31 july 2014

The Hamas-affiliated al-Qassam Brigades on Wednesday claimed responsibility for targeting an Israeli military engineering vehicle used specifically to explode tunnels in an attack in eastern Juhr al-Dik in the Gaza Strip.
The Brigades said in a statement that the group destroyed the vehicle and "everyone, everything around it" including military vehicles, officers and soldiers.
The group added that this attack, which used a kornet missile, was an "initial response" for the latest "Shujaiyya massacre."
The attack comes as Israel has shifted its focus in recent weeks from combating rocket attacks to destroying Hamas' tunnel network, which runs beneath the Gaza Strip and into Israel.
Israel says Hamas, which modeled the tunnels on Hezbollah's similar system in southern Lebanon, plans to use the tunnels to attack civilians, but Hamas has used them primarily to strike military targets and says they do not target civilians.
Palestinian militants have killed 56 soldiers since the ground assault began, while killing only two civilians. Israel, meanwhile, has killed nearly 1,400 Palestinians, the vats majority of whom are believed to be civilians.
Al-Qassam also claimed responsibility for hitting an armored personnel carrier with an explosive near al-Surani hill in al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.
The Brigades said they targeted a group of military vehicles in central Gaza Strip with five 107-rockets in addition.
The Brigades said in a statement that the group destroyed the vehicle and "everyone, everything around it" including military vehicles, officers and soldiers.
The group added that this attack, which used a kornet missile, was an "initial response" for the latest "Shujaiyya massacre."
The attack comes as Israel has shifted its focus in recent weeks from combating rocket attacks to destroying Hamas' tunnel network, which runs beneath the Gaza Strip and into Israel.
Israel says Hamas, which modeled the tunnels on Hezbollah's similar system in southern Lebanon, plans to use the tunnels to attack civilians, but Hamas has used them primarily to strike military targets and says they do not target civilians.
Palestinian militants have killed 56 soldiers since the ground assault began, while killing only two civilians. Israel, meanwhile, has killed nearly 1,400 Palestinians, the vats majority of whom are believed to be civilians.
Al-Qassam also claimed responsibility for hitting an armored personnel carrier with an explosive near al-Surani hill in al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.
The Brigades said they targeted a group of military vehicles in central Gaza Strip with five 107-rockets in addition.

By Ramzy Baroud
Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist, author and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story.
To some, US secretary of state John Kerry may have appeared to be a genuine peacemaker as he floated around ideas during a Cairo visit on 25 July about a ceasefire between Israel and resisting Palestinian fighters in Gaza.
But behind his measured diplomatic language, there is a truth not even America's top diplomat can easily hide. His country is very much involved in fighting this dirty war on Gaza that has killed over 1,350, injured thousands more, and destroyed much of an already poor, dilapidated space that is barely inhabitable to begin with.
US economic and military aid to Israel is measured annually in the billions, and the US government continues to be Israel's strongest and most ardent ally and political benefactor. In fact, the US-Israel "special relationship" is getting more "special" by the day even though Israel is sinking further into the abyss of a well-deserved isolation.
True, there are some, even in the justice for Palestinians camp, who oddly speak of how exceptional and fair the Barack Obama Administration has been in comparison to its predecessors. However, they neglect the fact that aside from a few particularly strong-worded statements, Obama has been a dedicated stalwart on behalf of Israel and its security by going as far as defending Israel's "Operation Protective Edge" war -- the slaughter of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza.
But America's support for Israel is crossing new redlines. There are reportedly over 1,000 US citizens fighting in the Israeli army according to reports that are now resurfacing due to the recent killing of two US-Israeli soldiers -- Max Steinberg, 24, of California, and Nissim Sean Carmeli, 21, of Texas. Like most of the Israeli soldiers killed in recent fighting, they were killed while invading parts of the besieged Gaza Strip.
But the number must be an understatement since some of Israel's most ardent Jewish settlers are also American, and happen to be armed and dangerous. Although this is causing a bit of a media buzz, there is no political crisis. Instead, only condolences are offered to the families of the Americans fighting the genocidal war on Gaza.
