23 aug 2014
Four Palestinians were killed on Saturday afternoon and dozens injured as Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip continued into its 47th day, as fears grew that Israel was planning to intensify its assault a day after a child was killed in mortar fire in southern Israel.
The deaths in Israeli airstrikes brought the total number of deaths in Gaza on Saturday to 12, including five members of one family, and the total death toll since the beginning of Israel's Operation Protective Edge to 2,105.
Spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said that a 10-year-old Palestinian named Hussein Ahmad and his mother Nisreen Ahmad were killed and two others injured in an airstrike that hit a house in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip.
The body of Suheir Abu Mdein was also recovered from under rubble in Deir al-Balah.
Witnesses told Ma'an that an airstrike hit the house of Abu Anwar Saliha near Yaffa mosque.
Earlier, 64-year-old Muhammad Sabir al-Ijlah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Juhr al-Dik in the northeastern Gaza Strip that also injured seven others.
Additionally, medical sources said a man was killed and several others were injured by Israeli airstrikes in al-Jneina neighborhood in Rafah in the south. Another unidentified man was killed in the central Gaza Strip in an air strike, while Salah Isleim succumbed to wounds he sustained three weeks ago in Khan Younis.
The deaths on Saturday began with the killing of five Palestinians including three children in an airstrike on the home of the Abu Dahrouj family in the al-Zawayda neighborhood of the central Gaza Strip.
Al-Qidra named the victims as 4-year-old Abdullah Hayil Abu Dahdouh, 49-year-old Hayat Abed Rabbo Abu Dahdouh, 27-year-old Huda Muhammad Abu Dahdouh, 26-year-old Hayil Shihdeh Abu Dahdouh and 3-year-old Hadi Hayil Abu Dahdouh.
Israel has killed more than 80 Palestinians since it resumed its assault on Gaza on Tuesday as a temporary ceasefire fell apart amid an impasse in indirect negotiations in Cairo.
Palestinians have offered multiple long-term truce offers that include lifting the eight-year long siege of Gaza that has crippled the tiny coastal enclave's economy, but they accuse Israel of stalling and refusing to offer any concessions.
Israel, meanwhile, has insisted that Palestinians in Gaza disarm, a demand Palestinian militant groups that last month repelled a massive Israeli ground assault have say are unwilling to consider.
Fears of renewed ground invasion
The deaths in Israeli airstrikes brought the total number of deaths in Gaza on Saturday to 12, including five members of one family, and the total death toll since the beginning of Israel's Operation Protective Edge to 2,105.
Spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said that a 10-year-old Palestinian named Hussein Ahmad and his mother Nisreen Ahmad were killed and two others injured in an airstrike that hit a house in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip.
The body of Suheir Abu Mdein was also recovered from under rubble in Deir al-Balah.
Witnesses told Ma'an that an airstrike hit the house of Abu Anwar Saliha near Yaffa mosque.
Earlier, 64-year-old Muhammad Sabir al-Ijlah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Juhr al-Dik in the northeastern Gaza Strip that also injured seven others.
Additionally, medical sources said a man was killed and several others were injured by Israeli airstrikes in al-Jneina neighborhood in Rafah in the south. Another unidentified man was killed in the central Gaza Strip in an air strike, while Salah Isleim succumbed to wounds he sustained three weeks ago in Khan Younis.
The deaths on Saturday began with the killing of five Palestinians including three children in an airstrike on the home of the Abu Dahrouj family in the al-Zawayda neighborhood of the central Gaza Strip.
Al-Qidra named the victims as 4-year-old Abdullah Hayil Abu Dahdouh, 49-year-old Hayat Abed Rabbo Abu Dahdouh, 27-year-old Huda Muhammad Abu Dahdouh, 26-year-old Hayil Shihdeh Abu Dahdouh and 3-year-old Hadi Hayil Abu Dahdouh.
Israel has killed more than 80 Palestinians since it resumed its assault on Gaza on Tuesday as a temporary ceasefire fell apart amid an impasse in indirect negotiations in Cairo.
Palestinians have offered multiple long-term truce offers that include lifting the eight-year long siege of Gaza that has crippled the tiny coastal enclave's economy, but they accuse Israel of stalling and refusing to offer any concessions.
Israel, meanwhile, has insisted that Palestinians in Gaza disarm, a demand Palestinian militant groups that last month repelled a massive Israeli ground assault have say are unwilling to consider.
Fears of renewed ground invasion
On Saturday, hundreds of Gaza residents received voice and text messages from the Israeli military demanding that they stay away from areas where "terrorist activities" are taking place, raising fears of an even more intense Israeli assault.
"Hamas leadership has decided to drag you to another battle. Prevent terrorists from utilizing your property for terror agendas, and stay away from every site in which terrorist organizations are operating," a recorded message received by Gaza mobile users said.
Others received text messages with similar messages threatening to target any house in which "militant activity" was carried out, while leaflets were dropped from Israeli planes with similar messages.
The Israeli military sent similar messages during the ground invasion in mid-July into northern and eastern Gaza Strip, where at its height Israeli forces killed more than a hundred Palestinians every day through shelling from land, air, and sea.
