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8 Members of a Family Are Buried in Gaza Despite Israeli Push in Gaza, Hamas Fighters Slip Through Tunnel
(about 2 hours later)
GAZA CITY — Eight members of a single family, including four children, were buried in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, killed by a barrage of Israeli artillery that hit their home Friday night, as artillery and small arms fire echoed nearby from clashes between Hamas militants and Israeli forces. GAZA CITY — Even as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the Gaza Strip, unleashing intense artillery fire as they moved to demolish militants’ tunnels into Israel, several Hamas fighters slipped through one of the passages on Saturday and killed two Israeli soldiers on patrol before being driven back, the Israeli military said.
Israeli soldiers have taken control of the exit points of 13 separate tunnels into Israel from Gaza and are engaged in “urban warfare” inside the strip, along the boundary with Israel, while working to destroy the tunnels, said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman. Hamas militants were fighting back with antitank missiles, small-arms fire and grenades, and in one case, he said, even strapped explosives to a donkey. The infiltration, the second in three days, was the latest indication that the tunnel network from Gaza into Israel is far more extensive than previously publicly known. The attack seemed to send a message that Hamas was undeterred in its efforts to launch assaults on Israel, and it could spur a new escalation: Israel cited an earlier infiltration on Thursday as the immediate catalyst for its ground invasion of Gaza.
Hamas militants entered Israel on Saturday from the central Gaza Strip through one of the many tunnels the Israeli military is seeking to destroy, firing on an Israeli patrol that killed one of the militants and forced the rest back into Gaza, the Israeli military said. The military said the infiltrators on Saturday had planned “a lethal attack” in a nearby community, but did not name the town. Hamas media also reported that fighters had “crossed enemy lines” and engaged Israeli forces.
The Israeli government warned people in the Eshkol area near Gaza to stay away from artillery fire during the clash, and the military said the infiltrators had planned “a lethal attack” in a nearby community. Hamas media also reported that its fighters had “crossed enemy lines” and engaged Israeli forces. The soldiers who were killed were Sgt. Adar Bersano, 20, and Maj. Amotz Greenberg, 45, a reservist, according to the Israeli military. One militant was also killed, the Israelis said.
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza since July 8 has risen to 301, with more than 2,000 wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said. About 75 percent of the casualties have been civilians, according to a United Nations count. Israeli troops have uncovered 13 tunnels from Gaza into Israel since the start of the ground operation, some of them as much as 30 yards underground, with multiple entry points beneath greenhouses and open fields, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, said on Saturday. He said that the 13 tunnels, now under Israeli control, were all over the periphery of Gaza and that he believed there were “tens” more.
One Israeli was killed by a rocket fired from Gaza into the Negev desert Saturday morning. Hamas has fired more than 1,000 rockets into Israel since July 8. With many rockets intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system and Israelis heeding sirens and taking cover, just one other Israeli has been killed, near the Gaza border, by a mortar shell. Colonel Lerner added that troops were in the process of demolishing the tunnels and had been engaged in “urban warfare” inside Gaza.
As the funeral procession for the Abu Jarad family wound through the streets of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, men took turns carrying the bodies of an infant and a toddler, wrapped in bloody white shrouds, the baby’s exposed face marked with blood. Adults’ bodies were wrapped in the yellow flags of Hamas’s rival party, Fatah. Another killed in the area was buried at the same time. Hamas militants were fighting back with antitank missiles, small-arms fire and grenades, Colonel Lerner said.
At the cemetery, small-arms fire and artillery echoed close by during the prayers and smoke rose in the distance. Hamas rockets whooshed into the sky from a launch site not far away, an attack likely to draw return fire to the residential area. Many mourners, fearing danger trickled away before the end of the ceremony. Among the dead in recent fighting were eight members of a Palestinian family, including four children, who were killed by an Israeli artillery barrage Friday night. During the funeral on Saturday for the family, the Abu Jarads, artillery and small-arms fire echoed nearby from clashes between Hamas militants and Israeli forces. Hamas rockets whooshed into the sky from a nearby launch site, and some mourners hurried away before the ceremony was over.
The dead were killed when a barrage of artillery hit their house in Beit Hanoun, in northeastern Gaza, during heavy shelling. The family was the latest of many here who have suffered mass casualties in a single strike. A rocket fired from Gaza killed an Israeli, Odeh Lafia al-Waj, 32, in a Bedouin village near Dimona and injured four members of his family, including a three-month-old girl who was critically hurt. He was the first Israeli civilian killed by one of about 1,600 rockets fired by Hamas in the current conflict, most of which have been intercepted by Israeli defense systems or fallen in open fields. Another was killed by a mortar shell close to Gaza.
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza rose to 301 since July 8, including 72 children, 24 women and 18 elderly people, with more than 2,000 wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said. About 75 percent of the casualties have been civilians, according to a United Nations count.
