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Death Toll Rises in Gaza, as Hamas Hits New Targets in Israel Gaza Deaths Spike in Third Day of Israel Air Assaults
(about 1 hour later)
JERUSALEM — The death toll from Israel’s aerial offensive in Gaza rose on Thursday, while rocket fire from the Palestinian coastal enclave reached new targets in Israel. JERUSALEM — Palestinian deaths from Israel’s aerial attacks in Gaza rose sharply on Thursday, while militants there fired more than 100 rockets into Israel, reaching new targets spread across a vast swath of the country.
A spokesman for the Israeli military said that about 20,000 reservists had been called up and preparations for a possible ground operation were being completed, but that the current focus of the ground forces was to uncover tunnels in Gaza used by militants for attacks. The escalation appeared to increase the likelihood of a ground invasion and prompted United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to call urgently for a return to calm and a cease-fire.
As the air campaign entered its third day, the Palestinian death toll rose to at least 78, according to officials in Gaza. Airstrikes overnight on a house in Khan Younis and a cafeteria on the beach killed at least 15 Palestinians, Gazan officials said. According to the officials, one airstrike hit a car used by a local news agency bearing media signs, killing the driver, Hamed Shehab, 27. The Israeli military said it had also hit three Islamic Jihad operatives that it said were involved in manufacturing medium-range rockets. In another strike, the military said it had hit an operative for Hamas, the Islamic militant group that dominates Gaza, saying he was involved in firing rockets against Israel. “Today, we face the risk of an all-out escalation in Israel and Gaza, with the threat of a ground offensive still palpable — and preventable only if Hamas stops rocket firing,” he told an emergency meeting of the Security Council.
The Palestine chapter of Defense for Children International, an independent child rights organization, said 14 children age 15 and under were killed in the airstrikes on Tuesday and Wednesday, including four toddlers. The group issued a list with the names and ages of those killed, saying its Gaza-based fieldworker had verified each of those deaths. There were no signs that a cease-fire was imminent, and no signs that diplomats representing the antagonists were heeding Mr. Ban’s call for calm.
Israel says it is taking precautions in an effort to avoid civilian casualties. The military says it warns the occupants of houses marked for destruction that airstrikes are coming by phoning residents then firing a flare or a missile without an explosive warhead onto the roof to warn that an attack is imminent. Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, played an air-raid siren at the council meeting to reflect what his country’s citizens hear every day. He called his Palestinian counterpart, Riyad Mansour, “a mouthpiece of Hamas.” Mr. Mansour blamed the underlying Israeli occupation, exhorting the council to intervene and “salvage prospects for peace and security.”
In one case, when seven people died and 25 were wounded in the Israeli strike on the house of the Kaware family in Khan Younis on Tuesday, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said that the warnings had been given, and that the attack had commenced after the Israelis saw people vacating the premises. In the short time between the last warning and the airstrike, people went back in, Colonel Lerner told reporters on Thursday, adding that it was too late to cancel the missile. “It is a tragedy indeed and not what we intended,” he said. In a televised statement after a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said, “While the campaign has gone as planned, further stages yet await us,” describing what was to come as “tough” and “complex.”
“We have struck hard at Hamas and the terrorists and as long as the campaign continues we will strike at them harder,” he said.
A spokesman for the Israeli military said that about 20,000 reservists had been called up and that preparations for a possible ground operation were being completed
As the air campaign entered its third day, the Palestinian death toll rose to at least 78, the majority of those killed civilians, according to officials in Gaza. No Israelis have been reported killed.
Airstrikes overnight on a house in Khan Younis and an open-air beach cafe killed at least 15 Palestinians and one airstrike hit a car used by a local news agency bearing media signs, killing the driver, Hamed Shehab, 27, the officials said.
The Israeli military said it had also hit at least eight operatives from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in what it described as several precision strikes. The military said all had been involved in either the manufacture or firing of rockets.
The Palestine chapter of Defense for Children International, an independent child-rights organization, said 14 children aged 15 and younger had been killed in the airstrikes on Tuesday and Wednesday, including four toddlers. The group issued a list with the names and ages of those killed, saying its Gaza-based field worker had verified each death.
Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas leader, said on Palestinian radio, “What we need is for the international community to pressure the occupation to halt its aggression, which is unjustified.” He was referring to Israel.
The rocket fire reached Mitzpeh Ramon, a town deep in the Negev desert, and the Dead Sea area for the first time. More rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system or fell in open spaces in the Tel Aviv area of central Israel. Sirens wailed in Jerusalem in the early evening and two rockets were intercepted above the city; two more fell in open areas, one on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Southern cities that have been the targets of rocket fire for years, like Ashdod and Beersheba, came under heavy rocket attack. The rockets caused extensive property damage but no serious injuries as Israelis ran for cover in shelters and fortified rooms with each siren.
