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Israel-Gaza conflict: Israel widens ground offensive and commits more troops to Gaza
Israel-Gaza conflict: At least 40 dead in heaviest shelling yet as Israel widens ground offensive
(about 1 hour later)
Israel said it has widened its ground offensive today, sending more troops into Gaza after demolishing more than a dozen Hamas tunnels and intensifying tank fire on border areas.
At least 40 Palestinians have been killed in the fiercest attack on Gaza since the Israeli offensive began 13 days ago, as tanks shelled a neighbourhood that is home to 100,000 people.
Loud explosions shook Gaza as Israeli flares lit up the night sky and fighter jets flew low across the densely-populated territory.
The Israeli military said it was pleased with efforts so far to crack down on the system of tunnels used by Hamas militants to avoid air strikes, and in a statement said it had committed more ground troops to “the effort to combat terror”.
Since the start of Israel-Hamas fighting nearly two weeks ago, 348 Palestinians were killed and 2,700 wounded in Israeli air and artillery strikes, according to Palestinian health officials. One fourth of the deaths were reported since the start of the ground offensive on Thursday.
As the overground incursion intensified, hospitals in Gaza were flooded with civilians, with some at the Shifa hospital being treated in corridors and courtyards.
Five Israelis - three soldiers and two civilians - have also been killed and dozens wounded as rockets continue to rain down on Israel.
The shelling of the Shijaiyah district appears to have resulted in the heaviest mass casualties among Palestinians since the start of the latest conflict, and included the deaths of the son, daughter-in-law and two small grandchildren of a senior Hamas official, Khalil al-Hayya.
As fighting raged, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon headed to Qatar in renewed ceasefire efforts. Hamas last week rejected an Egyptian call to both sides to halt hostilities, saying it first wanted guarantees that Israel and Egypt would significantly ease their border blockade of Gaza.
A single video captured from within the neighbourhood, and passed on to reporters by a local, appeared to show at least a dozen corpses – including three children – lying in streets filled with rubble.
Hamas has also sought involvement of other countries, such as Qatar, in any ceasefire negotiations, saying Egypt cannot be the sole mediator. The Islamic militant group is deeply distrustful of Egypt's rulers who last year deposed the Hamas-friendly government in Cairo.
Thousands have now fled Shijaiyah on foot, and as tank shells began to rip through buildings residents rang in to radio stations pleading for evacuation.
Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shukri repeated an appeal for the two sides to adopt the ceasefire, saying Egypt's plan is the only one on the table, despite efforts from Hamas backers Turkey and Qatar to broker a deal.
Asked about the civilian impact of the attack, an Israeli military spokesperson said: “Two days ago, residents of Shijaiyah received recorded messages to evacuate the area in order to protect their lives.”
"It meets the needs of both sides," he said. "We will continue to propose it. We hope both sides accept it."
Since the start of fighting almost two weeks ago and without including those killed in the Shijaiyah tank offensive, Gazan health officials said at least 350 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,700 wounded. A fourth of those deaths have come since the first ground incursions came late on Thursday.
With truce talks stalled, violence has escalated.
Hamas has kept up its rocket fire into Israeli territories in spite of the increasing ground offensive. And while almost half of its reported arsenal has either been fired or destroyed in missile strikes on stockpiles, the militant group has said it continues to replenish supplies and is prepared for a prolonged conflict.
Israel-Gaza conflict: Israel widens ground offensive and commits more troops to Gaza
Though there are further plans to secure a ceasefire with meetings in the coming week, efforts so far involving Egypt, Qatar, France, the UN and others have failed to make any headway.
Israel's military said today it had widened its ground offensive by sending more troops into Gaza. Over the weekend troops demolished more than a dozen tunnels that were used by Hamas to sneak into Israel and carry out attacks on soldiers and civilians, the army said.
A senior Qatari source told reporters that the country was due to host a meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today, as well as a meeting between Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.
Soldiers uncovered 34 shafts leading into about a dozen underground tunnels, some as deep as 30 yards, the military said. Israel views the tunnels as a strategic threat and demolishing them is a high priority in their campaign.
A UN statement said Ban would travel this week across Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories to discuss the ongoing conflict.
Footage released by the military showed tunnels being demolished by army excavators and other equipment on the ground and by air strikes from above.
In Israel, the number of people displaced from their homes continues to grow. The Israeli military has urged Palestinians to flee from a growing area of Gaza ahead of more expected attacks – but with borders sealed and around half of the territory’s 1.8 million population having already received evacuation orders, Gazans say they have few safe places left to escape to.
Palestinian gunmen disguised in Israeli uniforms managed to infiltrate Israel from Gaza using another tunnel and killed two Israeli soldiers and injured several others yesterday. At least one Palestinian was killed in the clash.
The largest UN agency in Gaza, UNRWA, said about 61,500 people had sought refuge in its buildings, mainly schools - more than in any previous conflict there between Israel and Islamist militants.
Hamas said 12 of its fighters were involved and the group took some of the soldiers' weapons back to their hideouts.
In two other confrontations, Palestinian gunmen jumped out of tunnels and shot at soldiers who returned fire. Two of the gunmen were killed. Another militant died when the explosive vest he was wearing went off, the military said.
In one instance, the militants were found with tranquillisers and handcuffs, indicating they "intended to abduct Israelis" according to the military.
Clashes persisted last night. Palestinians reported heavy Israeli tank fire on the border areas of Gaza. Doctors said a son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya were killed early today when their house was hit by a tank shell in Gaza City.
In the southern city of Rafah, three brothers were killed when an air strike targeted the family house, said health official Ashraf al-Kidra.
In Israel, a Gaza rocket killed a man near the southern city of Dimona and wounded four people, marking the second Israeli civilian casualty from the fighting. Casualties could mount quickly if the military moves deeper into urban areas.
Some 50,000 Palestinians are already staying in United Nations shelters, according to UNRWA, the UN refugee agency for Palestinians.
Electricity and water supplies in Gaza were increasingly being disrupted. The Gaza City local authority said a main water line was damaged in the fighting, leaving parts of the city without water. Gaza has suffered from rolling blackouts for years, but periods without electricity have now increased to up to 20 hours at a time.
Meanwhile, Egypt opened its border crossing with Gaza, admitting wounded to Egyptian hospitals and allowing aid and doctors back in.
Israel says it is going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties and blames them on Hamas, accusing it of firing from within residential neighbourhoods and using civilians as "human shields".
Human rights activists say past confrontations have shown that when Israeli carries out attacks in densely-populated Palestinian areas, civilian deaths are inevitable.
The military said it has hit more than 2,500 targets in Gaza, including 1,100 rocket launchers, during the 12 days of fighting. It said that some 70 militants were killed and another 13 brought to Israel for questioning.
Gaza militants have fired more than 1,760 rockets at Israeli cities since July 8, the military said.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has survived Israeli offensives in the past, including a major three-week ground operation in January 2009 and another week-long air offensive in 2012. It now controls an arsenal of thousands of rockets, including long-range projectiles, and has built a system of underground bunkers.
But Hamas is weaker than it was during the previous two offensives, with little international or even regional support from its main allies, Turkey and Qatar.
