WarSclerotic

Gaza Fatality Figures Provided by Hamas Should Be Viewed with Suspicion – Steven Stotsky (TIME) 
Fatality figures provided by Hamas and other Palestinian groups should be viewed with suspicion.
Analyses of the casualties listed in the daily reports published by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) indicate that young males ages 17 to 30 make up a large portion of the fatalities, a pattern consistent with the age distribution typically found among combatants and military conscripts.
PCHR data show that from July 8 through July 26, 404 out of 915 fatalities were young males.
Hamas has instructed Gazans to describe anyone killed as a civilian.
 The writer is a senior analyst with the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA)

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50 Palestinian Rockets Landed in Gaza on Wednesday(IDF Spokesperson- IMRA)
On Wednesday over 140 rockets were fired at Israel. 50 rockets fell short and landed inside Gaza.

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10 Percent of Hamas Rockets Misfired, Landed in Gaza (World Tribune)
Since the fighting in Gaza began, approximately 280 rockets fired by Hamas and its allies landed within Gaza, the IDF said on July 30.
In at least one case, a medium-range M-75 rocket with a 100 kg. warhead exploded during launch, killing at least seven Palestinians.
IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner cited an accidental Palestinian missile strike this week on Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and the Shati refugee camp just outside the city.
Palestinian sources said numerous rocket launches ended up falling in Gaza communities and that scores of people have been killed or injured.

Kerry Trying To Save Hamas, Restore Muslim Brotherhood, Gatestone Institute, Khaled Abu Toameh, July 31, 2014

There is growing concern in Ramallah, Cairo, Riyadh and Dubai that the U.S. Administration is working to prevent the collapse of Hamas.

“The Americans mistakenly think that moderate political Islam, which is represented by the Muslim Brotherhood, will be able to combat radical Islam. The Americans are trying to bring the Muslim Brotherhood back to the region.” — Palestinian official, Ramallah.

The Iranians, with whom the U.S. is now negotiating on nuclear weapons — amid fears in the Middle East that the U.S. will capitulate to Tehran’s demands if it has not effectively capitulated to them already — have now joined Qatar and Turkey in opposing any attempt to confiscate Hamas’s weapons.

The Paris conference was actually a spit in the face to the anti-Hamas forces in the Arab world. By failing to invite the Palestinian Authority to the conference, Kerry indicated that he does not see any role for Abbas and his loyalists in a post-Hamas Gaza Strip.

The U.S. Administration’s main objective in cease-fire talks is clearly to empower Muslim Brotherhood and its Palestinian branch, Hamas.

This is how the Palestinian Authority [PA] sees the recent efforts of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to achieve a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

It is no secret that the PA, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would like to see an end to Hamas’s rule over the Gaza Strip. Moreover, they seem to support the idea of disarming Hamas as part of any agreement to end the current crisis.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who has been issuing strong condemnations of the Israeli “aggression” on the Gaza Strip over the past few weeks, is hoping that the war will result in the return of his loyalists to control the Gaza Strip or, at least to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Abbas and his Arab allies are not going to shed a tear if Hamas is removed from power and the Gaza Strip is demilitarized at the end of the war.

There is growing concern in Ramallah, Cairo, Riyadh and Dubai, however, that the U.S. Administration is now working to prevent the collapse of Hamas.

This concern was reinforced by Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent tour of the region. His trip ended with last week’s Paris meeting to discuss the Israel-Hamas war.

That Kerry chose to invite Qatar and Turkey — the only two countries that support Hamas — to the conference was received with anger and shock by the Palestinian Authority and its Arab allies.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shares a laugh with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Al Attiyah during cease-fire negotiations in Paris, on July 26, 2014. (Image source: U.S. State Department)

The Paris conference was actually a spit in the face of anti-Hamas forces in the Arab world.

By failing to invite the PA to the conference, Kerry indicated that he does not see any role for Abbas and his loyalists in a post-Hamas Gaza Strip. Kerry chose to conduct indirect negotiations with Hamas through their patrons in Doha and Ankara.

By ignoring Egypt, which considers Hamas a threat to its national security and has been conducting its own war against the Islamist movement over the past year, Kerry sent a message to the Arabs and Muslims according to which the U.S. Administration is on the side of the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies.

