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In a Grim Game of Numbers, Israel and Palestinians Vie for Advantage In a Grim Game of Numbers, Israel and Palestinians Vie for Advantage
(about 2 hours later)
JERUSALEM — The grim tallies from Gaza and Israel pour in each morning, dockets of death, destruction and damage that, with the war entering its 16th day, begin to seem almost routine.JERUSALEM — The grim tallies from Gaza and Israel pour in each morning, dockets of death, destruction and damage that, with the war entering its 16th day, begin to seem almost routine.
On Wednesday, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner of the Israeli military said his country had carried out 200 airstrikes in the last 24 hours and 3,250 since the operation began July 8. Palestinian militants, he said, had launched 2,159 rockets in the same period, 97 of them the day before, which he called “a substantial decline” from a daily average of 143. On Wednesday, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner of the Israeli military said his country had carried out 200 airstrikes in the last 24 hours and 3,250 since the operation began on July 8. Palestinian militants, he said, had launched 2,159 rockets in the same period, 97 of them the day before, which he called “a substantial decline” from a daily average of 143.
Two more Israeli soldiers had been killed, he said, bringing the total to 29.By afternoon, a foreign laborer doing farm work in a field near Ashkelon was killed by a rocket, bringing the number of civilian deaths on the Israeli side to three. Two more Israeli soldiers had been killed, he said, bringing the total to 29. By afternoon, a foreign laborer in a field near Ashkelon was killed by a rocket, bringing the number of civilian deaths on the Israeli side to three.
The Gaza-based Health Ministry put the Palestinian death toll at 632 from the beginning of the escalation through 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, including 132 children, 66 women, and 36 elderly men. Witnesses reported heavy clashes and intense artillery fire in Khuza’a, a town of about 10,000 people in the southeast of the strip. The Gaza-based Health Ministry put the Palestinian death toll at 632 from the beginning of the escalation through 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, including 132 children, 66 women, and 36 elderly men. The toll would soon climb. Witnesses reported heavy clashes and intense artillery fire in Khuza’a, a town of about 10,000 people in the southeast of the strip.
Five Palestinians were killed in the fighting there, health officials said: two children, two brothers aged 23 and 25, and a 60-year-old man. Five Palestinians were killed in the fighting there, health officials said: two children, two brothers ages 23 and 25, and a 60-year-old man. By noon, the Health Ministry raised the total death toll to 642, with 4,120 injured.
The competing efforts by Israel and Palestinian officials to control the narrative of this conflict are made that much more complicated by the hundreds of reporters on the ground providing almost instantaneous reports of the fighting and the resulting casualties and by the thousands of bloggers, activists and others blasting out information and opinions on social media. The competing efforts by Israel and Palestinian officials to direct the narrative of this conflict are made that much more complicated by the hundreds of reporters on the ground providing almost instantaneous reports of the fighting and the resulting casualties and by the thousands of bloggers, activists and others blasting out information and opinions on social media.
Like every other day since the conflict began, Wednesday got underway with almost a blur of developments and likelihood of more to come, each with the potential to become a skirmish in the battle for public opinion and support around the world. Like every other day since the conflict began, Wednesday began with almost a blur of developments and the likelihood of more to come, each with the potential to become a skirmish in the battle for public opinion and support around the world.
On the diplomatic front, Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Israel and was scheduled to meet with the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, at a Jerusalem hotel; then with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Ramallah; and, later, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his military headquarters in Tel Aviv. On the diplomatic front, Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Israel and was scheduled to meet with the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, at a hotel in Jerusalem; then with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Ramallah; and, later, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
President Abbas, who had last week backed an Egyptian proposal for an immediate cease-fire followed by talks on specific terms, early Wednesday appeared to have aligned himself more with Hamas, whose leaders have said they will not halt the hostilities until several demands are met. Those include opening crossings into Egypt and Israel, easing restrictions by Israel on farming, fishing, imports and exports, and releasing prisoners who were recently rearrested by Israel after having been freed in a 2011 exchange for a soldier Hamas held captive for five years. Reporters in Jerusalem get their first briefing from the Israeli military, most days, at 7:30 a.m.; preceded on Wednesday — at least for The New York Times — by a wake-up call seven minutes earlier from a soldier in the military’s extensive public relations apparatus.
“The demands of Gaza to end the aggression and lift the blockade are the demands of the entire Palestinian people,” said a statement read on Palestinian television by Yasser Abed Rabbo of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, which met with Mr. Abbas until past midnight. The Palestine Liberation Organization sends out a daily “Gaza Under Fire” report by email, usually in the afternoon. Wednesday’s reported that, as of noon, 655 people had been killed since the operation’s onset, 4,220 wounded and 1,090 homes demolished. More than 19,000 homes had been damaged, it said, along with 90 schools, six hospitals, six health clinics, 64 mosques — three were destroyed — and eight government buildings. The 14-page report listed the names, and in most cases the locations and ages, of 584 people killed since July 13. “The answer to Israel’s security is not the collective punishment of Palestinians,” was written underneath in bold, capital letters.
After the Federal Aviation Administration instructed American carriers Tuesday not to fly to Israel for 24 hours, citing a rocket that had damaged a house near Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel opened a small southern airport to international flights. US Airways also announced a resumption of flights to Tel Aviv. The United Nations had said Tuesday that 117,000 displaced people were sheltering in 80 of its schools, and that 1.2 million Palestinians in Gaza had “no or very limited access to water or sanitation services.”
Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, flew to Ben-Gurion on the Israeli carrier El Al in a show of solidarity. He usually flies by private jet. Wednesday morning, Gaza City was quieter than usual, but Israeli navy gunboats fired at the coastline all day. There were also a lot of shooting and explosions between Jabaliya, a refugee camp in the north of the strip, and Khan Younis, a city in the south. A flood of families headed toward Khan Younis from the nearby villages of Abasan al-Kabera, Abasan al-Asghira and Bani Suheila, and a local hospital was receiving many wounded people from those places.
“Ben Gurion is the best protected airport in the world,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. “The U.S. flight restrictions are a mistake that hands Hamas an undeserved victory and should be lifted immediately.” Colonel Lerner, the Israeli military spokesman, confirmed that most of the fighting remained in areas on the periphery of the Gaza Strip and in the eastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya, where 13 soldiers and at least 60 Palestinians were killed Sunday and fierce combat has continued since. He said 30 militants had been killed in the last 24 hours, for a total of 210 — Palestinians put the number of fighters much lower — and that 28 underground tunnels with 68 entry points had been “exposed,” and six of the tunnels “demolished.”
European airlines, including Air France, said they would continue to monitor the situation before deciding whether to divert the Tel Aviv flights they had canceled to the southern airport, Ovda, about 30 miles north of the resort city of Eilat. A spokesman for Lufthansa said its flights to Tel Aviv remained canceled Wednesday. British Airways’ service to Ben-Gurion was unaffected.
President Shimon Peres joined other Israeli leaders in criticizing the aviation decisions, saying: “The real answer is not to stop flights but to stop the rockets. If airlines will submit to terror then they invite more rocket fire and a greater danger not just here, but across the world.”
Reporters in Jerusalem get their first briefing from the military, most days, at 7:30 a.m.; preceded on Wednesday — at least for The New York Times — by a wake-up call seven minutes earlier from a soldier in the military’s extensive public relations apparatus.
Journalists in Gaza rise with the sun, and look around.
“Quiet this a.m. in Gaza City — driving around, not seeing much,” Tyler Hicks, a photographer for The New York Times, said in an email. “Overnight, not hearing much, but hotel far from bad areas, so not sure.” A bit later, he added, “lots of activity, explosions and shooting,” between Jabaliya, a refugee camp in the north of the strip, and Khan Younis, a city in the south.
Sergey Ponomarev, another photographer working for The Times, said “there was a flood of refugees” coming to Khan Younis from the nearby villages of Abasan al-Kabera, Abasan al-Asghira and Bani Suheila. A local hospital was receiving what Mr. Ponomarev described as “lots of wounded” from those places.
By noon, the Gaza health ministry upped the total death toll to 642, plus 4,120 injured.
An overnight “Gaza Crisis Update” from the Institute for Middle East Understanding cited United Nations information from Tuesday: 117,000 displaced people sheltering in 80 schools; 530 homes hit; 1.2 million Palestinians with “no or very limited access to water or sanitation services.”
Colonel Lerner, the Israeli military spokesman, confirmed that most of the fighting remained in areas on the periphery of the Gaza Strip and in the eastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya, where 13 soldiers were killed Sunday and fierce combat has continued since. He said that 30 militants had been killed in the last 24 hours, contributing to a total of 210 — Palestinians put the number of fighters much lower — and that 28 underground tunnels with 68 entry points had been “exposed,” and six of the tunnels “demolished.”
“We are meeting resistance around the tunnels, they are clearly trying to protect these assets, as far as they’re concerned,” Colonel Lerner said. “Shejaiya has turned out to be a more substantial, fortified position, which explains, perhaps, why they are putting so much effort into defending it.”“We are meeting resistance around the tunnels, they are clearly trying to protect these assets, as far as they’re concerned,” Colonel Lerner said. “Shejaiya has turned out to be a more substantial, fortified position, which explains, perhaps, why they are putting so much effort into defending it.”
A senior military intelligence official, in a separate morning conference call, told reporters that Israeli forces were encountering “quite advanced” weapons systems, including the Russian-made Kornet and RPG-29 antitank weapons, which he said were probably smuggled through Iran and Syria. Hamas was also using snipers and improvised explosive devices, he said: booby traps in tunnels, suicide bombers in the streets, and even explosives strapped to animals. A senior military intelligence official, in a separate morning conference call, told reporters that Israeli forces were encountering “quite advanced” weapons systems, including Russian-made Kornet and RPG-29 antitank weapons, which he said were probably smuggled through Iran and Syria. Hamas was also using snipers and improvised explosive devices, he said: booby traps in tunnels, suicide bombers in the streets, and explosives strapped to animals.
“The way of fighting is completely the way that some of your armies and forces saw in Iraq and Afghanistan and what we experienced in other places, Lebanon,” the official explained. “Underground infrastructure, hiding, and as much as they can fighting from a standoff position, not face-to-face fighting, because in that case they know they have no chance.” “The way of fighting is completely the way that some of your armies and forces saw in Iraq and Afghanistan and what we experienced in other places, Lebanon,” the official said. “Underground infrastructure, hiding, and as much as they can fighting from a standoff position, not face-to-face fighting, because in that case they know they have no chance.”