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| 1 Israeli, 20 Palestinians Killed in Gaza Ground Offensive | 1 Israeli, 20 Palestinians Killed in Gaza Ground Offensive |
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| JERUSALEM — An Israeli soldier was killed early Friday along with at least 20 Palestinians in the first hours of Israel’s ground offensive in the Gaza Strip as the violent conflict there entered its 11th day. | JERUSALEM — An Israeli soldier was killed early Friday along with at least 20 Palestinians in the first hours of Israel’s ground offensive in the Gaza Strip as the violent conflict there entered its 11th day. |
| Israeli news outlets reported that the soldier was shot near Beit Hanoun, in northeast Gaza, possibly from friendly fire, though a Twitter post from the Army said he was “fighting Hamas terrorists.” | |
| The military identified the soldier as Eitan Barak, 20, from Herzliya, and said he was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant. | |
| An Israeli Army statement on the overnight action in Gaza said the military had hit more than 100 sites in the coastal territory, and “succeeded in neutralizing some 14 terrorists in several exchanges of fire.” | |
| Palestinian health officials reported that a 4-month-old baby and 18-year-old male were among 20 Gaza residents killed as the total death toll from the operation topped 260, with some 1,800 injured. | Palestinian health officials reported that a 4-month-old baby and 18-year-old male were among 20 Gaza residents killed as the total death toll from the operation topped 260, with some 1,800 injured. |
| Electricity had been cut in most of Gaza due to downed cables that bring power from Israel, and street battles were reported on social media in Gaza City as well as northern and southern towns. | Electricity had been cut in most of Gaza due to downed cables that bring power from Israel, and street battles were reported on social media in Gaza City as well as northern and southern towns. |
| “Initial indication suggests that the results thus far fall in line with expectations,” the military statement said. Israeli forces “are advancing in their respective missions, including identifying and combating the terror-tunnel threat.” | “Initial indication suggests that the results thus far fall in line with expectations,” the military statement said. Israeli forces “are advancing in their respective missions, including identifying and combating the terror-tunnel threat.” |
| Sirens signaling rockets sounded all night and into the morning across Israel’s south; the army counted more than 50 rockets from the 10 p.m. start of its ground invasion until 7 a.m. Friday. | Sirens signaling rockets sounded all night and into the morning across Israel’s south; the army counted more than 50 rockets from the 10 p.m. start of its ground invasion until 7 a.m. Friday. |
| Israel’s Erez crossing into Gaza was closed to all traffic, including foreign journalists, a spokesman said, and the home front command banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people as far north as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. | Israel’s Erez crossing into Gaza was closed to all traffic, including foreign journalists, a spokesman said, and the home front command banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people as far north as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. |
| In the communities close to Gaza, summer camps were canceled and groups of more than 300 were not allowed. | In the communities close to Gaza, summer camps were canceled and groups of more than 300 were not allowed. |
| Men under 50 were barred from the Al Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old City for Friday prayers, a major event especially during the current Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but one that often brings clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces even during otherwise calm times. | Men under 50 were barred from the Al Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old City for Friday prayers, a major event especially during the current Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but one that often brings clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces even during otherwise calm times. |
| Khaled Meshal, political leader of Hamas, the Islamist movement that dominates Gaza and has led the battle against Israel that began July 8, told Agence France-Presse from his base in Qatar on Friday that the ground operation was “bound to fail.” | Khaled Meshal, political leader of Hamas, the Islamist movement that dominates Gaza and has led the battle against Israel that began July 8, told Agence France-Presse from his base in Qatar on Friday that the ground operation was “bound to fail.” |
| “What the occupier Israel failed to achieve through its air and sea raids, it will not be able to achieve with a ground offensive,” Mr. Meshal was quoted as saying by the agency. | “What the occupier Israel failed to achieve through its air and sea raids, it will not be able to achieve with a ground offensive,” Mr. Meshal was quoted as saying by the agency. |
| President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, whose meetings in Cairo on Wednesday and Thursday failed to produce a cease-fire agreement, told reporters there that the ground operation would “lead to more bloodshed and complicate efforts to end the aggression,” according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency. Mr. Abbas was scheduled to travel to Turkey and perhaps Qatar on Friday to continue cease-fire discussions. | |
