{"id":3747,"date":"2014-07-08T11:27:08","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T11:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=3747"},"modified":"2014-07-08T11:27:08","modified_gmt":"2014-07-08T11:27:08","slug":"israel-launches-military-offensive-against-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2014\/07\/08\/3747\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel launches military offensive against Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Israeli military launched what could be a long-term offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday striking at least 50 sites in Gaza and mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion aimed at stopping a barrage of rocket attacks against Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The military said \u201cOperation Protective Edge\u201d looks to strike the Islamic Hamas group and end the rocket fire that has reached deeper into Israel and intensified in recent weeks amid tensions over the killing of three Israeli teenagers and the apparent revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager.<\/span>
In a statement, the military said it was seeking to \u201cretrieve stability to the residents of southern Israel, eliminate Hamas\u2019 capabilities and destroy terror infrastructure operating against the State of Israel and its civilians.\u201d<\/span>
Nearly 300 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel in recent weeks, including a barrage of close to 100 projectiles on Monday alone, the military said, a huge surge after years of relative quiet that followed a previous Israeli campaign to root out Gaza rocket launchers.<\/span>
\u201cWe have repeatedly warned Hamas that this must stop and Israel\u2019s defense forces are currently acting to put an end of this once and for all,\u201d said Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/span>
Israel has responded with dozens of airstrikes, and eight Palestinian militants were killed Monday. Israel had signaled that it would not launch a larger offensive if the militant group Hamas ceased the rocket fire.<\/span>
\u201cThey chose the direction of escalation,\u201d said military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, in a telephone briefing to reporters. \u201cSo the mission will go on as long as we feel it is necessary to carry it out. We don\u2019t expect it to be a short mission on our behalf.\u201d<\/span>
After a brief early morning lull, the rocket fire from Gaza resumed Tuesday with more than 15 rockets fired toward southern Israel, including the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon. The Associated Press video showed launches from inside Gaza.<\/span>
The military said five were intercepted by the country\u2019s sophisticated Iron Dome missile defense system. A German cruise operator docking in the Ashdod port said debris fell onto one of its ships late Monday as it was departing.<\/span>
None of the 2,700 vacationers and crew aboard the AIDAdiva was harmed. \u201cHowever, small debris that according to experts could have come from a defense missile were found on the passenger deck,\u201d the company said. The ship continued to Crete without delay.<\/span>
Israel\u2019s defense minister announced a special state of emergency in the region Tuesday as summer camps and kindergartens were shut down and residents were encouraged to stay close to their homes.<\/span>
Among the 50 sites the military said it targeted early Tuesday were four houses it said were \u201cactivity sites\u201d belonging to Hamas militants involved in launching rockets at Israel or other militant activity. There were no reported casualties in the strikes.<\/span>
The military identified the men whose houses were targeted as Eiad Sakik, Abdullah Hshash, Samer Abu Daka, and Hassan Abdullah. The Associated Press filmed Abu Daka and Abdullah\u2019s demolished homes in the Khan Younis area of the Gaza Strip.<\/span>
In addition, the military said it struck three militant compounds, 18 concealed rocket launchers, and other militant infrastructure sites. Most were targeted in airstrikes, and three were attacked from the sea.<\/span>
Gaza health official Ashraf Al-Kedra said at least nine Palestinian civilians were brought to a Gaza hospital with light to moderate injuries from the airstrikes, including several who suffered from shock. He said some of the injured Palestinians were treated and released.<\/span>
Lerner, the military spokesman, said the army will gradually increase its attacks on Hamas in Gaza, and is recruiting additional reservists for a potential ground invasion of Gaza.<\/span>
Hamas has amassed about 10,000 rockets, including longer-range rockets that can reach \u201cup to Tel Aviv and beyond,\u201d Lerner said, adding that the military was preparing for the possibility that Hamas would launch rockets toward Israel\u2019s heartland and its commercial and cultural hub.<\/span>
The military ordered hundreds of thousands of Israelis within a 40-kilometer (25-mile) radius of the Gaza Strip, including Israelis in the major southern city of Beersheva, to stay indoors and near shelters.<\/span>
Lerner said last month\u2019s kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank was connected to the intensified rocket fire carried out by Hamas militants in Gaza. Israel blames Hamas for the teens\u2019 abduction and is conducting a manhunt for two Hamas-affiliated Palestinians in the West Bank it believes carried out the kidnapping and killing.<\/span>
The Israeli government has not yet provided proof of Hamas\u2019 involvement in the kidnapping.<\/span>
\u201cThe abduction of the three boys only cost them, and they had no gains from it,\u201d Lerner said. \u201cTherefore they have increased their involvement in rocket fire,\u201d adding that nearly all of the rocket fire at Israel Monday was carried out by Hamas, not militants affiliated with other groups. He said Hamas was \u201ctrying to gain clout.\u201d<\/span>
Tensions have been high since three Israeli teenagers kidnapped June 12 in the West Bank were later found dead, followed by last week\u2019s slaying of the Palestinian youth in what many suspect was a revenge attack.<\/span>
The charged climate inspired President Barack Obama to pen an op-ed for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.<\/span>
\u201cAll parties must protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not vengeance and retribution,\u201d Obama said in the piece published Tuesday.<\/span>
Obama warned of a \u201cdangerous moment\u201d for the region after the collapse of US-backed peace talks.<\/span>
\u201cAs I said last year in Jerusalem, peace is necessary, just, and possible. I believed it then. I believe it now,\u201d he wrote. \u201cPeace is necessary because it\u2019s the only way to ensure a secure and democratic future for the Jewish state of Israel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: Asharq Al-Awsat<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Israeli military launched what could be a long-term offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday striking at least 50 sites in Gaza and mobilizing troops for a possible ground invasion aimed at stopping a barrage of rocket attacks against Israel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIsrael launches military offensive against Gaza - SunniOnline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2014\/07\/08\/3747\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Israel launches military offensive against Gaza - 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