WarSclerotic

Hamas official hopes Israel invades ‘so we can kidnap soldiers’

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri responded to the possibility of an expected Israeli ground incursion into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, saying it would offer Hamas an opportunity to kidnap soldiers.

“As long as the occupation attacks, we’ll respond, and it will pay the price of its crimes. Our will won’t break,” he vowed.

“I hope the occupation makes this error and enters Gaza in a ground operation, so that we’ll have an opportunity to abduct soldiers.”

Abu Zuhri also said a meeting of Palestinian factions was expected on Tuesday, apparently in an effort to unify the various organizations.

Knesset defense committee chair: Retake Gaza

Voices are growing on the right to retake the Gaza Strip. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman has suggested it. On Tuesday afternoon, Likud MK Ze’ev Elkin, chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, announced his own support for a full IDF takeover.

“Over the long term, there won’t be any escaping correcting the mistake we made,” Elkin told Channel 2 News. “The Islamist terror base [in Gaza], with its thousands of rockets pointed at us, didn’t happen by accident. It happened because of our mistakes, pulling out of Gaza and letting Hamas run in the [2006 Palestinian] elections.”

“It’s clear that every other act [short of a retaking of the Strip] will only serve as a deterrent until the next time they want to test us.”

IDF ‘not familiar’ with reported anti-aircraft attack by Hamas

The army says it is “not familiar” with reports from earlier Tuesday about an SA-7 surface-to-air missile allegedly fired at an air force helicopter. The report, though, raises the issue of what Hamas and other terror groups possess in their arsenals of imported and self-made weapons.

The SA-7, which was reportedly first used in combat by Egyptian troops during the War of Attrition with Israel in 1969, is “a well-known and obsolete weapon,” says Tal Inbar of the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies.

Israeli aircraft are all equipped with the appropriate defensive systems and flight regulations that keep them out of range of the low-altitude, Soviet-made missile, he says, adding that there have been roughly 10 cases of SA-7 missiles fired from Gaza.

For a more in-depth look into Hamas’s weapons capabilities, click here.

Red alert sounds in Beersheba area

Rocket sirens are sounding around the Beersheba and Ofakim areas, bringing the total number of rockets fired from the Strip to over 100, according to the IDF.

Video said to show strike on Gaza car

Warning: Graphic content

Up to 5 killed in strike on Gaza car

At least one person died in an IDF strike on a vehicle in the Gaza strip, Palestinian sources are reporting.

Conflicting figures are coming out of Gaza as to the death toll, with figures ranging from one to five dead.

Reports are saying one of the men killed was an officer in Hamas’s naval commando unit.

Livni: Ground incursion up to Hamas

Whether or not Israel will launch a ground operation in Gaza will depend on Hamas, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni says.

“It is our duty to provide security to our citizens. The question is what’s the right way to do that. It very much depends on the extent to which Hamas will not allow Israel’s citizens to live in peace,” she declares at Haaretz’s peace conference.

Livni refuses to say whether the security cabinet, of which she is a member, currently favors a ground operation, saying merely that it is not the government’s “first choice” but that it will be weighed if need be.

Livni is speaking on a session about the peace talks, at which Palestinian top peace negotiator Saeb Erekat was originally scheduled to speak as well. However, citing the Israeli-Palestinian tensions of the recent days, Erekat canceled his appearance.

– Raphael Ahren

IDF targets terrorist command center

Socialist MK urges leaders to ‘break cycle of violence’

MK Dov Khenin of the socialist Hadash Party is urging Israeli leaders to find a diplomatic solution to the incessant rocket fire from Gaza on southern Israel.

Quoting a letter he received from a resident of the south, Khenin writes on his Facebook page, “More strikes on Gaza will not solve the problem. With every attack the chances of us getting a life worth living decrease. I challenge you [leaders] to do the courageous thing and find a diplomatic way to stop all this destruction and killing. Do every thing you can to bring true quiet to our region.”

In his post Khenin asserts that “it is important to listen to such things and instead of reacting — to think.”

“The cycle of violence is not a foregone conclusion,” he adds. “Let’s really do everything in our power to break it.”

French envoy to visit Ashdod

France’s ambassador to Israel, Patrick Maisonnave, is visiting the francophone community in Ashdod to express France’s “support and solidarity in these difficult moments.”

The diplomat will arrive in the city at 5 p.m.

– Raphael Ahren

Gaza factions demanding Israel lift siege

“The Palestinian factions will not agree to a truce and will not stop [attacking] until Israel surrenders to their terms — stop the aggression and lift the siege on the strip,” Ynet’s Palestinian affairs correspondent quotes Hamas official Ismail Al-Ashqar, a member of the freedoms committee established under the reconciliation agreement of Fatah and Hamas.