Israeli security and political sources lent credence to fears on Saturday, and Hebrew language news site Walla News said that the Israeli military echelon had decided to hit far-reaching areas after Palestinians intensified their shelling and rocket fire into Israel on Friday, killing one and injuring five.
A Walla report on Saturday quoted Israeli security officials as saying that more buildings and facilities surrounding launching pads will be hit from now on, expanding the range of destruction from merely the site of the launch itself.
The source added that the Israeli army could soon approve a decision to launch a major ground incursion into the Gaza Strip. "The Israeli public showed a high level of steadfastness which surprised Hamas," the security source added, according to Walla report.
Egypt to invite both sides to return
Amid the growing fears, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Saturday that Egypt is planning to invite Israeli and Palestinian delegations to return to Cairo to resume talks on a long-term truce for Gaza.
"Egypt is going to invite delegates to return to the negotiating table to consider a long-term truce," Abbas said after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
"What interests us now is putting a stop to the bloodshed," Abbas said.
"As soon as a ceasefire goes into effect, the two sides can sit down and discuss their demands."
Abbas's meeting with Sisi came after he held two rounds of talks in Qatar on Thursday and Friday with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, whose movement is the de facto ruler of Gaza.
"Hamas leadership has decided to drag you to another battle. Prevent terrorists from utilizing your property for terror agendas, and stay away from every site in which terrorist organizations are operating," a recorded message received by Gaza mobile users said.
Others received text messages with similar messages threatening to target any house in which "militant activity" was carried out, while leaflets were dropped from Israeli planes with similar messages.
The Israeli military sent similar messages during the ground invasion in mid-July into northern and eastern Gaza Strip, where at its height Israeli forces killed more than a hundred Palestinians every day through shelling from land, air, and sea.
Israeli security and political sources lent credence to fears on Saturday, and Hebrew language news site Walla News said that the Israeli military echelon had decided to hit far-reaching areas after Palestinians intensified their shelling and rocket fire into Israel on Friday, killing one and injuring five.
A Walla report on Saturday quoted Israeli security officials as saying that more buildings and facilities surrounding launching pads will be hit from now on, expanding the range of destruction from merely the site of the launch itself.
The source added that the Israeli army could soon approve a decision to launch a major ground incursion into the Gaza Strip. "The Israeli public showed a high level of steadfastness which surprised Hamas," the security source added, according to Walla report.
Egypt to invite both sides to return
Amid the growing fears, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Saturday that Egypt is planning to invite Israeli and Palestinian delegations to return to Cairo to resume talks on a long-term truce for Gaza.
"Egypt is going to invite delegates to return to the negotiating table to consider a long-term truce," Abbas said after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
"What interests us now is putting a stop to the bloodshed," Abbas said.
"As soon as a ceasefire goes into effect, the two sides can sit down and discuss their demands."
Abbas's meeting with Sisi came after he held two rounds of talks in Qatar on Thursday and Friday with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, whose movement is the de facto ruler of Gaza.
The UN's Palestine refugee agency UNRWA on Saturday criticized the Israeli military for publishing allegations -- that have since been retracted -- that Hamas militants fired a rocket from one of their schools in Gaza the day before.
In a statement, the organization called upon "Israeli military spokespersons and other official sources to ensure the accuracy of their facts before going public," highlighting that the organization maintained the "highest standards of neutrality."
The Israeli military said in a statement late Friday that a mortar that killed a four-year-old child in southern Israel was launched from an UNRWA school being used to shelter displaced Gazan families.
It added that it had "conveyed a severe message" to UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority regarding Hamas' supposed "exploitation of civilian and UN facilities as a human shield."
Less than two hours later, however, the military retracted the claim, saying that in fact the mortar had been launched from a school under the administration of Hamas authorities, without offering evidence.
The UNRWA statement criticized the "false" reports spread throughout the Israeli media, adding: "The same media outlets that rushed to report the incident without seeking confirmation from UNRWA are required and called upon to also report the Israeli army retraction."
Israeli forces have bombed UNRWA schools being used as shelters at least seven times in the last six weeks, killing dozens of Palestinians.
The international community has blasted Israel for the attacks, and the agency has repeatedly stressed that it has given the coordinates of all of its shelters -- currently holding around 485,000 displaced people -- to Israeli military authorities.
Israel regularly criticizes Hamas for using Palestinians as "human shields" when launching rockets, and Israel has killed hundreds of civilians in attacks targeting Hamas officials or fighters.
In a statement, the organization called upon "Israeli military spokespersons and other official sources to ensure the accuracy of their facts before going public," highlighting that the organization maintained the "highest standards of neutrality."
The Israeli military said in a statement late Friday that a mortar that killed a four-year-old child in southern Israel was launched from an UNRWA school being used to shelter displaced Gazan families.
It added that it had "conveyed a severe message" to UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority regarding Hamas' supposed "exploitation of civilian and UN facilities as a human shield."
Less than two hours later, however, the military retracted the claim, saying that in fact the mortar had been launched from a school under the administration of Hamas authorities, without offering evidence.
