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| Israel Claims Destruction of 2 More Gaza Tunnels | Israel Claims Destruction of 2 More Gaza Tunnels |
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| JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it thwarted two more infiltrations into its territory via tunnels from the Gaza Strip on Monday morning and killed 10 militants, as the bloody conflict entered its 14th day with no promising signs of diplomatic resolution. | JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it thwarted two more infiltrations into its territory via tunnels from the Gaza Strip on Monday morning and killed 10 militants, as the bloody conflict entered its 14th day with no promising signs of diplomatic resolution. |
| An initial statement from the Israel Defense Forces gave few details about the incidents outside Gaza’s northeast corner, saying only that “two terror squads were detected.” An airstrike targeted one group of militants, the statement said, and “soldiers who were called to the scene” engaged the other. Israeli residents in at least eight communities near Gaza were ordered to stay in their homes. | An initial statement from the Israel Defense Forces gave few details about the incidents outside Gaza’s northeast corner, saying only that “two terror squads were detected.” An airstrike targeted one group of militants, the statement said, and “soldiers who were called to the scene” engaged the other. Israeli residents in at least eight communities near Gaza were ordered to stay in their homes. |
| Israeli news outlets reported that an unknown number of Israeli soldiers were also killed, but the military did not immediately confirm that. It released video footage showing several masked gunmen in bushes it said were about a half mile from the Israeli border town of Sderot, and an explosion that targeted them as they retreated back into the tunnel. | Israeli news outlets reported that an unknown number of Israeli soldiers were also killed, but the military did not immediately confirm that. It released video footage showing several masked gunmen in bushes it said were about a half mile from the Israeli border town of Sderot, and an explosion that targeted them as they retreated back into the tunnel. |
| The armed wing of Hamas, the Islamist movement that dominates Gaza and has led the battle against Israel for the past two weeks, issued a brief statement Monday saying it had carried out an “operation behind the enemy’s front lines and the clashes are still going on.” | The armed wing of Hamas, the Islamist movement that dominates Gaza and has led the battle against Israel for the past two weeks, issued a brief statement Monday saying it had carried out an “operation behind the enemy’s front lines and the clashes are still going on.” |
| Rocket fire continued across south and central Israel Monday, with the military reporting around noon that the Tel Aviv metropolitan area had been hit for the first time since the escalation began July 8. Other missiles launched from Gaza toward Tel Aviv and the bedroom community Beit Shemesh were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system. | |
| Lt. Col. Peter Lerner of the Israeli military said in an early-morning briefing that intense fighting had continued overnight in the eastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya, where more than 60 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers died in the clashes Sunday. Colonel Lerner said 10 Hamas fighters were killed Monday in Shejaiya, and that six underground tunnels had been “completely demolished” across Gaza in the past 24 hours. A total of 16 tunnels with 43 entry points had been uncovered since the start of the ground invasion Thursday night, he said. | Lt. Col. Peter Lerner of the Israeli military said in an early-morning briefing that intense fighting had continued overnight in the eastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya, where more than 60 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers died in the clashes Sunday. Colonel Lerner said 10 Hamas fighters were killed Monday in Shejaiya, and that six underground tunnels had been “completely demolished” across Gaza in the past 24 hours. A total of 16 tunnels with 43 entry points had been uncovered since the start of the ground invasion Thursday night, he said. |
| In the northern town of Beit Hanoun, several thousand residents streamed toward Gaza City on foot, in donkey carts, and packed into cars. The evacuations were more orderly than the panicked fleeing amid the deadly fighting Sunday morning, as Gaza residents seemed to be taking precautions despite little military activity in the area. | In the northern town of Beit Hanoun, several thousand residents streamed toward Gaza City on foot, in donkey carts, and packed into cars. The evacuations were more orderly than the panicked fleeing amid the deadly fighting Sunday morning, as Gaza residents seemed to be taking precautions despite little military activity in the area. |