Palestinians report one dead in central Gaza

An Israeli air strike on the central Gaza Strip killed a Palestinian man on Tuesday in the first reported casualty of Operation Protective Edge, an emergency services spokesman reports.

“A man named Ashraf Yassin was killed in an Israeli air strike west of Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza,” spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra tells AFP.

Witnesses say the man was a militant of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamist Hamas movement.

Ynet reports that working on Shin Bet intelligence, the IDF struck the home of Hamas operative Mohammed Abdel Rahman Goda. The house was part of the organization’s infrastructure. Palestinian sources say no one was injured in the strike.

Officials say Israel weighing land invasion

Officials in Jerusalem tell The Times of Israel that Hamas chose to escalate the exchange of fire with Israel and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has therefore instructed the army to launch a “continuous, methodological, and forceful campaign” against the terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.

“The directive to the Israel Defense Forces is to be ready to go until the end,” the sources say, adding that even a ground operation is on the table.

It is likely that the IDF will call up additional reservists to prepare for a possible invasion of the strip, the sources say.

The purpose of Operation Protective Edge is to “is exact a heavy price from Hamas, to hit it hard, and to create a significant attack that that will lead to deterrence,” the sources say.

In addition to the op’s military aspect, the prime minister is also active in the diplomatic arena, planning to call to several international leaders to explain to them why Israel was forced to act, they add.

– Raphael Ahren

Three rockets land in Eshkol region

Three rockets fall in open fields in the Eshkol region east of the Gaza Strip, causing no injuries.

Paramedics say that two people were lightly injured from rockets that struck Ashdod and the surrounding area. One was treated for injuries to his legs from shrapnel, while another sustained a bruise after falling while running for cover. Seven more people were treated for shock.

Three Palestinians were injured in an earlier IDF strike on Beit Lahiya in the north of the strip, a Palestinian source tells Ynet.

Israel halts train service in the south

Israels Railways is halting service between Sderot and Ashkelon in both directions after receiving a directive from the Home Front Command.

Shuttles will be available between the two stations,

Trains will be running only north from Ashkelon until further notice.

Ex-PM Barak throws support behind offensive

“We have to respond forcefully, with determination and reason,” former prime minister Ehud Barak says. “Israel cannot afford to have millions of civilians under rocket threat.”

Speaking at the Israeli Conference on Peace, Barak — who served as defense minister during the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense — refuses to make concrete policy recommendations on how to deal with the current rain of rockets, but said that Israel’s military leadership consists of professionals who understand these issues better than the government.

– Raphael Ahren

Netanyahu says ground operation possible

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the IDF to be ready to “go all the way,” Israel Radio reports.

Even a ground operation is possible, the prime minister says after a security meeting in Tel Aviv, adding that Hamas chose escalation and will pay the price for it. “This will be a long and strong operation that will create deterrence.”

Meanwhile, in the Strip, Hamas says it has fired a Sam-7 anti-aircraft missile at Israeli Air Force jets over Khan Yunis, but missed the target. The IDF is looking into the claim.

The IAF is carrying out regular strikes against targets in Gaza. There are reports of injuries from one strike on Shojaya in east Gaza.

– Raphael Ahren

Police arrest two teens for ‘price tag’ attack

Police say they have arrested two Jewish teenagers from Haifa in connection with price tag vandalism last month.

The youths allegedly spray-painted anti-Arab slogans and other graffiti on the walls of an Arab school disparaging Balad MK Hanin Zoabi, who made incendiary comments about the kidnapping of three Israeli teens last month.

Police are naming the 18-year-old suspect, Yaakov Yair Vaknin, but are withholding the name of the 15-year-old suspect because of his age.

The prosecution is seeking to keep them in custody.

IDF to call up thousands of reservists

Haaretz reports that the IDF plans to call up several thousand additional reservists to join the 1,500 the military called up Monday, ahead of a possible ground invasion.

Israel warned Gaza militants before offensive

Arabic daily Al-Hayat reports that Israel warned Hamas and Islamic Jihad through Egypt on Monday that if the rocket fire persists, the IDF will respond strongly.

“Israel will strike Gaza with a heavy hand if the two movements don’t accept a truce,” a senior Egyptian official told representatives of the two organizations, according to a Palestinian official.

Islamic Jihad has taken credit for at least 60 of the rockets fired on Israel in the last two days.

IDF to call up thousands of reservists

Haaretz reports that the IDF plans to call up several thousand additional reservists to join the 1,500 the military called up Monday, ahead of a possible ground invasion.

EU expresses ‘unreserved solidarity’ with Israelis

The European Union’s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, says the EU would like to “express its unreserved solidarity with citizens of Israel.”

Speaking at a conference on peace talks organized by Haaretz, the ambassador says that “indiscriminate shooting of rockets against civilians can never be a legitimate response, no matter what your grievances.”

