Escalation in Gaza

War from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Ukraine - and now Gaza.


The Americans have achieved their region destabilisation. They couldn't have done better it they had tried.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon: Gaza situation 'on knife-edge'

The situation in Gaza "is on a knife-edge", UN Secretary 

General Ban Ki-moon has said, urging Israel and 

Palestinian militants to end hostilities.

BBC,

10 July, 2014

Mr Ban warned that the region "cannot afford another full-blown war".

His comments came after Israel said Hamas had fired dozens of rockets at Israeli cities on Wednesday night, following Israeli air strikes in Gaza.

More than 60 Palestinians are reported to have died since Tuesday in Israeli air strikes against militants.

Gaza medical officials say half of the casualties were civilians, including women and children.

Eight Palestinians were killed in an air raid on a house near the southern town of Khan Younis early on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

An Israeli military spokesman said the deaths were "a tragedy - not what we intended", as people had returned to the building too soon following a telephone warning.

Another nine people were reported killed in a strike on a cafe in the same town.

Emergency talks

"The deteriorating situation is leading to a downward spiral which could quickly get out of control," Mr Ban said.

The UN Security Council is due to meet for emergency talks on the crisis later on Thursday.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu earlier vowed to "further intensify attacks on Hamas" in Gaza, saying the militants would "pay a heavy price" for their rocket attacks.

"This operation could take time. We are resolved to defend our families and our homes," he said.

Israel says its targets have been militant fighters and facilities including rocket launchers, weapons stores, tunnels and command centres.

Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, accused Mr Netanyahu of "preparing a ground operation which could bring a huge massacre in Gaza".

He told the BBC that Hamas was ready for a mutually declared ceasefire, but that Israel had rejected a truce. "Mr Netanyahu seems determined to continue this terrible war," Mr Barghouti said.

Israeli President Shimon Peres told CNN that a ground offensive might happen "quite soon". The army has called up about 40,000 reservists.

Israel said it had hit dozens of "terror sites" in Gaza

The military wing of Hamas has vowed that Israel will pay a "tremendous price" for the air strikes

The military said its Iron Dome missile defence system had intercepted 21 of the 82 rockets fired on Wednesday, including three above Tel Aviv, three over Ashkelon and three over Ashdod.

Israel has carried out more than 230 air strikes since Tuesday, hitting nearly 600 targets as part of its operation Protective Edge.

Hamas said that all Israelis were now targets, accusing Israel of violating the Egyptian-brokered truce that ended exchanges in 2012.

'Forced upon us'

The leaders of France and Germany condemned the attacks on Israel after speaking to Mr Netanyahu.

Senior US officials urged "all sides to de-escalate the situation", a state department spokeswoman said.

He also criticised what he described as the international community's lack of support for the Palestinian people.

"This war was forced upon us," he said in a televised speech on Wednesday.

Last month, Hamas and Mr Abbas formed a unity government to end a major rift between factions in the West Bank and Gaza.

Israel suspended crisis-hit peace talks with the Palestinians in April in response to the announcement of the reconciliation deal.

Tensions rose last week with the murders of three young Israelis in the occupied West Bank and a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem.

Israel says Hamas was behind the abduction and murder of the Israeli youths - a claim it denies.

A day after their funerals, the Palestinian youth was abducted in East Jerusalem and murdered. Police have arrested six Jewish suspects and say it seems the 16-year-old was killed because of his nationality.

Israel's Iron Dome missile shield

1. Enemy fires missile or artillery shell
2. Projectile tracked by radar. Data relayed to battle management and control unit
3. Data analysed and target co-ordinates sent to the missile firing unit
4. Missile is fired at enemy projectile

Gaza death toll surpasses 60 as Israel’s offensive enters third day

RT,

10 July, 2014

The death toll in Gaza has risen to 64 after 14 people – including seven women and children – were killed in Israeli airstrikes as Operation Protective Edge entered its third day. At least 18 children have been killed since Tuesday.

Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said the first strike targeted a coffee shop in the city of Khan Younis, killing six men and wounding at least 15 others, AFP reported. 

The second strike hit the home of Raed Shalat at Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing him and injuring several others, Qidra added. 

Seven people – three women and four children – were killed in further strikes on two houses in Khan Younis.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said five of those killed were children. Another 16 people were also wounded in the attack, the ministry added.

Palestinians inspect the remains of a car which police said was hit in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City July 9, 2014. (Reuters / Ashraf Amrah)

The newest casualties bring the death toll to 64. Airstrikes on Tuesday and Wednesday killed 21 and 29 Palestinians respectively. At least 10 women and 18 children were among the dead, according to a count based on medical reports, AFP says.

Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says over 360 rockets have been fired at Israel since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge. Over 590 targets in the Gaza Strip were hit.

The offensive is the worst escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians since 2012.

Palestinian rockets have targeted central and southern Israel, reaching as far as Jerusalem but causing no serious casualties.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will give a briefing at an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Thursday around the escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence. "Gaza is on a knife edge," Ban told reporters on Wednesday. "I firmly condemn the multiple rocket attacks launched from Gaza on Israel. Such attacks are unacceptable and must stop."

"I also urged [Israeli] Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu to exercise maximum restraint and to respect international obligations to protect civilians. I condemn the rising number of civilian lives lost in Gaza," he added.

Palestinian rescuers check a car hit by an Israeli air strike killing the driver in Gaza City on July 9, 2014. (AFP Photo / Thomas Coex

Media player helpBut the leader of Hamas' political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, warned that Hamas would continue to retaliate and called on Palestinians to unite.