiers are checking it out right now. pic.twitter.com/DCXymsNDmu
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
Israel has decided to evacuate the families of diplomatic staff in Turkey in Ankara after protests turned violent outside diplomatic missions in both the capital Ankara and Istanbul. The compounds were reportedly pelted with rocks as some demonstrators chanted, “Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine," Hurriyet Daily News reported. Several Turkish diplomats attended the pro-Palestinian rallies, including a deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
"The occupying Israel has made a bloodbath of Palestine by bombing them for the past 15 days," Murat Yıldırım said from Ankara.
At least 23 Palestinians – including three children – have been killed since Israel launched the ground offensive. Around 264 Palestinians have been killed since Israel first started bombarding Gaza on July 7. The Israeli death toll currently stands at two: one soldier and one civilian.
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A short time ago, an armored unit in Gaza saw 2 terrorists preparing to fire anti-tank missiles. IDF soldiers opened fire & identified hits.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
.@johnrayitv reports the constant crump of artillery fire as Israel attempts to neuter Hamas http://t.co/l5vOrjabUppic.twitter.com/LSSA6aYFbG
— ITV News (@itvnews) July 18, 2014
Barely a day into the operation, Netanyahu is discussing plans for a significant widening of the ground offensive. Shortly before convening a meeting of cabinet ministers, he told reporters that "My instructions ... are to prepare for the possibility of significantly widening the ground operation, and the military is preparing accordingly," Reuters reported.
Those affected by the conflict in Gaza are receiving financial help from multiple sources abroad. The latest tranche comes from Denmark, which has donated $2 million toward alleviating civilian suffering there.
Smoke rising over gaza. What the picture can't convey is the boom and thud of artillery and clatter of small arms pic.twitter.com/fILskROHga
— John Ray (@johnrayitv) July 18, 2014
Reuters now reports 23 Palestinians dead since the start of the ground operation.
WATCH: IDF forces enter Gaza last night. https://t.co/IdFzpI2ks6
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
VIDEO: IDF targets terror tunnel overnight & rocket explodes http://t.co/zCxLX5XCCF
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
An Israeli military spokesman said in an interview to a radio station regarding the recent death of an Israeli soldier during the ground offensive on Gaza: "We are checking the circumstances" of soldier's death.
This was the first Israeli casualty since the start of the operation.
According to Quentin Sommerville of the BBC, the number of dead since the start of the ground offensive, together with the number killed already in the preceding phase, puts the death toll at more than 250 people, with around 1980 wounded, as the conflict enters its 11th day.
Overnight, we neutralized 14 terrorists, destroyed 20 rocket launchers, carried out 9 strikes on tunnels & hit a total of 103 terror targets
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 18, 2014
The Palestinian Health Ministry is reporting 20 deaths in one night after Israel's ground offensive on Gaza starts, according to Haaretz.
Journalist Ben Wedmen tweets that the IDF has sent an unsettling message to cell phones in Gaza, warning that anyone in possession of weapons to disarm themselves.
Phone message from Israeli army on #Gaza mobiles: "If you have weapons, put them down now, because much worse is to come."
— benwedeman (@bencnn) July 18, 2014
So far, 247 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out on July 7, according to updated numbers from the Gaza Health Ministry. About 1,910 people have been injured.
The United States reiterated its belief that Israel has the right of protect itself against terrorism Thursday, however, it added that IDF troops should take the necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties.
In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Secretary of State John Kerry "reaffirmed our strong support for Israel's right to defend itself against terrorist threats emanating from tunnels into Israel and expressed our view that this should be a precise operation to target tunnels," according to Reuters.
"The secretary also reiterated our concern about the safety and security of civilians on both sides and the importance of doing everything possible to prevent civilian casualties,” the State Department said.
Additionally, Kerry called for both sides to “restore the 2012 cease-fire as soon as possible.”
A report has surfaced revealing that three Palestinian children were killed by an Israeli airstrike just after the short, five-hour truce between Hamas and Israel had ended. The children were reportedly playing on the roof of their apartment in Gaza when the strike occurred
"We were sitting on our roof next to our neighbor's one and we found all of a sudden a rocket coming from above and it hit their roof," the children’s’ neighbor Raed al-Kurdi said to AFP.
"They were children,” their uncle added, “just playing on the roof. And now they're dead, lying in front of us."