“Kerry is exploiting the war to restore the influence of Muslim Brotherhood in the region,” charged a Palestinian official in Ramallah. “The Americans mistakenly think that moderate political Islam, represented by Muslim Brotherhood, would be able to combat radical Islam. The Americans are trying to bring the Muslim Brotherhood back to the region.”

Another Palestinian official accused President Barack Obama and Kerry of organizing a “Friends of Hamas” conference in Paris. “How can you hold such a conference without inviting representatives of the Palestinian Authority and Egypt?” he asked. “Qatar and Turkey are happy to see the Obama Administration help them in their effort to save Hamas and embolden Muslim Brotherhood.”

Alarmed by Kerry’s alliance with Qatar and Turkey, Abbas flew earlier this week to Jeddah for emergency talks with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz.

According to a senior Abbas advisor, the Palestinian Authority president urged the Saudi monarch to exert pressure on the Obama Administration to keep Qatar and Turkey out of the picture.

The advisor said that Saudi Arabia voiced support for demands to demilitarize the Gaza Strip as part of any cease-fire agreement. “Demilitarizing the Gaza Strip would mean the end of Hamas,” the advisor said. “The Egyptians, Saudis and other Arab countries also share this view. They are also upset with Kerry’s effort to rely on Qatar and Turkey to solve the crisis. These two countries are interested in keeping Hamas in power.”

Abbas and the PA continue to insist that any solution to the current crisis be achieved only through Egypt, which is interested in seeing an end to Hamas’ rule over the Gaza Strip.

But the Obama Administration obviously does not share this view. It has chosen a different path — one that would result in keeping Hamas in power and empowering the Muslim Brotherhood at the expense of moderate, pro-Western Arabs and Muslims.

Palestinian officials in Ramallah made it clear this week that they no longer trust the US Administration because of Kerry’s attempt to “appease” Qatar and Turkey at the expense of the Palestinian Authority and Egypt.

“Someone needs to remind Kerry that Qatar is not the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinians,” said a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah.

Another official, Ahmed Majdalani, warned that the Palestinians and Egyptians wouldn’t allow Kerry to “bypass” their leaders and meddle in the internal affairs of the Palestinian people.

By siding with Qatar and Turkey, the Obama Administration is effectively expressing its opposition to the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip. Moreover, the Obama Administration now finds itself on the same side with Iran, which is also vehemently opposed to disarming Hamas.

By turning its back on the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the Obama Administration has paved the way for Iranian intervention in the conflict.

The Iranians, with whom the U.S. is negotiating on nuclear weapons — amid fears in the Middle East that the U.S. will capitulate to Tehran’s demands if it has not effectively capitulated to them already — have now joined Qatar and Turkey in opposing any attempt to confiscate Hamas’s weapons.

On Wednesday, a senior Iranian military official, Gen. Qassem Slimani, issued an unprecedented warning against any attempt to disarm Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

“Disarming the (Palestinian) resistance groups is an illusion and it will not happen,” he said.

Such a warning would not have been issued had the Iranians not sensed weakness on the part of the Obama Administration. Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and their patrons in Qatar, Turkey and Iran are clearly satisfied with the way the Obama Administration is handling the conflict.

Profs Blame Pro-Israel Bias for Stereotyping Muslims, Front Page Magazine, Andrew Harrod, July 31, 2014

(The Jerusalem Fund has three programs. The Palestine Center’s “analysis emphasizes a Palestinian perspective on the peace process, the Right of Return and final status negotiations, elections, international law, media coverage of Israel and Palestine and U.S. foreign policy in the region.” The Humanitarian Link “extends grants to hospitals, orphanages, clinics, schools, universities and civil society organizations in the Occupied Territory and surrounding refugee camps in an effort to sustain the basic conditions of life in Palestine and to overcome the burdens of occupation.” The Gallery “showcases the rich culture and national heritage of the Palestinian people, as well as that of surrounding Arab societies. The Gallery hosts bi-monthly exhibits of fine art and/or photography, an annual juried art competition, a summer film screening series, evening musical performances, art workshops and an annual souk and olive harvest celebration” — DM)

Arabs and Muslims have an image problem in media and entertainment as a result of a pro-Israel political agenda. So claimed Edmund Ghareeb and Jack Shaheen, professors at American and New York Universities, respectively, on June 11, 2014, before an audience of forty middle-aged individuals at Washington, D.C. Jerusalem Fund think tank.