The US is not alone in this. European governments display an incredible amount of hypocrisy as they continue to utilize doublespeak in their approach to Middle East conflicts in general, and the situation in Palestine in particular. The pressure mounting from European civil society makes it a bit more challenging for EU governments to endow Israel with the same unconditional love and support as that bestowed upon it by the US.
EU hypocrisy is too palpable even for clever politicians to hide. The British government is shamelessly on the Israeli side, even while entire families in Gaza are being pulverized by Western weapons and military technology. Meanwhile, the French government imposed a ban to prevent French society from showing its solidarity with the besieged and massacred Palestinians in Gaza.
But why ban mere demonstrations of solidarity while France, the US and other Western governments are allowing their Jewish citizens to be enlisted in the Israeli military which is actively killing Palestinian civilians? Shouldn’t that be a much greater concern to the duplicitous French government than some protesters chanting some slogans during a solidarity rally that may or may not be deemed anti-Semitic?
Indeed, not only are Western governments providing Israel with arms, funds and political cover to sustain its occupation and war, but they are also contributing thousands of military experts and boots on the ground in order to fight a war in Gaza where war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed on an hourly basis.
Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist, author and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story.
To some, US secretary of state John Kerry may have appeared to be a genuine peacemaker as he floated around ideas during a Cairo visit on 25 July about a ceasefire between Israel and resisting Palestinian fighters in Gaza.
But behind his measured diplomatic language, there is a truth not even America's top diplomat can easily hide. His country is very much involved in fighting this dirty war on Gaza that has killed over 1,350, injured thousands more, and destroyed much of an already poor, dilapidated space that is barely inhabitable to begin with.
US economic and military aid to Israel is measured annually in the billions, and the US government continues to be Israel's strongest and most ardent ally and political benefactor. In fact, the US-Israel "special relationship" is getting more "special" by the day even though Israel is sinking further into the abyss of a well-deserved isolation.
True, there are some, even in the justice for Palestinians camp, who oddly speak of how exceptional and fair the Barack Obama Administration has been in comparison to its predecessors. However, they neglect the fact that aside from a few particularly strong-worded statements, Obama has been a dedicated stalwart on behalf of Israel and its security by going as far as defending Israel's "Operation Protective Edge" war -- the slaughter of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza.
But America's support for Israel is crossing new redlines. There are reportedly over 1,000 US citizens fighting in the Israeli army according to reports that are now resurfacing due to the recent killing of two US-Israeli soldiers -- Max Steinberg, 24, of California, and Nissim Sean Carmeli, 21, of Texas. Like most of the Israeli soldiers killed in recent fighting, they were killed while invading parts of the besieged Gaza Strip.
But the number must be an understatement since some of Israel's most ardent Jewish settlers are also American, and happen to be armed and dangerous. Although this is causing a bit of a media buzz, there is no political crisis. Instead, only condolences are offered to the families of the Americans fighting the genocidal war on Gaza.
The US is not alone in this. European governments display an incredible amount of hypocrisy as they continue to utilize doublespeak in their approach to Middle East conflicts in general, and the situation in Palestine in particular. The pressure mounting from European civil society makes it a bit more challenging for EU governments to endow Israel with the same unconditional love and support as that bestowed upon it by the US.
EU hypocrisy is too palpable even for clever politicians to hide. The British government is shamelessly on the Israeli side, even while entire families in Gaza are being pulverized by Western weapons and military technology. Meanwhile, the French government imposed a ban to prevent French society from showing its solidarity with the besieged and massacred Palestinians in Gaza.
But why ban mere demonstrations of solidarity while France, the US and other Western governments are allowing their Jewish citizens to be enlisted in the Israeli military which is actively killing Palestinian civilians? Shouldn’t that be a much greater concern to the duplicitous French government than some protesters chanting some slogans during a solidarity rally that may or may not be deemed anti-Semitic?