Israel's latest offensive is doomed to be a failure, Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal said on Friday from Doha, Qatar.
"What the occupier Israel failed to achieve through its air and sea raids, it will not be able to achieve with a ground offensive. It is bound to fail," he told AFP.
Israeli forces are engaged in an armed confrontation with Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, near the Erez crossing, the Washington Post reports.
17 July 2014
243 Palestinians have been killed and 1870 injured in the latest Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to Twitter users, citing the Health Ministry.
Gaza right now.. @EU_Commissionpic.twitter.com/00YLyHhDKz@YaakovLappin@georgegalloway
— amnasalman (@amnasalman1) July 17, 2014
2 injured now at Mawasi area... F16 missile hit then while walking. #GazaUnderAttack
— Mohammed Omer (@Mogaza) July 17, 2014
Images of baby allegedly killed during Israeli offensive on Thursday night appear on Twitter. Reports of the baby's age vary from three to five months old.
@HalaJaber Fares - 5 months old - killed by shrapnel tonight during ground offensive. pic.twitter.com/pvAq6bCU5M
— Hala Jaber (@HalaJaber) July 17, 2014
Israel is "isolating itself from world opinion," former US president Bill Clinton told the Indian NDTV news channel.
"Hamas can inflict terrible public relations damage on Israel by forcing it to kill Palestinian civilians to counter Hamas," he added.
Min of health spox in #Gaza says dozens taken to hospitals in north reportedly choking from some sort of gas
— Rawya Rageh (@RawyaRageh) July 17, 2014
There are no sirens warning of missiles, no bomb shelters, no 'red alert' app..we are in the dark and the firing is relentless #Gaza
— Sherine Tadros (@SherineT) July 17, 2014
#IDF sources report that #Israeli forces directly engaging with #Palestinian fighters in multiple locations #Gaza
— PaulaSlier_RT (@PaulaSlier_RT) July 17, 2014
According to various reports, the death toll among Palestinians is rising. Medics say Israeli tank fire has killed two people in Gaza including a child, AFP reported, with another source adding it was a 3-month-old baby.
another child is killed in #Rafah in ground operation! #GazaUnderAttack
— Mohammed Omer (@Mogaza) July 17, 2014
Hours after a humanitarian ceasefire ended, Al Jazeera reported three civilians killed in Rafah, two in Beit Hanoun and another in Beit Lahia, bringing the death toll to 16 people in total.
Israel should do more to prevent Palestinian civilian casualties in its conflict with Hamas militants, the US said on Thursday. “We continue to urge all parties to do all they can to protect civilians,” US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters at a daily briefing.
“We have been heart-broken by the high civilian death toll in Gaza,” Psaki said, adding that US Secretary of State John Kerry told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone call to "redouble efforts" to avoid civilian casualties.
Reports of foul smelling gas being used by Israel in Beit Lahayia. People leaving area. Going to hospital. #gaza
— Nicole Johnston (@nicolealjazeera) July 17, 2014
That tweet is "no longer available" here's a screenshot pic.twitter.com/lhVlilLo9R
— Esra Doğramacı (@EsraD) July 17, 2014
Video: IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz briefs his generals on the ground operation in Gaza http://t.co/p14CRmVZBU
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 17, 2014
Egypt's foreign minister has accused Qatar, Turkey and Hamas of conspiring to undermine Cairo's efforts to bring about a ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group and Israel in Gaza, Egypt's state news agency reported.
"Had Hamas accepted the Egyptian initiative, at least 40 Palestinian souls would have been saved," MENA quoted Sameh Shukri as saying.
Egypt had proposed a permanent ceasefire plan on Tuesday, which Israel accepted. But Hamas, saying its terms had been ignored, rejected it.
Hamas wants Israel and Egypt to lift border restrictions that have deepened economic hardship among Gaza's 1.8 million populace and caused a cash crunch in the movement, which has been unable to pay its employees for months. (Reuters)
Colleagues in Gaza speculate evacuation of their hotel was to allow Israeli special forces to come ashore. Some media now returned there.
— Quentin Sommerville (@sommervillebbc) July 17, 2014
Israeli troops backed by tanks and warplanes advance and open fire east of Rafah, Khanyounis - Palestinian freelance journalist Yousef Alhelou reports on Twitter.