As the funeral procession for the Abu Jarad family wound through the streets of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, men took turns carrying the bodies of an infant and a toddler, wrapped in bloody white shrouds. The adults’ bodies were wrapped in the yellow flags of Hamas’s rival party, Fatah.
In Khan Younis, in central Gaza, seven people were killed, mostly men, and others were wounded when a drone struck a group of people in the middle of the city, the health ministry said.In Khan Younis, in central Gaza, seven people were killed, mostly men, and others were wounded when a drone struck a group of people in the middle of the city, the health ministry said.
The number of Palestinians who have left their homes for official United Nations shelters reached 50,000, according to a U.N. spokesman. But the true number of those who have fled was likely much higher, as most have taken refuge with friends and family. The number of Palestinians who have left their homes for official United Nations shelters reached 50,000, according to a United Nations spokesman. But the true number who have fled is probably much higher, as most have taken refuge with friends and family.
The Israeli military planned to distribute more leaflets Saturday advising residents of Khan Younis, the nearby coastal area of Marasi and Al Burej to evacuate, Colonel Lerner said. He said the military was working with international organizations to help them find safe harbor, but he acknowledged that there were not enough places to go. The Israeli military planned to distribute more leaflets on Saturday advising residents of Khan Younis and the nearby refugee camps of Al-Maghazi and Al-Burej — extremely crowded areas — to evacuate, Colonel Lerner said.
“The alternative is that they stay put and that is more dangerous to them and that’s why we advise them to leave the area and take refuge, at least temporarily,” Colonel Lerner said. “We are directing them toward safer zones, safer areas, away from the areas where we plan to operate.” But many Gaza residents say they are unsure where to go, since fighter jets and drones may strike anywhere. Israel blames Hamas for operating in residential areas, and it has urged Palestinians to move away from the group’s personnel and rocket launch sites and to pressure Hamas not to use their neighborhoods. Civilians here say they have little sway over armed Hamas militants and do not always know that they are operating nearby until it is too late.
But many Gaza residents say they are unsure where to go, since fighter jets and drones may strike anywhere. Israel blames Hamas for operating in residential areas, and has urged Palestinians to move away from the group’s personnel and rocket launch sites and to pressure Hamas not to use their neighborhoods. Civilians here say they have little sway over armed Hamas militants and do not always know that they are operating nearby until it is too late. Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said: “The number of displaced Palestinians seeking shelter in U.N.R.W.A. schools in Gaza doubled in the last 36 hours and now stands at over 50,000. This is the same level as during the Gaza conflict in 2008-9. It is rising.”
Colonel Lerner said Saturday morning that Israeli troops had uncovered 13 distinct tunnels from Gaza into Israeli territory since the ground offensive began, some of them as much as 30 yards underground, and multiple entry points beneath greenhouses and open fields. He said the tunnels were all over the periphery of Gaza and that he believed there were “tens” more. He would not say how long the tunnels were or which locations inside Israel they led to. Mr. Gunness added: “We have accommodated those fleeing the fighting in 44 schools. However, U.N.R.W.A. is extremely concerned that a more intensive military operation will see these numbers rise even higher, causing additional burden on an already vulnerable population. U.N.R.W.A. is especially concerned about the impact this is having on the 1.2 million refugees it serves, the majority of whom were already reliant on food and other assistance from the organization.”
“We have control over all of them, we’re in the process of demolishing them,” Colonel Lerner said. Colonel Lerner said the military was working with international organizations to help Palestinians find safe harbor, but he acknowledged that there were not enough places to go.
Colonel Lerner said that Palestinian militants had built the extensive tunnel network over the past two years, and that Israeli intelligence had been studying them with a special task force for a year to prepare for such an operation. “The alternative is that they stay put, and that is more dangerous to them, and that’s why we advise them to leave the area and take refuge, at least temporarily,” Colonel Lerner said. “We are directing them toward safer zones, safer areas, away from the areas where we plan to operate.”
Colonel Lerner said that militants had built their extensive tunnel network over the past two years, and that Israeli intelligence had been studying the tunnels with a special task force for a year to prepare for an operation.
“It is a substantive, strategic plan of extensive tunnels in order to infiltrate into the state of Israel,” he said. “They shifted all of their assets, all of their infrastructure, all of their defensive capabilities, into these offensive capabilities in order to have some element of surprise.”“It is a substantive, strategic plan of extensive tunnels in order to infiltrate into the state of Israel,” he said. “They shifted all of their assets, all of their infrastructure, all of their defensive capabilities, into these offensive capabilities in order to have some element of surprise.”
As the engineer corps works to destroy the tunnels with heavy machinery, other troops have taken up defensive positions around them.
In Beit Lahiya overnight, he said, Israeli forces entered a house and a man inside opened fire; he was killed and three soldiers were wounded. Troops also found a militant inside a tunnel and killed him. In a separate incident, a man seeking medical assistance pulled out hand grenades and was killed by soldiers.
Since July 8, Israel has struck 2,350 targets, including 1,100 rocket launchers, Colonel Lerner said.