Indeed, not only are Western governments providing Israel with arms, funds and political cover to sustain its occupation and war, but they are also contributing thousands of military experts and boots on the ground in order to fight a war in Gaza where war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed on an hourly basis.

Consider this: While British citizens fighting against the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad are being detained and persecuted, British citizens who are fighting for Israel are not. The British government is turning a blind eye to what should be considered a criminal act.
Western hypocrisy on this is as profound as the phenomenon of westerners killing Palestinians, which some are now calling "Israeli Jihadists."
Belgium also stands accused of allowing such criminality. Although Belgian civil society is one of Palestine's strongest supporters, their government is cloaked with unmistakable dishonesty.
Many Belgian citizens are also taking part in Israel's lethal wars in Gaza and military occupation of the occupied territory, with little or no protest from their government. The recruitment of Belgians is mostly done through the same organizations that recruited thousands of foreign fighters for the Israeli military. Think of them as terrorist headhunting organizations that operate in a perfectly legal environment.
Recently, Mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, called on the Belgian government to cancel dual citizenship of "Syria jihadis." His call was made during a recent visit to a synagogue in Brussels after four people were shot by an alleged French-born citizen suspected of having spent time fighting in Syria. The country's Minister of Justice Annemie Turtelboom took the initiative further by calling on EU countries to block jihadists from going to Syria, suggesting the creation of a list of all known "Syria jihadists."
But what about the known Belgians that are fighting, killing and committing war crimes on behalf of Israel? Why is the Belgian government keeping silent regarding those accused war criminals in the Israeli army, with no statement yet issued, even after the killing of Belgian citizen Eytan Barak?
The same questions apply to other western governments. The hyper-sensitive French government turned a blind eye when a French citizen was killed during the Gaza onslaught. While the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on the killing of staff Sgt. Jordan Bensemhoun, most of the French media and government have looked the other way.
The very government that continues to make life difficult for African immigrants in France, sees no problem of its own immigrants taking part in foreign wars that are in violation of its own citizenship laws.
Western involvement in the war on the Palestinian people is indeed going beyond the usual and known support of funds, military technology and economic aid, to actual participation in the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza. This is not a matter than can be addressed within the larger argument of Western double standards in Israel and Palestine, but an urgent issue that demands immediate attention.
It is one thing to fail to stop war crimes from being committed, it is a whole other level of failure to defend, finance and take active part in carrying out these war crimes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not the only leader culpable of Gaza’s bloodbath; others in western capitals should also be held to account.
Western hypocrisy on this is as profound as the phenomenon of westerners killing Palestinians, which some are now calling "Israeli Jihadists."
Belgium also stands accused of allowing such criminality. Although Belgian civil society is one of Palestine's strongest supporters, their government is cloaked with unmistakable dishonesty.
Many Belgian citizens are also taking part in Israel's lethal wars in Gaza and military occupation of the occupied territory, with little or no protest from their government. The recruitment of Belgians is mostly done through the same organizations that recruited thousands of foreign fighters for the Israeli military. Think of them as terrorist headhunting organizations that operate in a perfectly legal environment.
Recently, Mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, called on the Belgian government to cancel dual citizenship of "Syria jihadis." His call was made during a recent visit to a synagogue in Brussels after four people were shot by an alleged French-born citizen suspected of having spent time fighting in Syria. The country's Minister of Justice Annemie Turtelboom took the initiative further by calling on EU countries to block jihadists from going to Syria, suggesting the creation of a list of all known "Syria jihadists."
But what about the known Belgians that are fighting, killing and committing war crimes on behalf of Israel? Why is the Belgian government keeping silent regarding those accused war criminals in the Israeli army, with no statement yet issued, even after the killing of Belgian citizen Eytan Barak?
The same questions apply to other western governments. The hyper-sensitive French government turned a blind eye when a French citizen was killed during the Gaza onslaught. While the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on the killing of staff Sgt. Jordan Bensemhoun, most of the French media and government have looked the other way.
The very government that continues to make life difficult for African immigrants in France, sees no problem of its own immigrants taking part in foreign wars that are in violation of its own citizenship laws.