Ghareeb and Shaheen’s presentation, “Portraying Arabs: 30 Years Later,” commemorated their respective 1984 publications, Split Vision: The Portrayal of Arabs in the American Media and The TV Arab.  Drawing upon personal experiences, Ghareeb decried a “lack of balance” in Middle East news coverage in Israel’s favor, although groups such as CAMERA and Honest Reporting routinely demonstrate the reverse. According to Ghareeb, this allegedly biased media stereotyping “dehumanizes a people” and “allows for the use of force” against Arabs.

As evidence for this dubious claim, Ghareeb relied upon equally dubious sources such as Senator William Fulbright, who announced on television in 1973 that “Israel controls the United States Senate” and later became a registered lobbyist for Saudi Arabia.  Ghareeb also praised the reporting of  Peter Jennings as an isolated example of balanced Middle East coverage and labeledOrientalism author Edward Said an “important figure” for writing, Covering Islam:  How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World.  He then cited Muhammad Hassanein Heikal, longtime editor of Egypt’s semiofficial Al Ahram newspaper and government minister under Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser, two individuals who inspired little confidence.

Shaheen began his presentation by recounting how, in 1974, his children told him about “bad Arabs on television,” prompting him to study Arabs and Muslims in popular entertainment.  For his interest in this subject, Shaheen claimed he was “tagged the Arab professor” and had his research dismissed as “not academic; it’s propaganda.” A Rockford Filesproducer, meanwhile, allegedly rejected his interview request with the statement, “I hate Arabs.”

Hollywood prejudice has now “spread its wings” from Arab Muslims to Muslims in general. Shaheen claimed, noting in a subsequent article on the event that “Islamophobia [has] joined Arabophobia.”  He objected to headlines involving “Islamist extremists” in stories where Islam is not a factor, although he neglected to provide any examples. He did concede that, when pertinent, religion “should be part of the story.”

Shaheen alleged that “people who have a political agenda” play a significant role in creating such stereotypes, while entertainment involving an “Israeli connection” is “pervasive.” Eight seasons of the television crime show NCIS, he noted, featured American intelligence cooperation with an Israeli Mossad agent, not with a Palestinian or Yemeni agent. Yet despite CIA cooperation with Palestinian and Yemeni agents, American ties with Israel are clearly much stronger and mention of them in a TV show involving spies simply reflects reality. Vaguely referenced “friends of Israel” in the media are “much more influential, powerful,” than their opponents, Ghareeb added conspiratorially.

After the event, this reporter asked whether there was an analogy with consistently negative portrayals of Germans, given their authoritarian and aggressive past.  Shaheen called this a “totally different issue.”  He then reiterated his 2002 Nightline comments that Americans “were at war with a country” in the World Wars and not with Islam’s supposedly “lunatic fringe, al-Qaeda.”  Yet decades-long conflict with various Islamic terrorist organizations and dictatorial regimes is hardly a “fringe” phenomenon.

Undeniably, Hollywood’s dream factory and the media can stand more realism, but Shaheen and Ghareeb’s often cartoonish views condemning a supposed pro-Israel political agenda offer little benefit.   Substantial evidence of anti-Israel media bias, however, does exist, and despite Ghareeb and Shaheen’s dubious sources and wishful thinking, art does, in fact, imitate life when it depicts violence among Arabs and other Muslims. Ignoring these facts in deference to the professors’ fantasies would be the real fiction.

Booby-Traped Explosives Built into Walls of UNRWA Clinic, Israel National News, Uzi Baruch and Elad Benari, July 31, 2014

UNRWA HQ in Gaza Flash 90

Over eighty kilograms of explosives were built into the UN-funded hospital’s walls themselves, it was cleared for publication Thursday – revealing that the clinic itself was built to mask, and perform, potential acts of terror on the IDF. 