The UNRWA statement criticized the "false" reports spread throughout the Israeli media, adding: "The same media outlets that rushed to report the incident without seeking confirmation from UNRWA are required and called upon to also report the Israeli army retraction."
Israeli forces have bombed UNRWA schools being used as shelters at least seven times in the last six weeks, killing dozens of Palestinians.
The international community has blasted Israel for the attacks, and the agency has repeatedly stressed that it has given the coordinates of all of its shelters -- currently holding around 485,000 displaced people -- to Israeli military authorities.
Israel regularly criticizes Hamas for using Palestinians as "human shields" when launching rockets, and Israel has killed hundreds of civilians in attacks targeting Hamas officials or fighters.
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Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have launched a campaign to pressure Italy to pull out of joint military exercises with the Israeli military in September, as a global movement for an arms boycott of Israel gained strength in the wake of the recent assault.
Dozens of Gazans took pictures of themselves holding signs across the besieged coastal enclave demanding Italy end its military cooperation with Israel in the exercise, which is expected to take place on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia in September. The pictures, taken across Gaza with backgrounds that include destroyed homes, hospitals, and the tiny coastal enclave's bombed seaport, include signs asking Italy not to "train the pilots who bomb us," and show "solidarity" by standing with "the oppressed." |
The campaign comes in the wake of Israel's brutal assault on the Gaza Strip over the last six weeks, which has killed more than 2,090 Palestinians, injured more than 10,550, and left more than 100,000 homeless.
Although the campaign targets the Italian training in the autumn specifically, it is part of the larger Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement's call for a total arms embargo on Israel, originally issued in 2011.
The call noted that "cooperation with Israel is maintained despite its systematic resort to massive violence against and killing of Palestinian and other Arab civilians, including school children and peaceful activists, and in spite of its increasingly brutal colonial policies against the Palestinian people and the persistent flouting of international law."
The embargo, it added, is a "crucial step towards ending Israel's unlawful and criminal use of force against the Palestinian people and other peoples and states in the region and would constitute an effective, non-violent measure to pressure Israel to comply with its obligations under international law."
The call also stressed the context of occupation in which Israel is engaging in military force, adding: "Israel's attempt to justify this kind of illegal use of belligerent military force as 'self-defense' does not stand up to legal -- or moral -- scrutiny, as states cannot invoke self-defense for acts that serve to defend an unlawful situation which they have created in the first place."
The campaign for an embargo was buoyed on Thursday, when international aid organization Oxfam called on "all states to immediately suspend transfers of arms or ammunition to Israel and any Palestinian armed group while there is serious risk that they could be used to violate international humanitarian law."
In a statement, the organization noted that the assault had caused widespread infrastructural damage in Gaza and had killed at least 1,500 civilians there as well as three in Israel as of Thursday, and called upon states to end the transfer of arms to Israel and any group that had hit civilians.
Nishant Pandey, head of Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, said in the statement: "Now more than ever, the international community should exert maximum diplomatic pressure, including suspending arms and ammunitions transfers, to show that the world will not tolerate the violence and civilian suffering for a moment longer."
Although the campaign targets the Italian training in the autumn specifically, it is part of the larger Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement's call for a total arms embargo on Israel, originally issued in 2011.
The call noted that "cooperation with Israel is maintained despite its systematic resort to massive violence against and killing of Palestinian and other Arab civilians, including school children and peaceful activists, and in spite of its increasingly brutal colonial policies against the Palestinian people and the persistent flouting of international law."
The embargo, it added, is a "crucial step towards ending Israel's unlawful and criminal use of force against the Palestinian people and other peoples and states in the region and would constitute an effective, non-violent measure to pressure Israel to comply with its obligations under international law."
The call also stressed the context of occupation in which Israel is engaging in military force, adding: "Israel's attempt to justify this kind of illegal use of belligerent military force as 'self-defense' does not stand up to legal -- or moral -- scrutiny, as states cannot invoke self-defense for acts that serve to defend an unlawful situation which they have created in the first place."
The campaign for an embargo was buoyed on Thursday, when international aid organization Oxfam called on "all states to immediately suspend transfers of arms or ammunition to Israel and any Palestinian armed group while there is serious risk that they could be used to violate international humanitarian law."
In a statement, the organization noted that the assault had caused widespread infrastructural damage in Gaza and had killed at least 1,500 civilians there as well as three in Israel as of Thursday, and called upon states to end the transfer of arms to Israel and any group that had hit civilians.
Nishant Pandey, head of Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, said in the statement: "Now more than ever, the international community should exert maximum diplomatic pressure, including suspending arms and ammunitions transfers, to show that the world will not tolerate the violence and civilian suffering for a moment longer."
Tanks outside of Gaza
Following the decision by the Israeli government to pull out of negotiations for a long-term truce and renew airstrikes on Gaza beginning Tuesday August 19th, the Israeli military announced Saturday that it is prepared for another ground invasion of Gaza, and has called up 10,000 reservists to that end.