Strike near mosque in #Gaza City's Zaitoun neighborhood, which has been pounded since start of bombing. Many casualties reported.
— benwedeman (@bencnn) July 17, 2014
The IDF warns residents in Otef Aza and all of the southern Gaza Strip to remain in their bomb shelters throughout the night. Meanwhile, witnesses tell Turkey's Anadolu news agency that Palestinian forces are clashing with Israeli troops in the Strip's north.
Electricity out all over Gaza. We're up on top floor. Heavy continuous artillery shelling, flares, in north and east. pic.twitter.com/fSd19ShSkO
— William Booth (@BoothWilliam) July 17, 2014
An Israeli officer in Southern Command told Buzzfeed that additional troops were ready to be called up in addition to the tens of thousands already deployed along the border.
“We are prepared to go as far as needed,” he said.
Israel tanks fire on ambulances in Beit Hanoun and prevent them from reaching people who were injured. #GazaUnderAttack#Gaza#Israel
— Steve Krauss (@KraussSteve) July 17, 2014
The Gaza port has been bombed by the IDF naval force, Israel National Radio tweets.
The Associated Press has released raw video from the beginning of the ground offensive:
"Dozens" of Palestinian have been killed in the ground invasion so far, Israel's Channel 10 reports.
NOW: heavy clashes on the border east of KhanYounes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian resistance... #GazaUnderAttack
— فلسطين i (@iFalasteen) July 17, 2014
Israeli armored vehicles are heading toward southern Gaza, witnesses tell Al-Arabiya.
#GAZA OP: IDF call up additional 18,000 reservists as ground operation starts http://t.co/lnegqmvAHP#ProtectiveEdgepic.twitter.com/CHjVwlnfkc
— RT (@RT_com) July 17, 2014
France's foreign minister Laurent Fabius said that Paris is extremely worried by an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza.
"France is extremely concerned by the Israeli decision to launch a ground offensive in Gaza. It calls on Israel to show the utmost restraint," Fabius said in a statement.
The Israeli forces may request the government to allow recruiting 18,000 more reserves in case the ground operation in Gaza is expanded, Haaretz reports. This would bring the total number of troops on the Gaza border to almost 60,000.
"We'll launch a joint ground-aerial assault, using full force. We'll continue to expand the fire all over the Gaza Strip,” Chief of Staff Lieut. Gen. Benny Gantz said according to the daily.
The UN urges Israel to do more to stop Palestinian civilian deaths.
"I regret that despite my repeated urgings, and those of many regional and world leaders together, an already dangerous conflict has now escalated even further," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. "I urge Israel to do far more to stop civilian casualties."
Al-Wafa rehabilitation hospital in Gaza City is hit by an Israeli strike, according to Physicians for Human Rights. Several people have been wounded.
Gaza residents report heavy artillery, naval shelling and helicopter fire along the Gaza border.
LIVE: Shocking picture of Israel firing missiles at Gaza randomly with ground invasion. #GazaUnderAttack#SaveGazapic.twitter.com/R0Db9J2hin
— αηιs (@theblogpirate) July 17, 2014
Israel's ground invasion of Gaza is "foolish" and will have "dreadful consequences", Hamas spokesperson says.
Beachfront hotels given 30 mins to evacuate. Just over 20 mins ago. #Gaza
— Alexander Marquardt (@MarquardtA) July 17, 2014
The Israeli ground forces are to strike Palestinian militant sites throughout Gaza, but the operation does not seek to topple Hamas rule, the Israeli military said.
“We are now continuing with the ground forces to strike terrorist infrastructure, Hamas infrastructure, in multiple areas throughout the Gaza Strip," army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said.
BREAKING NEWS: A large IDF force has just launched a ground operation in the Gaza Strip. A new phase of Operation Protective Edge has begun.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 17, 2014
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the military to begin a ground offensive in Gaza, his office said.
"The prime minister and defence minister have instructed the IDF to begin a ground operation tonight in order to hit the terror tunnels from Gaza into Israel," the statement said.
Reports on Twitter indicate intensive shelling of the Gaza Strip, both from land and air.
It's raining bombs across Gaza Strip now from sea, land and air... Israel is bombing everything... #GazaUnderAttack
— فلسطين i (@iFalasteen) July 17, 2014