| In the West Bank city of Hebron, families of the three men that the Israeli authorities have said are the prime suspects in the June 12 abduction and subsequent murder of three Israeli teenagers — a crime that Israel blamed on Hamas and that began the escalation that led to the war in Gaza — received notices that their homes would be demolished at 10 a.m. Friday. Israeli forces damaged the homes weeks ago. | In the West Bank city of Hebron, families of the three men that the Israeli authorities have said are the prime suspects in the June 12 abduction and subsequent murder of three Israeli teenagers — a crime that Israel blamed on Hamas and that began the escalation that led to the war in Gaza — received notices that their homes would be demolished at 10 a.m. Friday. Israeli forces damaged the homes weeks ago. |
| On Thursday, three ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews, a 29-year-old with a history of psychiatric problems and two of his teenage relatives, were indicted for the kidnapping and killing of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in Jerusalem on July 2, an apparent revenge attack the morning after the three Israeli teens’ funerals. | On Thursday, three ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews, a 29-year-old with a history of psychiatric problems and two of his teenage relatives, were indicted for the kidnapping and killing of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in Jerusalem on July 2, an apparent revenge attack the morning after the three Israeli teens’ funerals. |
| Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel after the ground forces moved into Gaza and urged a “precise” operation focused on the tunnels, as Mr. Netanyahu’s office and other senior Israeli leaders had indicated as it was announced. | Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel after the ground forces moved into Gaza and urged a “precise” operation focused on the tunnels, as Mr. Netanyahu’s office and other senior Israeli leaders had indicated as it was announced. |
| “The secretary emphasized the need to avoid further escalation” and urged a cease-fire based on a proposal presented by Egypt earlier this week, according to a State Department statement. “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 secretary emphasized the need to avoid further escalation” and urged a cease-fire based on a proposal presented by Egypt earlier this week, according to a State Department statement. “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 United Nations estimates that three-quarters of the Palestinians killed in the operation were not militants, including more than 50 children. Palestinian health officials counted at least 17 minors killed in the past 48 hours: four were felled in an airstrike as they played on a Gaza City rooftop around 6 p.m. Thursday, and four others — cousins — were bombed as they kicked a ball on the beach around 4 p.m. Wednesday. | The United Nations estimates that three-quarters of the Palestinians killed in the operation were not militants, including more than 50 children. Palestinian health officials counted at least 17 minors killed in the past 48 hours: four were felled in an airstrike as they played on a Gaza City rooftop around 6 p.m. Thursday, and four others — cousins — were bombed as they kicked a ball on the beach around 4 p.m. Wednesday. |
| The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said overnight that he regretted the ground offensive and urged Israel to “do more” to prevent civilian casualties, news agencies reported, while France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, called on Israel to show “utmost restraint.” | The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said overnight that he regretted the ground offensive and urged Israel to “do more” to prevent civilian casualties, news agencies reported, while France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, called on Israel to show “utmost restraint.” |
| Chris Gunness of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said Friday that many people in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis had been displaced by the violence. The agency, which serves the more than half of Gaza’s 1.7 million residents classified as Palestinian refugees, is sheltering about 22,000 Gazans in 23 spots in Gaza City and the north of the strip, Mr. Gunness said. | |
| In Canada, a staunch ally of Israel, Foreign Minister John Baird said the ground incursion “could have been avoided” if Hamas had accepted Egypt’s cease-fire proposal, as Israel initially did, and said the Gaza group therefore “bears responsibility for the further tragic loss of life.” | In Canada, a staunch ally of Israel, Foreign Minister John Baird said the ground incursion “could have been avoided” if Hamas had accepted Egypt’s cease-fire proposal, as Israel initially did, and said the Gaza group therefore “bears responsibility for the further tragic loss of life.” |
| The Israeli military released footage of a captain giving his soldiers a last-minute briefing before heading into Gaza. | The Israeli military released footage of a captain giving his soldiers a last-minute briefing before heading into Gaza. |
| “I don’t think I need to explain to you why we are doing what we are doing,” he said, according to a translation posted on the Times of Israel news site. “I am confident in what we are doing, because it is our right to be free in our land. It’s not a slogan, it’s the truth.” | “I don’t think I need to explain to you why we are doing what we are doing,” he said, according to a translation posted on the Times of Israel news site. “I am confident in what we are doing, because it is our right to be free in our land. It’s not a slogan, it’s the truth.” |