Teh One Who Knocks
07-09-2014, 10:41 AM
FOX News and The Associated Press
http://i.imgur.com/HvqAuGE.jpg
The Israeli military said early Wednesday that it had struck dozens of sites linked to the Islamic militant group Hamas on the second day of an offensive aimed at stopping rocket attacks aimed at key cities across Israel.
The army said it attacked more than 160 sites in Gaza early Wednesday, including 118 concealed rockets launching sites, six Hamas compounds -- including naval police and national security compounds -- 10 militant command centers, weapons storage facilities and 10 tunnels used for militant activity and to ferry supplies in from Egypt. The border between Gaza and Egypt has effectively been closed for months.
Since the offensive began Tuesday, Israel has attacked more than 400 sites in Gaza. Palestinian health officials have claimed that at least 32 people have been killed in the strikes.
Israeli Army spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner added that at least four rockets were fired at Israeli territory overnight, a decline from the large barrage the evening before. Air raid sirens could be heard in Tel Aviv and southern Israel early Wednesday and Reuters reported that at least two rockets aimed at the city had been shot down by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.
The BBC reported that rockets fired form Gaza reached Jerusalem late Wednesday, but fell without causing injury.
Gaza health official Ashraf Al-Kedra says the overnight airstrikes killed one militant in south Gaza and an Islamic Jihad operative, his mother, and four siblings in northern Gaza. Another man was killed on a motorcycle, but his identity was not immediately known.
Lerner told reporters that the military's aim was to take a "substantial toll" on Hamas and to deplete its rocket capabilities. He said the army would gradually ramp up its strikes on Gaza.
"The organization is going to pay for its aggression. It is literally holding us hostage with its rockets," Lerner said. "The country is not willing for this situation to continue."
The previous night, the militants had fired approximately 160 rockets into Israeli territory, including one that had reached the northern city of Hadera, approximately 60 miles from Gaza.
The Hadera explosion caused no injuries, the Israeli army said, but it did mark the farthest distance a rocket has traveled from Gaza. With its new reach, Hamas' rockets now have an estimated 5 million people — more than half of Israel's population — in range.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said Tuesday that continued rocket attacks against Israeli territory would not be tolerated.
"I have ordered the military to significantly broaden its operation against Hamas terrorists and against the other terrorist groups inside Gaza," Netanyahu said in a televised address. "I call on you to display patience because this operation could take time."
Netanyahu's government has authorized the Israeli army to activate up to 40,000 reservists for a possible ground attack against Gaza. The army said that about 1,000 soldiers were immediately activated, in addition to an earlier group of 1,500 reservists called into action.
"If we need to go inside in a ground operation, then we will do it. These things are on the table. These options exist. We will not stop anything until the rocket firing ends," said Yitzhak Aharonovitch, the minister for internal security and a member of Netanyahu's inner Security Cabinet. Israel's last ground offensive was in 2009.
In Gaza, Abu Obeida, a masked spokesman for Hamas' military wing, accused Israel of violating that agreement and demanded a halt to the airstrikes, its recent crackdown in the West Bank and its opposition to a Palestinian unity government that is backed by Hamas.
"In the face of this aggression, we affirm that the Zionist enemy should not dream of calm and stability," he said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called from the West Bank on the international community and the United Nations to "provide international protection for our people." He said in a televised statement late Tuesday that Hamas leaders in Gaza want to restore calm.
"I have been in contact with the regional and international parties in the last few days, particularly Hamas leaders in Gaza, and everyone I've talked to expressed his willingness to restore the truce and stop the escalation," Abbas said. He called the Israeli offensive on Gaza an "orchestrated and brutal aggression."
The normally bustling streets of Gaza City were deserted late Tuesday. Fearing an Israeli ground operation, many residents from areas near the border moved to stay with relatives living deeper inside Gaza. In southern Israel, hundreds of thousands of citizens were ordered to stay close to home because of the rockets. The Jerusalem municipality said it was opening special bomb shelters.
Israel and Hamas, which is sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state, agreed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire that ended the last round of fighting in late 2012.
Hamas, however, is far weaker than in 2012. At the time, Egypt was governed by the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas' close ally. Following a military coup in 2013, Egypt's new government is hostile to Hamas and has closed a network of smuggling tunnels used by the group as an economic lifeline.
Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 from the rival forces of President Mahmoud Abbas. But facing international isolation and an economic crisis, Hamas last month agreed to back a new unity government with Abbas.
http://i.imgur.com/HvqAuGE.jpg
The Israeli military said early Wednesday that it had struck dozens of sites linked to the Islamic militant group Hamas on the second day of an offensive aimed at stopping rocket attacks aimed at key cities across Israel.
The army said it attacked more than 160 sites in Gaza early Wednesday, including 118 concealed rockets launching sites, six Hamas compounds -- including naval police and national security compounds -- 10 militant command centers, weapons storage facilities and 10 tunnels used for militant activity and to ferry supplies in from Egypt. The border between Gaza and Egypt has effectively been closed for months.
Since the offensive began Tuesday, Israel has attacked more than 400 sites in Gaza. Palestinian health officials have claimed that at least 32 people have been killed in the strikes.
Israeli Army spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner added that at least four rockets were fired at Israeli territory overnight, a decline from the large barrage the evening before. Air raid sirens could be heard in Tel Aviv and southern Israel early Wednesday and Reuters reported that at least two rockets aimed at the city had been shot down by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.
The BBC reported that rockets fired form Gaza reached Jerusalem late Wednesday, but fell without causing injury.
Gaza health official Ashraf Al-Kedra says the overnight airstrikes killed one militant in south Gaza and an Islamic Jihad operative, his mother, and four siblings in northern Gaza. Another man was killed on a motorcycle, but his identity was not immediately known.
Lerner told reporters that the military's aim was to take a "substantial toll" on Hamas and to deplete its rocket capabilities. He said the army would gradually ramp up its strikes on Gaza.
"The organization is going to pay for its aggression. It is literally holding us hostage with its rockets," Lerner said. "The country is not willing for this situation to continue."
The previous night, the militants had fired approximately 160 rockets into Israeli territory, including one that had reached the northern city of Hadera, approximately 60 miles from Gaza.
The Hadera explosion caused no injuries, the Israeli army said, but it did mark the farthest distance a rocket has traveled from Gaza. With its new reach, Hamas' rockets now have an estimated 5 million people — more than half of Israel's population — in range.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said Tuesday that continued rocket attacks against Israeli territory would not be tolerated.
"I have ordered the military to significantly broaden its operation against Hamas terrorists and against the other terrorist groups inside Gaza," Netanyahu said in a televised address. "I call on you to display patience because this operation could take time."
Netanyahu's government has authorized the Israeli army to activate up to 40,000 reservists for a possible ground attack against Gaza. The army said that about 1,000 soldiers were immediately activated, in addition to an earlier group of 1,500 reservists called into action.
"If we need to go inside in a ground operation, then we will do it. These things are on the table. These options exist. We will not stop anything until the rocket firing ends," said Yitzhak Aharonovitch, the minister for internal security and a member of Netanyahu's inner Security Cabinet. Israel's last ground offensive was in 2009.
In Gaza, Abu Obeida, a masked spokesman for Hamas' military wing, accused Israel of violating that agreement and demanded a halt to the airstrikes, its recent crackdown in the West Bank and its opposition to a Palestinian unity government that is backed by Hamas.
"In the face of this aggression, we affirm that the Zionist enemy should not dream of calm and stability," he said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called from the West Bank on the international community and the United Nations to "provide international protection for our people." He said in a televised statement late Tuesday that Hamas leaders in Gaza want to restore calm.
"I have been in contact with the regional and international parties in the last few days, particularly Hamas leaders in Gaza, and everyone I've talked to expressed his willingness to restore the truce and stop the escalation," Abbas said. He called the Israeli offensive on Gaza an "orchestrated and brutal aggression."
The normally bustling streets of Gaza City were deserted late Tuesday. Fearing an Israeli ground operation, many residents from areas near the border moved to stay with relatives living deeper inside Gaza. In southern Israel, hundreds of thousands of citizens were ordered to stay close to home because of the rockets. The Jerusalem municipality said it was opening special bomb shelters.
Israel and Hamas, which is sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state, agreed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire that ended the last round of fighting in late 2012.
Hamas, however, is far weaker than in 2012. At the time, Egypt was governed by the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas' close ally. Following a military coup in 2013, Egypt's new government is hostile to Hamas and has closed a network of smuggling tunnels used by the group as an economic lifeline.
Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 from the rival forces of President Mahmoud Abbas. But facing international isolation and an economic crisis, Hamas last month agreed to back a new unity government with Abbas.