Western involvement in the war on the Palestinian people is indeed going beyond the usual and known support of funds, military technology and economic aid, to actual participation in the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza. This is not a matter than can be addressed within the larger argument of Western double standards in Israel and Palestine, but an urgent issue that demands immediate attention.
It is one thing to fail to stop war crimes from being committed, it is a whole other level of failure to defend, finance and take active part in carrying out these war crimes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not the only leader culpable of Gaza’s bloodbath; others in western capitals should also be held to account.

Israel mobilized 16,000 additional reservists on Thursday to bolster its forces waging military operations in the Gaza Strip that left more than 100 Palestinians dead in a day.
The call-up came after Washington announced it had agreed to restock Israel's dwindling supplies of ammunition despite its sharp condemnation of an attack on a United Nations school in Gaza blamed on Israel's army.
"The army has issued 16,000 additional mobilization orders to allow troops on the ground to rest, which takes the total number of reservists to 86,000," an army spokeswoman said.
Israel's security cabinet, which met for five hours Wednesday, unanimously decided to pursue attacks against Hamas "terrorist targets" and other operations to destroy a network of tunnels used by the Islamist movement between Gaza and Israel, public radio said.
Public radio quoted Major General Sami Turgeman, the senior officer for the Gaza region, as saying that the destruction of militants' remaining tunnels into Israel could be complete "in a few days".
More than 100 Palestinians died in the Gaza Strip Wednesday, among them the victims of Israeli fire on a market and the UN school where Palestinians fleeing the fighting had sought refuge.
Despite the loss of life, there appeared to be little Israeli appetite for a truce, with a senior official telling Haaretz newspaper that Israel was not even close to a ceasefire.
"When a ceasefire proposal that answers Israel's important needs is laid on the table, it will be considered," he said, warning that the military operation would expand.
"The (military) will expand attacks against Hamas and the rest of the terror organizations."
Nevertheless, a two-member Israeli delegation travelled to Cairo late Wednesday to discuss a possible ceasefire with Egyptian officials, an official at the airport told AFP, saying they were expected to leave after several hours.
Cairo, a key mediator in previous truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas, was also expected to host a Palestinian delegation later this week.
The call-up came after Washington announced it had agreed to restock Israel's dwindling supplies of ammunition despite its sharp condemnation of an attack on a United Nations school in Gaza blamed on Israel's army.
"The army has issued 16,000 additional mobilization orders to allow troops on the ground to rest, which takes the total number of reservists to 86,000," an army spokeswoman said.
Israel's security cabinet, which met for five hours Wednesday, unanimously decided to pursue attacks against Hamas "terrorist targets" and other operations to destroy a network of tunnels used by the Islamist movement between Gaza and Israel, public radio said.
Public radio quoted Major General Sami Turgeman, the senior officer for the Gaza region, as saying that the destruction of militants' remaining tunnels into Israel could be complete "in a few days".
More than 100 Palestinians died in the Gaza Strip Wednesday, among them the victims of Israeli fire on a market and the UN school where Palestinians fleeing the fighting had sought refuge.
Despite the loss of life, there appeared to be little Israeli appetite for a truce, with a senior official telling Haaretz newspaper that Israel was not even close to a ceasefire.
"When a ceasefire proposal that answers Israel's important needs is laid on the table, it will be considered," he said, warning that the military operation would expand.
"The (military) will expand attacks against Hamas and the rest of the terror organizations."
Nevertheless, a two-member Israeli delegation travelled to Cairo late Wednesday to discuss a possible ceasefire with Egyptian officials, an official at the airport told AFP, saying they were expected to leave after several hours.
Cairo, a key mediator in previous truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas, was also expected to host a Palestinian delegation later this week.
5 killed following airstrike near Tuba Mosque near Khan Younis
Five were killed following an Israeli airstrike on Thursday on a group of people near the Tuba Mosque near Khan Younis.
Five were killed following an Israeli airstrike on Thursday on a group of people near the Tuba Mosque near Khan Younis.