Moreover, the clinic was built over tens of terror tunnels, according to the report.

New details have emerged about the booby-trapped clinic explosion that killed three IDF Maglan unit soldiers in Gaza earlier this week – Sergeant First Class Matan Gottlieb, 21, from Rishon LeZion; SergeantFirst Class Omar Chai, 21, from Savion; and Sergeant First Class Guy Algranati, 20, of Tel Aviv, hy”d.

Over eighty kilograms of explosives were built into the UN-funded hospital’s walls themselves, it was cleared for publication Thursday – revealing that the clinic itself was built to mask, and perform, potential acts of terror on the IDF.

Moreover, the clinic was built over tens of terror tunnels, according to the report.

The UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) has yet to respond to the revelations, and has still not responded to the deaths of the Israeli soldiers Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad rocket arsenals were found in a UNRWA school for the third time this month.

After the first finding of rockets at an UNRWA school, it was reported that rather than destroying the rockets, UNRWA workers called Hamas to come remove them.

While it would not comment on the deaths of the three soldiers, UNRWA was quick to place blame on Israel for a rocket strike on one of their schools in Gaza.

The UN agency also immediately blamed Israel for a strike on Gaza’s Shifa hospital, resulting in the deaths of over a dozen Gazans. It was later revealed that in all likelihood, a misfired Hamas Fajr-5 Iranian-made 100 kg warhead destined for Israel had struck the hospital.

Turkish ‘Humanitarian Aid’ to Gaza: Ball-Bearings, Cement Mixers, Israel National News, Ari Soffer, July 31, 2014

Is Turkey supporting war against Israel? Customs officials seize ‘humanitarian’ aid, fear suspicious cargo destined for Hamas.

Ball-bearings are commonly used by terrorists as shrapnel in Qassam rockets Thinkstock

The timing of those specific items of “humanitarian aid” is particularly suspicious; Gaza’s civilian population are hardly appealing for fresh supplies of ball-bearings, and rebuilding targets struck by the Israeli Air Force while it is still operating over Gaza’s skies seems a rather unfruitful endeavor.

For their part, the owners of the seized container claim that the mixers were not specifically meant for making cement, but for other, unspecified, uses. They added that the ball-bearings were meant for use in the mixers.

Customs officials at southern Israel’s Ashdod port discovered hundreds of ball-bearings and cement mixers in a Turkish shipment of “humanitarian aid” to Gaza on Wednesday, raising fears the cargo could have been used by Hamas to support its ongoing war against Israel, according to Channel Two.

While both items have civilian uses, both have played a central role building Hamas’s rocket arsenal and its vast network of “terror tunnels” into Israel.

Terrorists in Gaza regularly use ball-bearings to maximize the lethality of locally-made, short-range Qassam rockets. Unlike other, more powerful long-range rockets and military-grade mortar shells smuggled into Gaza from state-sponsors such as Iran, Qassam rockets have a relatively small warhead. But while the explosion itself may be relatively “small”, the rockets are also packed with shrapnel – including nails, razors and, most commonly, ball-bearings – which are scattered throughout a relatively wide radius upon impact, maiming or killing anyone in the vicinity.

The co-opting of hundreds of tons of concrete supplies by Hamas to build its underground tunnel network, used to store and transport weapons as well as carry out attacks inside Israel, has also been well-documented.

The timing of those specific items of “humanitarian aid” is particularly suspicious; Gaza’s civilian population are hardly appealing for fresh supplies of ball-bearings, and rebuilding targets struck by the Israeli Air Force while it is still operating over Gaza’s skies seems a rather unfruitful endeavor.

The suspicious cargo had been handed over to security services for inspection. Authorities are currently withholding the problematic cargo, fearing it could be easily used by Hamas authorities to help replenish dwindling rocket supplies and rebuild the network of “terror tunnels” which has largely been destroyed by Israeli forces.

Turkey’s Islamist leadership is one of Hamas’s main backers, along with Qatar, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has modeled himself as a champion of the “Palestinian cause”, upping his already hostile rhetoric towards Israel since the start of Operation Protective Edge, comparing the Jewish state to Nazi Germany.