Mr. Ban, while repeating his condemnation of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, also warned Israel, saying “the excessive use of force and endangering of civilian lives are also intolerable.”
“Once again,” he said, “Palestinian civilians are caught between Hamas’s irresponsibility and Israel’s tough response.”
Israel says it is taking precautions in an effort to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza. The military says it warns the occupants of houses marked for destruction that airstrikes are coming by phoning residents then firing a flare or a missile without an explosive warhead onto the roof.
The Israeli military gave an initial explanation of what happened in one case when seven people died and 25 were wounded in the strike on the house of the Kaware family in Khan Younis on Tuesday. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said Thursday that the warnings had been given, and the attack had commenced after the Israelis had seen people vacating the premises. In the interval between the last warning and the airstrike, people went back in, Colonel Lerner told reporters, saying it was too late to cancel the missile. “It is a tragedy indeed and not what we intended,” he said.
A member of the family said earlier that neighbors had come in to “form a human shield.”A member of the family said earlier that neighbors had come in to “form a human shield.”
The Israeli military said that the targeted houses belonged to Hamas members involved in launching rockets or other military activity, and that they had been used as operation centers. The Israeli military said that the targeted houses belonged to Hamas members involved in launching rockets or other military activity, and that they had been used as operation centers. If innocents are hit, Mr. Netanyahu said, “It is because Hamas is maliciously hiding behind Palestinian civilians.”
Colonel Lerner said he did not have details yet on the circumstances of the bombing of the beach cafe, called Fun Time, where customers had gathered to watch a World Cup game. He said he also did not have details on the attack on the vehicle marked with media signs.
In Gaza, the mood was somber but defiant. Abu Tamer Ajour, 70, said the conflict had come at a bad time, with Hamas financially squeezed and unable to pay full salaries to its 40,000 employees, among other hardships. “This aggression makes matters worse,” he said, “but victory will be for the Gaza people and our resistance.”In Gaza, the mood was somber but defiant. Abu Tamer Ajour, 70, said the conflict had come at a bad time, with Hamas financially squeezed and unable to pay full salaries to its 40,000 employees, among other hardships. “This aggression makes matters worse,” he said, “but victory will be for the Gaza people and our resistance.”
Riad Fawzi, 48, who is jobless, said he did not expect the clashes to last for long. “The Jews are not interested in more escalation,” he said, referring to Israel.Riad Fawzi, 48, who is jobless, said he did not expect the clashes to last for long. “The Jews are not interested in more escalation,” he said, referring to Israel.
“We are used to this thing, but they cannot endure the same way we endure,” he said, adding, “Allah is with us.” “We are used to this thing, but they cannot endure the same way we endure,” he said. “Allah is with us.”
The current air campaign has been Israel’s most intensive in Gaza. Colonel Lerner said that the Israeli military had struck at least 750 locations in the first 48 hours of the operation, compared with a total of 1,450 locations attacked during eight days of cross-border fighting in November 2012.
“What we are trying to do for now is to take full advantage of the aerial assault,” Colonel Lerner said. “The ground option needs to be the last option and only if absolutely necessary.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Wednesday that “the operation will be expanded and will continue until the firing at our communities stops and quiet is restored.”
Militant groups in Gaza, which have fired more than 350 rockets into Israel since the operation began in the early hours of Tuesday morning, according to the military, continued their attacks Thursday. At least one rocket was intercepted over Tel Aviv by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Shrapnel rained on the city but caused no injury.
The military said at least three more rockets had hit civilian communities in the Negev desert, more than 50 miles from Gaza, and that areas around the town of Netivot were hit.
At the United Nations Security Council in New York, which called a special session on the crisis at the Palestinian Authority’s request, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rued what he called “fiery rhetoric” on both sides.
“More than ever, the situation calls for bold thinking and creative ideas,” Mr. Ban said. “We must strive to restore, not only calm today, but a political horizon for tomorrow,” Mr. Ban said.
Mr. Ban’s calls for restraint, however, appeared to go unheeded by the ambassadors of the antagonists.
The Israeli ambassador, Ron Prosor, played an air raid siren in the council, to reflect what he said his country’s citizens hear every time a rocket from Gaza is aimed at Israel. He blamed Hamas for starting the latest crisis. He called his Palestinian counterpart, Riyad Mansour, “a mouthpiece of Hamas.”
Mr. Mansour angrily blamed the underlying Israeli occupation and Israel’s government for the killings of Palestinians over the past three days, which he said had exceeded 90, including nearly two dozen women and children. He dismissed Israel’s claim of self-defense, mentioned nothing about the rockets from Gaza and called on the Council to do something to “salvage prospects for peace and security” or risk a historical judgment of complicity in deaths of innocents.
Later the Council session went into private consultations.