In the ground invasion that began two weeks into the Israeli assault ‘Operation Protective Edge’ in July, 60 Israeli soldiers were killed by Palestinian resistance fighters. Several hundred Palestinian resistance fighters are estimated to be among the more than 2,000 men, women and children that have been killed since July 8th. The vast majority of the Palestinians killed are civilians who were hit by Israeli airstrikes either in their homes, on the street, or in designated United Nations shelters. Whole neighborhoods in Gaza were reduced to rubble by the Israeli airstrikes.
On Thursday night, three leaders of the armed wing of Hamas were killed by Israeli airstrikes, and thousands of people attended their funerals on Friday. Twenty seven civilians were also killed by Israeli airstrikes Thursday. Around the same time, the Israeli military called up 10,000 reservists and told them to prepare for a ground invasion.
Later, on Friday, following the first death of an Israeli child in the six-week long conflict (over 400 Palestinian children have been killed), a new ground invasion of Gaza was announced by Israeli authorities as a distinct possibility.
The Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated in July that he is planning to re-occupy a large part of the Gaza Strip, to create a ‘buffer zone’ which would essentially annex to Israel nearly half of the already overcrowded Gaza Strip.
In the initial ground invasion, Israeli troops were met with strong resistance, and ended up retreating back to the edges of the Gaza Strip without achieving the declared objectives of halting Palestinian resistance rockets and disarming Hamas.
Since the Israeli invasion of Gaza began on July 8th, an estimated 87,000 army reservists have been called up to participate in the attack. Israeli polls claim that 92% of Israeli Jews are supportive of the attack on Gaza. At least a hundred Israeli reservists have refused to fight.
Fifty of them signed on to a letter published in the Washington Post, which states:
"We were soldiers in a wide variety of units and positions in the Israeli military—a fact we now regret, because, in our service, we found that troops who operate in the occupied territories aren't the only ones enforcing the mechanisms of control over Palestinian lives. In truth, the entire military is implicated.
"Many of us served in logistical and bureaucratic support roles; there, we found that the entire military helps implement the oppression of the Palestinians.
"The military plays a central role in every action plan and proposal discussed in the national conversation, which explains the absence of any real argument about non-military solutions to the conflicts Israel has been locked in with its neighbours.
"The military enshrines an image of the 'good Israeli,' who in reality derives his power by subjugating others.
"By law, some of us are still registered as part of the reserved forces [others have managed to win exemptions or have been granted them upon their release], and the military keeps our names and personal information, as well as the legal option to order us to 'service.' But we will not participate — in any way."
The Palestinian leadership from all Palestinian political parties have been working tirelessly since the talks broke down on Tuesday to bring negotiators back to the table to negotiate a long term truce, but Israeli officials have flatly refused all attempts to get them to return to Egypt to negotiate.
Following the decision by the Israeli government to pull out of negotiations for a long-term truce and renew airstrikes on Gaza beginning Tuesday August 19th, the Israeli military announced Saturday that it is prepared for another ground invasion of Gaza, and has called up 10,000 reservists to that end.
In the ground invasion that began two weeks into the Israeli assault ‘Operation Protective Edge’ in July, 60 Israeli soldiers were killed by Palestinian resistance fighters. Several hundred Palestinian resistance fighters are estimated to be among the more than 2,000 men, women and children that have been killed since July 8th. The vast majority of the Palestinians killed are civilians who were hit by Israeli airstrikes either in their homes, on the street, or in designated United Nations shelters. Whole neighborhoods in Gaza were reduced to rubble by the Israeli airstrikes.
On Thursday night, three leaders of the armed wing of Hamas were killed by Israeli airstrikes, and thousands of people attended their funerals on Friday. Twenty seven civilians were also killed by Israeli airstrikes Thursday. Around the same time, the Israeli military called up 10,000 reservists and told them to prepare for a ground invasion.
Later, on Friday, following the first death of an Israeli child in the six-week long conflict (over 400 Palestinian children have been killed), a new ground invasion of Gaza was announced by Israeli authorities as a distinct possibility.
The Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated in July that he is planning to re-occupy a large part of the Gaza Strip, to create a ‘buffer zone’ which would essentially annex to Israel nearly half of the already overcrowded Gaza Strip.
In the initial ground invasion, Israeli troops were met with strong resistance, and ended up retreating back to the edges of the Gaza Strip without achieving the declared objectives of halting Palestinian resistance rockets and disarming Hamas.
Since the Israeli invasion of Gaza began on July 8th, an estimated 87,000 army reservists have been called up to participate in the attack. Israeli polls claim that 92% of Israeli Jews are supportive of the attack on Gaza. At least a hundred Israeli reservists have refused to fight.
Fifty of them signed on to a letter published in the Washington Post, which states:
"We were soldiers in a wide variety of units and positions in the Israeli military—a fact we now regret, because, in our service, we found that troops who operate in the occupied territories aren't the only ones enforcing the mechanisms of control over Palestinian lives. In truth, the entire military is implicated.
"Many of us served in logistical and bureaucratic support roles; there, we found that the entire military helps implement the oppression of the Palestinians.
"The military plays a central role in every action plan and proposal discussed in the national conversation, which explains the absence of any real argument about non-military solutions to the conflicts Israel has been locked in with its neighbours.