Erdogan’s government has form when it comes to funding armed Islamist groups apart from Hamas. Kurdish fighters in northern Syria have long accused the Turkish government of backing Islamist rebels – including Al Qaeda-linked factions – to fight against them.

Last December the Turkish foreign ministry admitted its government had given 47 tons of arms to Islamist rebels in Syria, even as it attempted to pass them off as “non-lethal” cargo.

Amusingly, the weaponry in question had been filed as “guns without military uses” – despite being shipped into a country gripped by a bloody civil war.

Israeli Air Force takes out 40 mosques-cum-rocket stores, brings new drone into Gaza operation, DEBKAfile, July 31, 2014

The confrontation with Hamas will thus morph into an ongoing war of attrition.

The Israeli Air Force bombed 40 mosques in Gaza Tuesday night, July 30, in the most extensive operation against Hamas’ religious institutions-cum-military bases so far. In total, at least 50 mosques have been blown up along with their stockpiles of rockets and arms caches.

These concentrated air strikes on rocket arsenals are as integral to Operation Protective Edge as the ground work in destroying tunnels. They have been stepped up in advance of the preparations launched by the government on Wednesday for the possible termination of the IDF ground operation in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of troops.

DEBKAfile‘s sources say that the order to end the ground operation in Gaza would not mean that the war is over. There are no illusions about the Palestinian extremist groups laying down their arms. In practical terms, therefore, Israeli troops will regroup and spread out along the border as a barrier against future Hamas attempts to keep up its terror offensive by means of cross-border commando raids using undiscovered tunnels and firing rockets and mortars into Israel.

Israel’s war planners believe the IDF ranged outside the Gaza border is capable of repelling these assaults by means of tank and artillery fire and air force drones.

The confrontation with Hamas will thus morph into an ongoing war of attrition.

This past week has also seen the first deployment in action of the Air Force’s brand new Hermes 900 UAV, an unmanned aircraft also known as the Star. Never before used in wartime operations, the drone’s debut was rushed forward because of its useful properties: The aircraft can fly nonstop for 30 hours at an altitude of 30,000 feet, the while conducting surveillance, gathering intelligence and relaying communications to and from military personnel in the field.

Star carries 300 kg of attack weaponry. Its cockpit and operating systems are superior to previous models, enabling commander, operator and crew to work together seamlessly.

It has been functioning almost nonstop in the Gaza operation with great success.

Manufactured by Elbit Systems, the drone had until this week only flown test flights and was not scheduled to become operational until 2015. But Operation Protective Edge called for an upgraded version of the Air Force’s Hermes 450 – a UAV that flies similar missions — and so the 900 was fast-tracked into the fleet.

As it is relatively untested in battle, the Star is only being used for certain types of missions. When the current war ends, the air force will resume further study of its performance in emergency situations and diverse altitudes and weather conditions.

Rouhani: ‘This Festering Zionist Tumor Has Opened Once Again’
BY: Adam Kredo
July 31, 2014 5:00 am

Hissssss…..-LS)

Iranian president adopts violent rhetoric towards Israel
(So what else is new??-LS)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani lashed out at Israel in vitriolic terms on Wednesday, referring to Israel as a “festering Zionist tumor.”

Rouhani, who has been championed by Western media as a moderate reformer who could change Iran’s extremist ways, appears to be adopting a violent tone similar to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has advocated for the complete destruction of Israel in recent days.

“Today, this festering Zionist tumor has opened once again and has turned the land of olives into destruction and blood and littered the land with the body parts of Palestinian children,” Rouhani was quoted as saying in a statement that was translated by the Brookings Institution.

Rouhani’s comments have received little attention in the Western media, which rushed to congratulate the Iranian leader last year for sending a greeting to Jews during the Rosh Hashanah holiday.

Rouhani went on to compare Israel to the jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), which Iran is fighting against in Iraq.

ISIL is “a second festering tumor that murders people in the name of Islam,” Rouhani said, adding that, “analysts say that both of these tumors derived from the same origin.”

Khamenei himself has called for the arming of all Palestinians so that they can combat Israel.

Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iranian dissident and cofounder of Iranian Liberal Students and Graduates, warned that Rouhani and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, the lead negotiator in talks with the West, are fooling the world by posing as moderates.