– Raphael Ahren

Operation Protective Edge gets meme treatment

Benji Lovitt, Times of Israel blogger and comedian, ribs the IDF’s choice of English name for its Gaza operation.

The op’s original Hebrew name is Tzuk Eitan, which can literally be translated as “firm cliff,” but the army went with a non-literal translation, opting for “Protective Edge” for its English name.

Minister says government is giving IDF whatever it needs

The IDF has the authority to do whatever is necessary to restore quiet to the south, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch says.

“The IDF has a free hand to act in whatever steps it determines,” he says, according to Ynet. “The political leadership has effectively authorized everything the IDF has requested.”

Netanyahu says ‘gloves are off’

Netanyahu says “the gloves are off” in a meeting with the heads of Israel’s security establishment in Tel Aviv.

“Hamas chose this escalation and will pay a heavy price,” he adds.

Meanwhile at the Israel Conference for Peace, President Shimon Peres says that while Hamas is Israel’s enemy, there has never been a greater partner for peace on the Palestinian side that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, pointing to Abbas’ condemnation of the kidnapping of three Israeli as proof that he is willing to risk his life for peace.

6 rockets fired in past hour; 5 downed

The IDF Spokesperson’t Unit says 6 rockets have been fired at Israel over the past hour, five of which were intercepted over the coastal cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod.

– Mitch Ginsburg

Minister says government is giving IDF whatever it needs

The IDF has a has the authority to do whatever is necessary to restore quiet to the south, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch says.

“The IDF has a free hand to act in whatever steps it determines,” he says, according to Ynet. “The political leadership has effectively authorized everything the IDF has requested.”

IAF strikes more targets in Gaza

Israel Radio reports that the Israeli Air Force struck targets in Gaza City and Beit Hanoun in the north of the Strip.

Islamic Jihad takes credit for rockets

For the first time in the latest round of violence, Islamic Jihad is claiming responsibility for some of the rocket attacks on Ashdod and Ashkelon on Tuesday morning.

The organization says it has fired some 60 rockets in recent days.

The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, has initiated an operation called “Stable Building,” Gaza’s Safa news agency reports.

Ynet reports that one of the rocket fired earlier hit near a house in the Hof Ashkelon region, causing a brush fire to break out.

Two other rockets landed in open areas between Ashkelon and Ashdod.

Defense minister says Gaza op will take time

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, in consultation with the IDF Home Front Command chief, Maj. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg, and the director general of the Defense Ministry, Dan Harel, declares a special security situation on the home front, granting the chief of staff the authority to issue life-saving orders to civilians living within 40 kilometers of the Gaza Strip.

The declaration also ensures that employees living within the declared zone will not be fired from their jobs or penalized for missing work.

“We are preparing for a campaign against Hamas, which will not end within several days,” Ya’alon says at a security assessment Tuesday. “Hamas is guiding the current clash to a place where it is able to exact a price from our home front. There is a need for perseverance. Proper civilian conduct has a decisive role in our ability to avoid civilian casualties, and [do] listen to Home Front Command orders regarding proximity to and entry into safe rooms.”

Ya’alon says the army has struck dozens of Hamas assets over the past hours and that the IDF is continuing its offensive “in a manner that will exact a very heavy price from Hamas.”

He reiterates that Israel will not tolerate rocket fire on its civilians and cities and says that Israel is prepared to broaden the campaign, “using all of the means at our disposal to strike Hamas.”

– Mitch Ginsburg

Hamas official: Don’t expect a ‘white flag’

Hamas spokesman Husam Badran says that Hamas is not looking for a war, but will not simply “raise the white flag” in the face of the major Israeli offensive launched Tuesday morning.

In an interview with the BBC, he also accuses Israel of violating the truce several times in the past two weeks and says Hamas has no choice but to “teach Israel a lesson.

Iron Dome intercepts rocket from Gaza

Israel’s Iron Dome defensive system intercepted a rocket over the city of Ashdod.

Meanwhile there are reports of more sirens in Ashdod, Gan Yavne and Beersheba.

Sirens wail in two major Israeli cities

Sirens go off in Ashkelon and Ashdod as Gaza militants target major Israeli cities for the first time today.

IDF strikes two targets in Gaza

The Israeli Air Force carries out two strikes, one in Beith Lahiya in the north of the Gaza Strip and another in Deir el-Balah in the center of the territory.

Palestinians sources are reporting that several people were injured.

Abbas calls on Israel to stop ‘dangerous escalation’

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas releases a statement calling on Israel to end what he calls “a dangerous escalation” after Israel launched a major operation in the Gaza strip Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, another rocket falls in an open field, this time in the Sdot Negev region just east of Gaza.

Sirens sound east of Gaza

Sirens wail in the Sdot Negev region near the Gaza border.

