Gaza Death Toll Rises; Israel Strikes Escalate
by VOA News July 10, 2014
Israel is pressing an offensive against militants in the Gaza Strip for a third day, carrying out deadly airstrikes in a campaign it says is aimed at halting rocket attacks from Gaza.
Airstrikes hit multiple targets in Gaza early Thursday, including killing three people in a car in Gaza City and eight family members in a building in Khan Younis, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Israel's military made no comment on what would be the deadliest strike since the offensive began on Tuesday.
The military said it struck more than 300 targets overnight and has now hit 750 since Tuesday. Those airstrikes have killed at least 74 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
There have been no Israeli fatalities, the Israeli military said.
"We are facing long days of fighting and Hamas attempts to surprise Israeli with attacks from the air, sea and land," Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Thursday of the offensive that began after a build-up of violence following the killing of three Jewish students last month and the murder of a Palestinian teen in a suspected revenge attack.
Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner said the aim of the operation is stop waves of Palestinian rocket attacks that are threatening civilians.
“Primarily, we are out to strike at Hamas. We cannot allow them to keep ... those 1 million Israelis living as hostages to their rockets.”
US response
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday the United States is trying to stem the surging violence in Israel and Gaza in a way that allows the Jewish state to continue defending itself from Hamas rocket fire.
Kerry, in Beijing for a summit with Chinese leaders, said it's a "dangerous moment" for the Mideast.
Hundreds of rockets have been fired from Gaza since the teens' slayings.
Kerry said no country can accept such rocket attacks.
But he said de-escalating the crisis is ultimately in everyone's interests.
Kerry said he has spoken with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The goal, he said, is to see if there is some way to restore peace.
Hamas attacks
Hamas has continued to fire dozens of rockets at Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, but many have been shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.
Hamas spokesman Mushir Al Masri vowed the group would keep on fighting and strike at Israel from the land, sea and air.
Rockets from Gaza have struck parts of central and southern Israel, disrupting the lives of people there but so far causing no serious casualties.
The military said Israel's Iron Dome intercepted at least one rocket Thursday over Tel Aviv, one of Israel's largest cities located about 60 kilometers north of Gaza. The system also intercepted another rocket just east of the Palestinian territory.
Overall, Israel's Iron Dome interceptor has shot down some 90 percent of Palestinian rockets it engaged during this week's surge of Gaza fighting, up from the 85 percent rate in the previous mini-war of 2012, Israeli and U.S. officials said on Thursday.
Emergency UN session
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will brief the Security Council on the crisis later Thursday, condemned the rocket attacks and urged Israel to show restraint.
Ahead of the session, he called the surge in violence "one of the most critical tests the region has faced in years."
"Gaza is on a knife-edge. The deteriorating situation is leading to a downward spiral which could quickly get beyond anyone’s control. The risk of violence expanding further still is real. Gaza, and the region as a whole, cannot afford any other full-blown war," said Ban.
He condemned the rocket attacks from Gaza and expressed concern about the number of civilians killed by Israeli airstrikes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the militant group Hamas will pay a heavy price for attacking Israel, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of collectively punishing Palestinians.
Bombings
Across the Gaza Strip, plumes of smoke and rubble marked the aftermath of Israeli attacks in the most serious outbreak of hostilities between Palestinian militants and Israel's powerful armed forces in two years.
“The Jews say they are fighting Hamas and fighting gunmen while all the bodies we have seen on television are those of women and children,” said Khaled Ali, 45, a Gaza taxi driver.
Israel accuses Hamas Islamists of deliberately putting innocent Palestinians in harm's way by placing weaponry and gunmen in residential areas.
Netanyahu, in a statement on Wednesday, said Hamas was committing “a double war crime. ... It targets Israeli civilians, while hiding behind Palestinian civilians,” he said.
The military said the airstrikes have targeted and destroyed tunnel networks, rocket-launching sites and the homes of Hamas commanders.
As the number of victims in Gaza rose, Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing, with hospitals in north Sinai placed on standby to receive the wounded, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported, according to the French news agency AFP.
Israeli leaders, who have popular support for the Gaza offensive, have also warned the air offensive could be expanded into a ground invasion of one of the world's most densely populated territories.
About 20,000 reservists have been mobilized, the military said.
Robert Berger contributed to this report from Jerusalem. Some information for this report provided by Reuters, AFP and AP.
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