“Rouhani and Zarif to Khamenei are the same as Joachim von Ribbentrop was to Adolf Hitler,” Ghasseminejad said. “Both are loyal servants to a dangerous apartheid regime that wants to change the world order dramatically and is ready to use any means available to reach its deal. Like Ribbentrop, it is their job to fool the world, buy time for the regime, and sell a fake image to the world.”

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser on Iran and Iraq, slammed U.S. media for perpetuating the myth that Rouhani is a Western-style moderate.

“The Iranian government counts on the fact that the American media will act as useful idiots,” Rubin said. “Some self-censor for access, others simply believe what they read in English—for example Rouhani’s Rosh Hashanah tweet—and ignore completely what the Iranian leadership says in Persian.”

“The fact of the matter is that Rouahni is part and parcel of the system, and embraces Khamenei’s ideology hook, line, and sinker,” Rubin added

Rubin noted that several years ago Rouhani boasted about his ability to appease the United States with promises of diplomacy.

“There should be some serious introspection about the cherry picking in which the media has engaged to promote a false narrative,” Rubin said. “Putting lipstick on Rouhani doesn’t make him Western; he remains just as much a devotee of an ideology seeking to defeat both Israel and the West.”

As Western leaders such as President Barack Obama seek to get closer to Rouhani, his regime has armed terror groups such as Hamas and sought to spread regional chaos.

“The reality is that under Rouhani, Iran has increased its support for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah thanks to the sanctions relief” provided to Iran under the terms of the interim nuclear agreement, Ghasseminejad said.

“The mullahs in Tehran have significantly increased their influence as the United States wants to please Iran by recognizing what is being called Iran’s legitimate interests as a major power in the Middle East,” he said.

This entry was posted in National Security and tagged Hassan Rouhani, Iran.

Israel Calls Up 16,000 Reservists to Replenish Forces in Gaza, Wall Street Journal, Joshua Mitnick, July 31, 2014

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Stands Firm on Israeli Objectives.

An Israeli soldier carries a shell at an army deployment area along the border between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Thursday. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

TEL AVIV—Israel’s military said Thursday it was calling up 16,000 reserves for its campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, a day after some of the deadliest fighting of the 23-day conflict.

Israeli officials said the military had yet to complete one of the operation’s main goals—destroying cross-border tunnels Hamas uses to infiltrate fighters into Israel. The military said it has uncovered 32 tunnels so far.

“We are determined to complete this mission—with or without a cease-fire,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a special meeting of his cabinet on Thursday in Tel Aviv. “Therefore I wont agree to a proposal that doesn’t allow the Israeli Defence Forces to complete this important task.”

Mr. Netanyahu’s security cabinet decided Wednesday to press ahead with the offensive, defying international pressure to end it. At the same time, Israel sent a delegation to Egypt, which has been trying, with U.S. support, to broker a cease-fire.

Israel rejected a U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal last week, saying it failed to address Israel’s demand for disarming Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza. Hamas leaders have said they won’t stop the fight without guarantees that a seven-year-old blockade of Gaza’s borders by Israel and Egypt would be lifted.

Some officials in Mr. Netanyahu’s government have called for the offensive to be widened.

The call-up of reserves didn’t appear to signal such a move. An Israeli official said the new reserves would replenish soldiers leaving Gaza. Israel had previously sent 70,000 reserves to bolster its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

In fighting Thursday, the Israeli military said infantry forces killed a militant climbing out of a tunnel shaft in northern Gaza. Militants fired 16 rockets into Israel during the morning, the military said.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said four Palestinians were killed during the morning.

More than 100 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Wednesday, the ministry said—15 at a United Nations school sheltering people displaced by the fighting and 17 at a crowded market.

U.N. officials said the school was hit by Israeli artillery. A military spokeswoman said Israeli forces had been returning fire at militants near the school.

The ministry said more than 1,360 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched the offensive on July 8 in response to increasing rocket attacks from Gaza.

Fifty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed, including three who died Wednesday while uncovering a booby-trapped tunnel shaft inside a residence in southern Gaza, the military said. Three civilians have been killed by rockets fired into Israel.