"The military enshrines an image of the 'good Israeli,' who in reality derives his power by subjugating others.
"By law, some of us are still registered as part of the reserved forces [others have managed to win exemptions or have been granted them upon their release], and the military keeps our names and personal information, as well as the legal option to order us to 'service.' But we will not participate — in any way."
The Palestinian leadership from all Palestinian political parties have been working tirelessly since the talks broke down on Tuesday to bring negotiators back to the table to negotiate a long term truce, but Israeli officials have flatly refused all attempts to get them to return to Egypt to negotiate.
Iran plans to send aid to the beleaguered Gaza Strip after Egypt said it would allow the shipment to enter the Palestinian territory, an Iranian diplomatic source said on Friday.
The official IRNA news agency said Cairo had agreed to transfer humanitarian aid bound for the coastal enclave, citing a foreign ministry source in Tehran.
The source said a first Iranian Red Crescent shipment of 100 tons of medicine and food would be flown "soon" to Cairo.
"The package weighs 100 tons and consists of food and medication," IRNA quoted the source as saying.
At least 2,097 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since July 8 in the worst Israeli assault since the 2000-05 intifada, the vast majority of whom were civilians according to United Nations estimates.
Sixty-eight have been killed on the Israeli side: 64 soldiers and 4 civilians, the latest a four-year-old boy killed by mortar fire on Friday.
Tehran said at the end of July it had sent a first shipment of aid to Cairo that was awaiting authorization to enter the enclave via Rafah in southern Gaza, the only crossing point not controlled by Israel.
Impoverished Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on the planet, and many areas have been devastated by the Israeli offensive, which has left more than 100,000 homeless.
United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said during a visit to Iran on Sunday that it will take months to repair damage to the UN's infrastructure caused by the Israeli bombardment.
A total of 97 UNRWA installations, including health and food distribution centers as well as schools, have been damaged in the war between Israel and the Hamas movement which controls the territory.
Iran does not recognize Israel and provides financial and military assistance to Islamist Palestinian groups.
Iranian officials have said that Tehran provided Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants with the technology necessary to make rockets.
Iran has condemned Israel's Operation Protective Edge, and Tehran municipality renamed a key street where the UN headquarters is located "Gaza Avenue."
The official IRNA news agency said Cairo had agreed to transfer humanitarian aid bound for the coastal enclave, citing a foreign ministry source in Tehran.
The source said a first Iranian Red Crescent shipment of 100 tons of medicine and food would be flown "soon" to Cairo.
"The package weighs 100 tons and consists of food and medication," IRNA quoted the source as saying.
At least 2,097 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since July 8 in the worst Israeli assault since the 2000-05 intifada, the vast majority of whom were civilians according to United Nations estimates.
Sixty-eight have been killed on the Israeli side: 64 soldiers and 4 civilians, the latest a four-year-old boy killed by mortar fire on Friday.
Tehran said at the end of July it had sent a first shipment of aid to Cairo that was awaiting authorization to enter the enclave via Rafah in southern Gaza, the only crossing point not controlled by Israel.
Impoverished Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on the planet, and many areas have been devastated by the Israeli offensive, which has left more than 100,000 homeless.
United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said during a visit to Iran on Sunday that it will take months to repair damage to the UN's infrastructure caused by the Israeli bombardment.
A total of 97 UNRWA installations, including health and food distribution centers as well as schools, have been damaged in the war between Israel and the Hamas movement which controls the territory.
Iran does not recognize Israel and provides financial and military assistance to Islamist Palestinian groups.
Iranian officials have said that Tehran provided Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants with the technology necessary to make rockets.
Iran has condemned Israel's Operation Protective Edge, and Tehran municipality renamed a key street where the UN headquarters is located "Gaza Avenue."
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Israel on Friday removed from two government Twitter accounts a harrowing image of US journalist James Foley about to be beheaded, after the tweets sparked widespread controversy online.
The still, taken from a video of the killing of the freelance reporter in Iraq by a masked Islamic State fighter, was posted on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official account on Thursday. Below the image of Foley kneeling in an orange boiler suit was a photo of Hamas militants on a motorcycle dragging the body of a person executed for collaborating with Israel through the streets of Gaza. The combined image was posted a day after Twitter began removing from the micro-blog service the five-minute-long video of Foley's killing entitled |
"A Message to America," which had been uploaded to social media sites by IS fighters, and images from it.
The clip also included a warning that the group intended to kill a second captive journalist unless the United States halts air strikes in Iraq.
Netanyahu was accused of using the tragedy as propaganda by linking IS with Hamas -- the democratically-elected Islamist government of Gaza currently engaged in a struggle against Israel's deadly 47-day assault.
Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth tweeted: "Netanyahu's Twitter account is now using image of James Foley's horrible execution to try to score political points against Hamas."
Israel analyst Mitchell Plitnick wrote: "Bibi (Netanyahu) manages 2 hit a new low."
Senior Hamas official Ezzat al-Rishq wrote on Facebook that "Netanyahu's attempt to link Hamas" with IS was "a deception and disinformation campaign" that showed "no respect for the sanctity of the dead."