| The United Nations said 83,000 residents were taking refuge in 60 shelters. “Situation for civilians beyond imagining,” a spokesman, Chris Gunness, said in a post on Twitter. | The United Nations said 83,000 residents were taking refuge in 60 shelters. “Situation for civilians beyond imagining,” a spokesman, Chris Gunness, said in a post on Twitter. |
| With the Palestinian death toll reaching 500, families gathered at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to collect bodies for burial. | With the Palestinian death toll reaching 500, families gathered at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to collect bodies for burial. |
| At the Abu Jamei family’s home in southeast Gaza, people searching beneath the rubble left by an overnight attack Monday counted 26 bodies, by far the most victims of a single strike in this offensive. In the southern border town of Rafah, artillery shelling at homes belonging to the Siam family killed 11 people, witnesses said, including three children. | At the Abu Jamei family’s home in southeast Gaza, people searching beneath the rubble left by an overnight attack Monday counted 26 bodies, by far the most victims of a single strike in this offensive. In the southern border town of Rafah, artillery shelling at homes belonging to the Siam family killed 11 people, witnesses said, including three children. |
| Across Israel, funerals were scheduled for at least five soldiers from the decorated Golani Brigade killed in Shejaiya on Sunday. The military said it had still not determined whether a soldier had indeed been captured alive, as Hamas claimed in a statement Sunday night. The Israeli military announced that one of the dead was among the scores of Americans who volunteer for the Israeli Army each year: Max Steinberg, 24, from Southern California. | Across Israel, funerals were scheduled for at least five soldiers from the decorated Golani Brigade killed in Shejaiya on Sunday. The military said it had still not determined whether a soldier had indeed been captured alive, as Hamas claimed in a statement Sunday night. The Israeli military announced that one of the dead was among the scores of Americans who volunteer for the Israeli Army each year: Max Steinberg, 24, from Southern California. |
| The fresh underground incursions highlighted a dilemma for Israel’s leadership, which has tried to build international support for its ground operation by saying it was a limited one focused on the tunnel threat, and by embracing cease-fire proposals from Egypt. Now, with President Obama dispatching Secretary of State John Kerry to Cairo to seek an immediate halt to hostilities, Israel may be pressured to leave the tunnel mission unfinished in order to restore quiet. | The fresh underground incursions highlighted a dilemma for Israel’s leadership, which has tried to build international support for its ground operation by saying it was a limited one focused on the tunnel threat, and by embracing cease-fire proposals from Egypt. Now, with President Obama dispatching Secretary of State John Kerry to Cairo to seek an immediate halt to hostilities, Israel may be pressured to leave the tunnel mission unfinished in order to restore quiet. |
| “It’s a very difficult question,” a senior Israeli military official said Sunday night, speaking on the condition of anonymity under military protocol. | “It’s a very difficult question,” a senior Israeli military official said Sunday night, speaking on the condition of anonymity under military protocol. |
| “We have a mission, and we are going to fulfill it — Israel is not going to leave the threats of tunnels beneath the border between Gaza Strip and Israel,” he said. Still, he added, “After 13 days of fighting, and so many casualties, I believe that it’s the right time for all sides to stop.” | “We have a mission, and we are going to fulfill it — Israel is not going to leave the threats of tunnels beneath the border between Gaza Strip and Israel,” he said. Still, he added, “After 13 days of fighting, and so many casualties, I believe that it’s the right time for all sides to stop.” |
| Though Israel had a task force studying the tunnels for a year, its forces have discovered since entering Gaza on Thursday that the network is much bigger and more sophisticated than they had anticipated. There are multiple exit and entry points for each tunnel, making them difficult to track and demolish. “Our goal now is to finish the job by really destroying as much tunnels as we can, if not all of them,” he said. “It’s very difficult for me to say all of them because there’s always a chance we don’t know all the tunnels, and what you don’t know you simply don’t know.” | Though Israel had a task force studying the tunnels for a year, its forces have discovered since entering Gaza on Thursday that the network is much bigger and more sophisticated than they had anticipated. There are multiple exit and entry points for each tunnel, making them difficult to track and demolish. “Our goal now is to finish the job by really destroying as much tunnels as we can, if not all of them,” he said. “It’s very difficult for me to say all of them because there’s always a chance we don’t know all the tunnels, and what you don’t know you simply don’t know.” |