The mayor of Ashkelon says that the IDF must strike a blow to Hamas as it did to Hezbollah in the north during the second Lebanon war, according to Ynet.

IDF plans to intensify operation in Gaza

IDF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Moti Almoz says that the IDF is planning to intensify its operation in Gaza in the coming days as long as rocket fire continues.

“We are very determined and have an aggressive plan in Gaza,” Almoz tells Ynet. “We are conducting this [operation] in steps that will escalate in the coming days. Residents of the south need to heed Home Front Command guidelines.”

Gaza rocket lands in field north of Gaza border

A rocket from Gaza falls in an open field in the Hof Ashkelon region.

The attack comes hours after multiple missiles strike the Eshkol region.

No injuries or damages are reported.

Arabs said targeted by stone-throwers

There were several incidents of attacks on Arabs overnight, Israel Radio reports.

Close the community of Katzir, near Haifa, rocks were thrown at Arab cars as they passed by. The vehicle of a resident from the Arab town of Ar’ara was damaged.

In Baqa al-Gharbiya, a predominately Arab town near Haifa, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the community police building, causing damage to an outside wall.

In Hadera, vandals smashed the windscreen of a car and sprayed “death to Arabs” on the side of the vehicle.

Vandals also threw rocks at cars outside Fureidis, which is also near Haifa, causing damage to a vehicle.

Recent days have seen rioting in the north by Arabs, enraged over the killing of Muhammad Abu Khdeir.

Lapid says Israel is strong, Hamas weak and crumbling

Finance Minister Yair Lapid says in an interview with Israel Radio that Israel has a distinct advantage in this round of fighting as Hamas is currently “weak and crumbling.” While he won’t comment on any specific measures the IDF plans to take, he warns that no Hamas member is safe.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Labor Party) acknowledges that the launch of dozens of rockets last night represented a serious escalation, and Israel has no choice but to “strike a blow to the head of Hamas.”

Herzog says he is confident that Israel is better prepared to handle this round of fighting than in the past, but also cautions that in order to restore quiet, the government must avoid making false promises such as re-conquering Gaza or toppling the Hamas government.

Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar says a major operation was necessary because Israel’s deterrence has eroded. Addressing ongoing clashes between Arab Israeli protesters and Israeli security forces, Sa’ar commends Arab community, saying they are acting responsibly to cool tensions and that only a minority are participating in riots.

17 reported injured in Israeli airstrikes

According to Palestinian medics, Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip overnight leave 17 people injured, including seven children and two women. Two of the injured are in serious condition, Palestinian medics say.

On the Israeli side of the border, schools and summer camps in an area of 40 kilometers (30 miles) around Gaza are closed and residents are being asked to avoid any rallies.

– AFP

Obama calls for restraint

US President Barack Obama calls for Israelis and Palestinians alike to restrain themselves and put an end to acts of retribution, in some of his first public comments on the matter since the murder of three Israeli teenagers touched off a new round of violence and deepening mistrust.

In an op-ed in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Obama calls it a “dangerous moment” for the region where a vaunted US peace effort recently collapsed. Writing in emotional terms, he says he couldn’t imagine the pain suffered by the parents of the three Israeli teens, but was also heartbroken by the senseless murder of a Palestinian teenager who many suspect was killed as payback.

“All parties must protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not vengeance and retribution,” Obama says.

– AP

IDF hits 50 targets overnight

The IDF announces that it hit 50 targets in the Gaza strip overnight Monday after launching a major operation aimed at “restoring stability to the South.”

Among the targets hit were concealed “rocket launchers, launching infrastructures, a weapon storage facility, training bases and terror tunnels shafts” The IDF names the Hamas operatives running the targets as Ei’ad Sakik, Abdullah Hshash, Samer Abu Daka and Hassan Abdullah, all of whom have been involved in terrorist activities in the past.

“We are determined to lay a significant blow on Hamas’ terror capabilities and infrastructure, eliminate any threat on Israeli sovereignty emanating from the Gaza Strip and restore stability to the southern region,” IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner says. “Terrorists perpetrating the aggression against Israel have a personal price to pay and will bear the consequences of their actions.”

The IDF launched Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning after militants launched over 100 missiles and mortars at Israeli territory in 24 hours. The army has called up 1,500 reserve soldiers in anticipation of continuing escalation.

Meanwhile, Hamas is giving no indication that the rocket fire on Israel will subside, warning that it will respond to further Israeli air raids by firing on targets deeper into Israel, including Tel Aviv.

Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum says: “This is not the time for quiet. We have a bank of various targets. An Iron Dome [missile battery] will be needed in every Israeli home.”

A rocket landed in an open area of the Eshkol region bordering Gaza just after sun-up, causing no injuries or damage.