But a tweet on the foreign ministry's account @IsraelMFA on Friday featured the same two images, with the words: "Islamist terrorist organizations such as #ISIS and #Hamas are enemies of peace and of all civilized nations."
The Netanyahu tweet was deleted early Friday, and the foreign ministry one was removed later in the day.
A foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that after consideration they had decided it was "inappropriate."
An official in Netanyahu's office, also requesting anonymity, said it was removed following criticism but stood by its stance that "Hamas is like IS -- two murderous terror organizations."
At least 2,097 Palestinians, overwhelmingly civilians, and 68 Israelis, all but 64 of whom were soldiers, have been killed since July 8 in the worst Israeli assault since the 2000-05 intifada.
The clip also included a warning that the group intended to kill a second captive journalist unless the United States halts air strikes in Iraq.
Netanyahu was accused of using the tragedy as propaganda by linking IS with Hamas -- the democratically-elected Islamist government of Gaza currently engaged in a struggle against Israel's deadly 47-day assault.
Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth tweeted: "Netanyahu's Twitter account is now using image of James Foley's horrible execution to try to score political points against Hamas."
Israel analyst Mitchell Plitnick wrote: "Bibi (Netanyahu) manages 2 hit a new low."
Senior Hamas official Ezzat al-Rishq wrote on Facebook that "Netanyahu's attempt to link Hamas" with IS was "a deception and disinformation campaign" that showed "no respect for the sanctity of the dead."
But a tweet on the foreign ministry's account @IsraelMFA on Friday featured the same two images, with the words: "Islamist terrorist organizations such as #ISIS and #Hamas are enemies of peace and of all civilized nations."
The Netanyahu tweet was deleted early Friday, and the foreign ministry one was removed later in the day.
A foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that after consideration they had decided it was "inappropriate."
An official in Netanyahu's office, also requesting anonymity, said it was removed following criticism but stood by its stance that "Hamas is like IS -- two murderous terror organizations."
At least 2,097 Palestinians, overwhelmingly civilians, and 68 Israelis, all but 64 of whom were soldiers, have been killed since July 8 in the worst Israeli assault since the 2000-05 intifada.
Mosques, Homes, Bombarded In Gaza
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip have reported, Saturday, the five members of the Abu Dahrouj family, (father, mother, including two children, and aunt) have been killed after the Israeli military fired missiles into a home in Central Gaza. Many injured in ongoing shelling. A Palestinian dies of his wounds.
The sources said an Israeli F-16 war jet fired a missile into the Dahrouj family home in the Zawayda town, in Central Gaza, completely destroying it and burying the family under rubble.
The slain Palestinians have been identified as:
1. Khalil Shihda Abu Dahrouj, 28, Central Gaza.
2. Hoda Abu Dahrouj (wife), 26, Central Gaza.
3. Abdullah Abu Dahrouj (Son, child), Central Gaza.
4. Hadi Abu Dahrouj (Son, Child), Central Gaza.
5. Hayat Abed-Rabbo Dahrouj (Aunt), 47, Central Gaza)
The slain family members, and many wounded Palestinians, have been moved to the Deir al-Balah hospital.
Soldiers also fired missiles into a mosque in the Shuja’eyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, a mosque in Khan Younis, destroying it, and fired missiles near the Islamic Center in Sabra neighborhood in Gaza City, causing significant property damage to various homes.
Several missiles were fired into homes in Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, the al-Qarara Town Council and its Cultural Center, north of Khan Younis, causing significant property damage.
Seven Palestinians have been injured when an Israeli missile struck their home near two local mosques in Zeitoun. Medical sources said the wounded suffered moderate-to-severe injuries.
Another Palestinian died earlier of wounds suffered in an Israeli bombardment of home in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
He has been identified as:
6. Abdel-Rahman Hadayed, 25, Khan Younis.
Updated From:
Three Killed In Gaza, At Least Five Wounded
Sat, 23 Aug 2014 04:25:39
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip said three Palestinians have been killed, on Saturday at dawn, at least five injured, two seriously, when an Israeli missile struck and Palestinian home in Zawayda area, in Central Gaza.
The sources said search and rescue are ongoing, as the bombarded home has been turned into rubble, burying several Palestinians.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza stated one of the slain Palestinian has been identified, while the remains of the two slain Palestinians, mutilated under rubble, are yet to be identified.
The Ministry said the slain woman has been identified as Hayat Abed-Rabbo Dahrouj, 47.
In related news, soldiers fired missiles into a mosque, and a home, in Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
At least 40 Palestinians have been injured in Sabra neighborhood in Gaza, and were moved to local hospitals.
5 Palestinians including 3 children killed in airstrike on Gaza home
Five members of a Palestinian family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a home in central Gaza on Saturday morning, as Israel continued to bombard the besieged coastal enclave on the 47th day of the assault while Palestinian leaders urged international intervention.
The strikes brought the total death toll in Gaza to 2,098 with more than 10,550 injured according to Gaza medical authorities, of whom the United Nations has identified 70 percent as civilians.
The strike on Saturday morning hit the home of the Dahrouj family al-Zawayda neighborhood in the central Gaza Strip, killing a couple and their three children, medical sources said.
Spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said that medical sources managed to recover five bodies after an Israeli airstrike leveled the home of the Dahrouj family.
One of the victims was a woman who was identified as Hayat Abed Rabbo Dahrouj, 47, while the bodies of the four others killed in the strike were yet to be identified.
Another airstrike on Saturday morning hit the building of the al-Qarara municipality, striking an educational center in the building.
Earlier on Saturday morning, Abd al-Rahman Hadayid from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip succumbed to wounds he sustained a few days ago.
Israeli warplanes also destroyed al-Aidon mosque in Shujaiyya neighborhood of Gaza City and another mosque in Abasan village east of Khan Younis in the south.
Eight Palestinians were also injured in the Zaytoun neighborhood when warplanes hit the home of Aqil family. The injured were evacuated to Shifa hospital.
A Ma'an reporter in Gaza said that an Israeli drone fired a missile at the house before fighter jets destroyed it completely by firing four missiles.
Israeli airstrikes also targeted two military bases belonging the military wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades, in Rafah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip as well a third in Beit Lahiya in the north.
Israeli gunboats, meanwhile, launched dozens of strikes on the Gaza shore as well as agricultural areas across the coastal enclave.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed its assault on the 139 square mile (360 sq km) enclave four days ago, after a series of temporary ceasefires had led to a fragile calm while indirect negotiations for a long-term truce took place in Cairo.
Palestinian negotiators, however, accused Israel of stalling in the talks and refusing to respond to numerous proposals they have put forth which call for peace in exchange for the end of an eight-year blockade that has crippled Gaza's economy by restricting the movement of all imports, exports, and people in and out of the territory.
Israel has refused these demands, instead insisting on the demilitarization of Gaza. Palestinian groups, however, have scoffed at this demand in the wake of the massive Israeli assault, arguing that Palestinian fighters managed to repel the Israeli ground invasion.
Abbas, Meshaal 'appeal to UN'
The Palestinian president and Hamas's exiled leader on Friday, meanwhile, urged the United Nations to draw up a "timetable" for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories to end, Qatar state media said.
President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas head Khaled Meshaal issued the appeal during talks in Doha, as fighting continues in Gaza, Qatar's state news agency QNA said.
The two Palestinian leaders have been holding talks in Doha since Thursday, but little else has filtered out of their meetings which are hosted by the emir of Qatar, a key backer of Hamas.
On Thursday, Britain, France and Germany put forward key points of a new UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, and the lifting of Israel's blockade.
Diplomats said the text was aimed at advancing efforts to reach agreement within the 15-member council after a draft resolution from Jordan met with resistance, notably from the United States.
Washington has wielded its veto powers at the Security Council repeatedly in the past on behalf of Israel, although the now 47-day war has strained relations between the allies.
The new resolution proposes a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire and supervise the movement of goods into Gaza to allay Israeli security concerns.
It also calls for Abbas's Western-backed Palestinian Authority to take back control of Gaza, seven years after his loyalists were driven out of the territory by Hamas.
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip have reported, Saturday, the five members of the Abu Dahrouj family, (father, mother, including two children, and aunt) have been killed after the Israeli military fired missiles into a home in Central Gaza. Many injured in ongoing shelling. A Palestinian dies of his wounds.
The sources said an Israeli F-16 war jet fired a missile into the Dahrouj family home in the Zawayda town, in Central Gaza, completely destroying it and burying the family under rubble.
The slain Palestinians have been identified as:
1. Khalil Shihda Abu Dahrouj, 28, Central Gaza.
2. Hoda Abu Dahrouj (wife), 26, Central Gaza.
3. Abdullah Abu Dahrouj (Son, child), Central Gaza.
4. Hadi Abu Dahrouj (Son, Child), Central Gaza.
5. Hayat Abed-Rabbo Dahrouj (Aunt), 47, Central Gaza)
The slain family members, and many wounded Palestinians, have been moved to the Deir al-Balah hospital.
Soldiers also fired missiles into a mosque in the Shuja’eyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, a mosque in Khan Younis, destroying it, and fired missiles near the Islamic Center in Sabra neighborhood in Gaza City, causing significant property damage to various homes.
Several missiles were fired into homes in Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, the al-Qarara Town Council and its Cultural Center, north of Khan Younis, causing significant property damage.
Seven Palestinians have been injured when an Israeli missile struck their home near two local mosques in Zeitoun. Medical sources said the wounded suffered moderate-to-severe injuries.
Another Palestinian died earlier of wounds suffered in an Israeli bombardment of home in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
He has been identified as:
6. Abdel-Rahman Hadayed, 25, Khan Younis.
Updated From:
Three Killed In Gaza, At Least Five Wounded
Sat, 23 Aug 2014 04:25:39
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip said three Palestinians have been killed, on Saturday at dawn, at least five injured, two seriously, when an Israeli missile struck and Palestinian home in Zawayda area, in Central Gaza.
The sources said search and rescue are ongoing, as the bombarded home has been turned into rubble, burying several Palestinians.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza stated one of the slain Palestinian has been identified, while the remains of the two slain Palestinians, mutilated under rubble, are yet to be identified.