The United States confirmed it had restocked Israel's supplies of ammunition, hours after finally sharpening its tone to condemn an attack on a United Nations school in Gaza that killed 16 people sheltering there.
Israeli airstrikes and shelling continued overnight, 12 Gazans dead and dozens injured, bringing the 24-day death toll to 1,375 with 7,680 injured, according to the Ministry of Health. The Israeli military confirmed that 20 "sites" had been hit overnight.
As of morning, Israeli shelling across the Gaza Strip was ongoing.
The dead included five people killed, including Majdi Fseifis, 22, in a bombing that hit a crowd of civilians near a mosque in the Abasan area east of Khan Younis.
Also in Khan Younis, one Palestinian was killed and four were wounded in a strike that hit a motorcycle in the Ma'an area south of the city.
Maha abd al-Nabi Salim Abu Hilal was killed in a strike on her home that also "seriously" injured her husband and three children. She was brought to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital.
Suleiman Baraka, 31, and Aref Baraka, 58, were also killed in a strike, and their bodies were both brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in Deir al-Balah.
At least 55 wounded after the al-Hamoud house in Beit Lahiya was hit at dawn. Injuries were also reported during an Israeli strike on the home of the al-Haw family as well as against Block 7 in Jabaliya.
Israeli aircraft also targeted a house east of al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip belonging to Abu Abdullah Abu Huwayshal, destroying it completely.
Violent clashes broke out between Palestinian fighters and Israelis forces in the Nabahin field east of al-Bureij.
The dead overnight included Yusuf Ibrahim, 19, son of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs who died of wounds sustained in an Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp the day before. Ahmad al-Luh died early Thursday in al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital as a result of injuries as well.
The deaths in the besieged Gaza Strip come on the 24th day of an Israeli assault which has nearly topped the death toll from the 2008-9 Cast Lead, the bloodiest attack on the area in memory when Israel killed 1,400 in 22 days.
Israel launched the current assault -- called Operation Protective Edge -- in early July as part of what it said was an effort to combat rockets, but has since changed the focus to destroying what it say are tunnels dug from Gaza into Israel.
Rocket fire into Israel increased in late June and early July after Israel launched a sweeping assault on Hamas across the West Bank, killing nearly a dozen, injuring more than 100, and leading to more than 1,000 arrests, along with nightly airstrikes on Gaza.
Hamas has insisted that any ceasefire include an end to the eight-year Israeli blockade, which has severely crippled the tiny coastal enclave's economy and led to recurring shortages of basic goods.
Israeli authorities, meanwhile, have signaled their refusal to end the assault without inflicting heavy damage on Palestinian military capabilities.
No blame for Israel
While both the White House and the State Department condemned the shelling of the UN-run school in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Wednesday in which at least 16 Palestinians were killed, neither would assign blame to staunch US ally Israel.
"Obviously nothing justifies the killing of innocent civilians seeking shelter in a UN facility," deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf acknowledged, in some of the toughest US comments since the start of the 23-day fighting in the Gaza Strip.
"Innocent Palestinians seeking refuge in these schools should not have shells dropped on them, should not come under attack."
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said Israeli forces had hit the school, which had been sheltering some 3,300 Gazans.
But despite heated exchanges with reporters, Harf stressed that "we don't know for certain who shelled this school, we need to get all the facts."
National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan also condemned "those responsible for hiding weapons in United Nations facilities in Gaza" and warned of rising fears that thousands of Palestinians who have been told by Israel to leave their homes increasingly had nowhere to go in the blockaded narrow coastal strip.
US officials also warned that patience with "crazy" Israeli criticism of would-be-peacemaker John Kerry had snapped.
New ammunition for Israel
The Pentagon confirmed the Israeli military had requested additional ammunition to restock its dwindling supplies on July 20, with the US Defense Department approving the sale just three days later.
"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
"This defense sale is consistent with those objectives."
Two of the requested munitions came from a little-known stockpile of ammunition stored by the US military on the ground in Israel for emergency use. The War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel is estimated to be worth $1 billion.
