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| Israel steps up Gaza offensive as missiles head towards Tel Aviv airport | Israel steps up Gaza offensive as missiles head towards Tel Aviv airport |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Israeli jets and naval gunfire pounded 160 targets in the Gaza Strip overnight as the government of Binyamin Netanyahu launched a large-scale military operation against the Islamist militant group Hamas in the coastal enclave. | Israeli jets and naval gunfire pounded 160 targets in the Gaza Strip overnight as the government of Binyamin Netanyahu launched a large-scale military operation against the Islamist militant group Hamas in the coastal enclave. |
| At least 25 Palestinians have been killed in the latest round of strikes, including several senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants. Palestinian sources claimed 17 civilians, including children, were among the casualties. Dozens have been injured. There have been 440 air strikes since the beginning of the week. | |
| This week, sirens sounded across Israel for the first time since 2012, driving Israelis into bomb shelters. One hundred and sixty-five rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel in the past 24 hours, according to Israeli military estimates. There have been no reports of deaths from the rocket attacks. | |
| On Wednesday morning, several missiles were fired towards Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport. The city's smaller airstrip at Herzliya has been closed due to the threat of rocket fire. Israel announced on Tuesday it had authorised the call-up of up to 40,000 reservists for a possible ground operation as it began moving convoys of additional tanks and other armour to the Gaza border. | |
| "We have been instructed by the political echelon to hit Hamas hard," General Moti Almoz, Israel's chief military spokesman, told army radio. He said the action would take place in stages. | |
| The announcement came as explosions boomed across the Gaza Strip, sending plumes of grey smoke into the sky and shaking buildings in streets already largely emptied of people. | The announcement came as explosions boomed across the Gaza Strip, sending plumes of grey smoke into the sky and shaking buildings in streets already largely emptied of people. |
| The Israeli military, threatening a long-term offensive, said that Operation Protective Edge aimed to strike Hamas and end the rocket attacks that have intensified and reached deeper into Israel in recent weeks. | |
| "We will not tolerate rocket fire on Israel's cities, and we are preparing to expand the operation with everything at our disposal to strike Hamas," said Moshe Ya'alon, Israel's defence minister, who announced a state of emergency in the south of the country. | |
| In a nationally televised statement, Netanyahu said continued rocket attacks on Israeli communities would not be tolerated. | In a nationally televised statement, Netanyahu said continued rocket attacks on Israeli communities would not be tolerated. |
| "Therefore I have ordered the military to significantly broaden its operation against Hamas terrorists and against the other terrorist groups inside Gaza," he said. "I call on you to display patience, because this operation could take time." | "Therefore I have ordered the military to significantly broaden its operation against Hamas terrorists and against the other terrorist groups inside Gaza," he said. "I call on you to display patience, because this operation could take time." |
| The White House condemned the rocket attacks against Israel. "No country can accept rocket fire aimed at civilians and we support Israel's right to defend itself against these vicious attacks," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. | The White House condemned the rocket attacks against Israel. "No country can accept rocket fire aimed at civilians and we support Israel's right to defend itself against these vicious attacks," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. |
| Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, called on Israel to halt the air strikes immediately and appealed for calm. "The Palestinian leadership is conducting intensive and urgent contacts with regional and international parties to stop the escalation," he said. | Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, called on Israel to halt the air strikes immediately and appealed for calm. "The Palestinian leadership is conducting intensive and urgent contacts with regional and international parties to stop the escalation," he said. |
| The Israeli military said on Tuesday night it had foiled an attempt by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip to infiltrate southern Israel by sea, the first such infiltration effort in recent memory, a spokesman said. Lieut Col Peter Lerner said four attackers were killed after coming ashore on Zikim beach. | |
| After the worst outbreak of violence along the Gaza frontier since an eight-day war in 2012, the Israeli military said a ground invasion of the enclave was possible, though not imminent, and urged citizens within almost 25 miles of the territory to stay close to bomb shelters. | After the worst outbreak of violence along the Gaza frontier since an eight-day war in 2012, the Israeli military said a ground invasion of the enclave was possible, though not imminent, and urged citizens within almost 25 miles of the territory to stay close to bomb shelters. |
| The military said it had struck militant compounds, concealed rocket launchers and other militant infrastructure sites. Most were targeted by air strikes, and three were attacked from the sea. | The military said it had struck militant compounds, concealed rocket launchers and other militant infrastructure sites. Most were targeted by air strikes, and three were attacked from the sea. |
| The military offensive is taking place against a background of rising tensions across Israeli and Palestinian areas following the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teenagers, which Israel blamed on Hamas, and a gruesome killing, believed to be in revenge, by Jewish extremists of a Palestinian teenager last week, which sparked widespread violent protests. | The military offensive is taking place against a background of rising tensions across Israeli and Palestinian areas following the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teenagers, which Israel blamed on Hamas, and a gruesome killing, believed to be in revenge, by Jewish extremists of a Palestinian teenager last week, which sparked widespread violent protests. |
| In one strike, three Hamas members from the Qassam brigades were killed in their car at a crossroads in Zarkar, along with two bystanders, residents said. One of those killed was Mohammad Abu Shaban, a senior figure in Hamas's military wing. | In one strike, three Hamas members from the Qassam brigades were killed in their car at a crossroads in Zarkar, along with two bystanders, residents said. One of those killed was Mohammad Abu Shaban, a senior figure in Hamas's military wing. |
| As the residents began to describe what had occurred, three further explosions detonated loudly, scattering them. | As the residents began to describe what had occurred, three further explosions detonated loudly, scattering them. |
| A strike in the early hours of Wednesday on a house in Beit Hanoun in the north of the Strip killed six people, including a senior leader of the militant group Islamic Jihad. Hafez Hamad, two of his brothers and his parents were killed along with an unidentified woman, Gaza's interior ministry said. That brought the death toll since Israel began its offensive to 22: Hamad, four Hamas gunmen and 17 civilians, including seven children. | |
| Netanyahu at first seemed unwilling to be drawn into a prolonged and bloody conflict over Gaza, offering "quiet for quiet" if Hamas halted its rocket fire. But the death of six Hamas members in an explosion in a tunnel on Monday prompted immediate threats of retaliation and escalation of rocket fire. | Netanyahu at first seemed unwilling to be drawn into a prolonged and bloody conflict over Gaza, offering "quiet for quiet" if Hamas halted its rocket fire. But the death of six Hamas members in an explosion in a tunnel on Monday prompted immediate threats of retaliation and escalation of rocket fire. |
| Hamas, which has been badly hit by an Egyptian blockade that has closed the Rafah tunnels and halted the flow of goods and funds into the Strip, might believe it could gain from a prolonged conflict – as the group did after Operation Cast Lead, the 2009 invasion of Gaza. | Hamas, which has been badly hit by an Egyptian blockade that has closed the Rafah tunnels and halted the flow of goods and funds into the Strip, might believe it could gain from a prolonged conflict – as the group did after Operation Cast Lead, the 2009 invasion of Gaza. |
| "We have repeatedly warned Hamas that this must stop and Israel's defence forces are currently acting to put an end of this once and for all," said Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev. | "We have repeatedly warned Hamas that this must stop and Israel's defence forces are currently acting to put an end of this once and for all," said Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev. |