JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel stepped up its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Wednesday, pummeling scores of targets and killing at least 14 people as Israeli leaders signaled a weeks-long ground invasion could be quickly approaching.
The military said it struck about 200 Hamas targets on the second day of its offensive, which it says is needed to end incessant rocket attacks out of Gaza. Militants, however, continued to fire rocket salvos deep into Israeli territory, and Israel mobilized thousands of forces along the Gaza border ahead of a possible ground operation.
“The army is ready for all possibilities,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after holding a meeting of his Security Cabinet. “Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing toward Israeli citizens. The security of Israel’s citizens comes first. The operation will expand and continue until the fire toward our towns stops and quiet returns.”
The fighting stepped up as Egypt, which often serves as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, said it was in contact with both sides to end the violence. It was the first indication since the offensive was launched on Tuesday that cease-fire efforts might be under way.
The offensive has set off the heaviest fighting between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas since an eight-day battle in November 2012. Israel says its aim is to quash Hamas’ militant capabilities and to quell rocket fire.
Israeli leaders warned a ground invasion could be imminent.
“Despite the fact it will be hard, complicated and costly, we will have to take over Gaza temporarily, for a few weeks, to cut off the strengthening of this terror army,” Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s intelligence minister, told Israel Radio. “If you ask my humble opinion, a significant operation like this is approaching.”
The government has authorized the army to activate up to 40,000 reservists for a ground operation. An Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing Israeli tactical strategy, said the reservists would be sent to the West Bank to allow active duty troops to amass near the Gaza border.
Since the offensive began Tuesday, Israel has attacked at least 560 sites in Gaza, killing at least 41 people, the army said. Militants have fired more than 160 rockets at Israel.
“We will not stop. They’ll first receive a hard blow from air and sea, and if a ground invasion is needed, there will be a ground invasion,” said Israel’s Minister of Internal Security, Yitzhak Aharonovitz.
Gaza health official Ashraf al-Qidra said at least 14 people were killed in Wednesday’s airstrikes, including two militants. An 80-year-old woman was among the dead. In all, 35 Palestinians have been killed.
Israel’s army said its targets included a senior member of the Islamic Jihad militant group. Islamic Jihad confirmed one of its members was killed, along with his mother and four siblings.
Hamas official Musheer al-Masri said Israel had “crossed all the red lines” and warned that Hamas would strike back fiercely. “What the resistance showed today is only part of what it is capable of,” he said.
Israel and Hamas are bitter enemies and have fought numerous times over the years. But until recently they had been observing a truce that ended the previous hostilities in 2012.
About 2,000 people attended a funeral for eight Palestinians, including at least one militant, four adults and two children, who were killed Tuesday.
In a statement, the Egyptian president’s office said President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi received a call from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday evening to review the latest developments.
Abbas, who has minimal influence in Gaza, has appealed to Israel to halt its offensive. “Egypt has made extensive contacts with all active and concerned parties to spare the Palestinian people the scourge of Israeli military operations,” el-Sissi’s office said. It did not elaborate.
It was not clear whether the contacts included formal efforts to reach a cease-fire, or whether Egypt was speaking to Hamas. The new Egyptian government has poor relations with Hamas.
Tensions have been rising since the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank on June 12. Israel accused Hamas of being behind the abductions, although it provided no proof.
Israel then launched a crackdown on the group’s members in the West Bank and arrested hundreds of people. Hamas, which controls Gaza, responded by stepping up rocket fire.
The situation deteriorated last week after the bodies of the three were found, followed a day later by the abduction of Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem — who was later found burned to death in what Palestinians believe was a revenge attack. Six Jewish Israelis were arrested in the killing.
Hamas is far weaker than the last round of fighting with Israel in 2012.
At the time, Egypt was governed by the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas’ close ally. Following its ouster in 2013, Egypt’s new government became hostile to Hamas and closed a network of smuggling tunnels used by the group as an economic lifeline, and as a way to smuggle in rockets.
An Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing Israeli tactical strategy, said Israel could make more significant achievements against Hamas now than in previous rounds of fighting.
“Things are different now,” the official said. “Their ability to rebuild their arsenal is far more limited.”
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Butbutbut, they’re Dog’s Chosen! If we want to bring Baby Jeezus back, we need to back everything they do in His name!
The article failed to mention the Israeli casualties. I haven’t seen any reports of casualties. Casualties are infrequent. I know that home made Gazan rockets only have a 50% chance of leaving Gaza. These rockets are erratic and generally fall on open fields.
Israel always names Hamas as the culprit. Many of these rockets, however, are crafted by small groups over which Hamas has but limited control.
It is easy to blame Hamas.
These small bands of defiant men need little beyond some sheet metal, a cheap welder, some sugar, a little fertilizer and explosives recovered from plentiful supplies of unexploded Israeli ordinance that Israel graciously leaves lying scattered about Gaza…
Israel supplies the motive with simple acts of denial: No concrete, no lumber, no nails, bolts or nuts. No exports. No jobs. No travel. A few teasing hours of electricity. A taste of water.
Who imagined that a belly filled with frustration and a heart starved for hope would do such things?
Previous press reports have indicated that the Hamas rockets started after Israel bombed Gaza in response to the killing of the 3 Israeli teens.
The genesis of this violence is the murder of the 3 kids, which Israel has insisted was done by Hamas, though they offer no rationale or evidence that I have seen. They arrested two men they said were involved and then destroyed their homes, destroying evidence in the process.
My conclusion is that the prime belligerent here is Israel and Netanyahu and that they have escalated 3 tragic and senseless murders into a broader war, killing about ten times as many people according to other press reports.
This TPM report is highly flawed.
actually, you have it reversed. The blockade is in response to Hamas, not the other way around. As for building materials, Israel allows building materials into Gaza to be used by the UN, not by private builders, since that material may be used to build arms smuggling tunnels, bunkers, and, of course, rockets.
While not all rockets are launched by Hamas, you cannot exonerate Hamas unless it makes an effort to crack down on those groups. Hamas security people certainly know where to find Islamic Jihad in Gaza, so if Islamic Jihad launches rockets, and Hamas, which claims authority in Gaza, does nothing to prevent it, then Hamas bears responsibility.
And as far as the accuracy of the rockets go, no country would tolerate rocket attacks from a neighbor if they could help prevent it. Dozens of Israelis have been killed and hundreds injured in rocket attacks. And the risk has only increased, as hamas smuggling from Iran has improved their missile stock, allowing them to launch missiles as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Should Israel allow Hamas to bombard them until someone is killed? How many dead Israelis would justify a response by Israel?
Let me make this clear–I support two states, and I have no patience for those people who says Israel can do no wrong. It’s done plenty wrong, and it needs to negotiate a peace deal with the PA sooner rather than later. But there is absolutely no way to rationalize or defend Hamas. There was a ceasefire since the last major Israeli operation; this current bout of violence in Gaza began with rockets launched from Gaza, breaking the ceasefire. And, as always happens, the violence will end when Hamas decides to honor the ceasefire again. Seems like the easiest way to avoid all of this would be for Hamas to stop launching and allowing the launch of rockets from it’s territory.
Hamas is not fighting for freedom, or liberty, or rights. Read it’s charter–it’s fighting for the destruction of Israel.
Yes.
Its even worse when you look at how Israel kept details of the 100 call (like our 911) under wraps for 3 weeks. The Israeli government knew that gunfire was heard on the tapes. The teens bloody car was found quickly. The police had a pretty good idea that the teens were dead but the government allowed people to get more and more worked up and angry.