The Ministry said the slain woman has been identified as Hayat Abed-Rabbo Dahrouj, 47.
In related news, soldiers fired missiles into a mosque, and a home, in Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
At least 40 Palestinians have been injured in Sabra neighborhood in Gaza, and were moved to local hospitals.
5 Palestinians including 3 children killed in airstrike on Gaza home
Five members of a Palestinian family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a home in central Gaza on Saturday morning, as Israel continued to bombard the besieged coastal enclave on the 47th day of the assault while Palestinian leaders urged international intervention.
The strikes brought the total death toll in Gaza to 2,098 with more than 10,550 injured according to Gaza medical authorities, of whom the United Nations has identified 70 percent as civilians.
The strike on Saturday morning hit the home of the Dahrouj family al-Zawayda neighborhood in the central Gaza Strip, killing a couple and their three children, medical sources said.
Spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said that medical sources managed to recover five bodies after an Israeli airstrike leveled the home of the Dahrouj family.
One of the victims was a woman who was identified as Hayat Abed Rabbo Dahrouj, 47, while the bodies of the four others killed in the strike were yet to be identified.
Another airstrike on Saturday morning hit the building of the al-Qarara municipality, striking an educational center in the building.
Earlier on Saturday morning, Abd al-Rahman Hadayid from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip succumbed to wounds he sustained a few days ago.
Israeli warplanes also destroyed al-Aidon mosque in Shujaiyya neighborhood of Gaza City and another mosque in Abasan village east of Khan Younis in the south.
Eight Palestinians were also injured in the Zaytoun neighborhood when warplanes hit the home of Aqil family. The injured were evacuated to Shifa hospital.
A Ma'an reporter in Gaza said that an Israeli drone fired a missile at the house before fighter jets destroyed it completely by firing four missiles.
Israeli airstrikes also targeted two military bases belonging the military wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades, in Rafah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip as well a third in Beit Lahiya in the north.
Israeli gunboats, meanwhile, launched dozens of strikes on the Gaza shore as well as agricultural areas across the coastal enclave.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed its assault on the 139 square mile (360 sq km) enclave four days ago, after a series of temporary ceasefires had led to a fragile calm while indirect negotiations for a long-term truce took place in Cairo.
Palestinian negotiators, however, accused Israel of stalling in the talks and refusing to respond to numerous proposals they have put forth which call for peace in exchange for the end of an eight-year blockade that has crippled Gaza's economy by restricting the movement of all imports, exports, and people in and out of the territory.
Israel has refused these demands, instead insisting on the demilitarization of Gaza. Palestinian groups, however, have scoffed at this demand in the wake of the massive Israeli assault, arguing that Palestinian fighters managed to repel the Israeli ground invasion.
Abbas, Meshaal 'appeal to UN'
The Palestinian president and Hamas's exiled leader on Friday, meanwhile, urged the United Nations to draw up a "timetable" for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories to end, Qatar state media said.
President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas head Khaled Meshaal issued the appeal during talks in Doha, as fighting continues in Gaza, Qatar's state news agency QNA said.
The two Palestinian leaders have been holding talks in Doha since Thursday, but little else has filtered out of their meetings which are hosted by the emir of Qatar, a key backer of Hamas.
On Thursday, Britain, France and Germany put forward key points of a new UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, and the lifting of Israel's blockade.
Diplomats said the text was aimed at advancing efforts to reach agreement within the 15-member council after a draft resolution from Jordan met with resistance, notably from the United States.
Washington has wielded its veto powers at the Security Council repeatedly in the past on behalf of Israel, although the now 47-day war has strained relations between the allies.
The new resolution proposes a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire and supervise the movement of goods into Gaza to allay Israeli security concerns.
It also calls for Abbas's Western-backed Palestinian Authority to take back control of Gaza, seven years after his loyalists were driven out of the territory by Hamas.
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip said three Palestinians have been killed, on Saturday at dawn, at least five injured, two seriously, when an Israeli missile struck and Palestinian home in Zawayda area, in Central Gaza.
The sources said search and rescue are ongoing, as the bombarded home has been turned into rubble, burying several Palestinians.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza stated one of the slain Palestinian has been identified, while the remains of the two slain Palestinians, mutilated under rubble, are yet to be identified.
The Ministry said the slain woman has been identified as Hayat Abed-Rabbo Dahrouj, 47.
In related news, soldiers fired missiles into a mosque, and a home, in Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
At least 40 Palestinians have been injured in Sabra neighborhood in Gaza, and were moved to local hospitals.
The sources said search and rescue are ongoing, as the bombarded home has been turned into rubble, burying several Palestinians.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza stated one of the slain Palestinian has been identified, while the remains of the two slain Palestinians, mutilated under rubble, are yet to be identified.
The Ministry said the slain woman has been identified as Hayat Abed-Rabbo Dahrouj, 47.
In related news, soldiers fired missiles into a mosque, and a home, in Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
At least 40 Palestinians have been injured in Sabra neighborhood in Gaza, and were moved to local hospitals.