The decision to provide ammunition to Israel could fuel controversy, coming just as Washington expresses growing concern about the deaths of more than 1,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, since the Israeli operation began on July 8.
Kirby said Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel told his Israeli counterpart that the United States was concerned about the deadly consequences of the spiraling conflict, including a "worsening humanitarian situation" in Gaza, and called for a ceasefire and end to hostilities.
He also renewed calls for the disarmament of Gaza's Hamas rulers and "all terrorist groups."
Relations between Israel and its staunch ally the United States have plunged in recent days after Kerry returned from a mission to the Middle East to try to broker a ceasefire between the Israelis and Hamas militants.
Anonymous Israeli officials have hit out at Kerry's truce proposal, calling it "a strategic terrorist attack" and criticizing it for being a "Hamas wish-list" including moves to lift a long-standing Israeli blockade of Gaza while failing to address Israel's security concerns, such as Hamas rocket fire and a network of underground tunnels.
And on Tuesday a fabricated transcript of a call between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went viral on social media.
Out to hurt ties?
Stressing the "unprecedented" US support for Israel, Harf hit out at Israeli elites' "offensive and absurd" claims that Kerry backs Hamas.
She rubbished the fake transcript as "complete crap," adding "there's clearly people ... who are putting out false and defamatory and absurd information."
"I don't know what else you can assume about the intentions except that they're designed to hurt our relationship," she added.
Washington, which has provided billions in military aid to Israel, including funding the Iron Dome shield protecting the country from Hamas rockets, was "very committed" to Israel's security, which is "why these vicious attacks on the secretary are just crazy," she added.
And US lawmakers are working on a package of additional military support from Washington to commit $225 million for the Iron Dome missile defense shield.
More than 100 people died in Israeli strikes across Gaza Wednesday, medics said, including 17 at a crowded marketplace, sending the Palestinian toll from the 23 days of fighting to 1,363.
On the Israeli side, the conflict has cost the lives of 56 Israeli soldiers, and two civilians, as well as that of a Thai national.
US restocks Israel with ammunition
The United States confirmed it had restocked Israel's supplies of ammunition, hours after issuing a strong condemnation of an attack on a United Nations school in Gaza.
The Israeli military requested additional ammunition to restock its dwindling supplies on July 20, the Pentagon said. The US Defense Department approved the sale just three days later.
"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
"This defense sale is consistent with those objectives."
Two of the requested munitions came from a little-known stockpile of ammunition stored by the US military on the ground in Israel for emergency use. The War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel is estimated to be worth $1 billion.
Kirby stressed that those munitions had been in WRSA-I stock for "a few years, well before the current crisis."
"All stocks in WRSA-I, as required by law, are 'in excess to US requirements," he added.
"Issuing munitions from the WRSA-I stockpile was strictly a sourcing decision and White House approval was not required."
But Kirby did not indicate whether the White House was involved in the decision to supply the other ammunition.
The decision to provide ammunition to Israel could fuel controversy, coming just as Washington expresses growing concern about the deaths of more than 1,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, since the Israeli operation began on July 8.
Kirby said Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel told his Israeli counterpart that the United States was concerned about the deadly consequences of the spiraling conflict, and called for a ceasefire and end to hostilities.
In a telephone call with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Hagel expressed "the United States' continued concern about the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths and loss of Israeli lives, as well as the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza."
Hagel "stressed the need for a humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities and leads to a permanent cessation of hostilities," the spokesman added.
Israeli airstrikes and shelling continued overnight, 12 Gazans dead and dozens injured, bringing the 24-day death toll to 1,375 with 7,680 injured, according to the Ministry of Health. The Israeli military confirmed that 20 "sites" had been hit overnight.
As of morning, Israeli shelling across the Gaza Strip was ongoing.
The dead included five people killed, including Majdi Fseifis, 22, in a bombing that hit a crowd of civilians near a mosque in the Abasan area east of Khan Younis.
Also in Khan Younis, one Palestinian was killed and four were wounded in a strike that hit a motorcycle in the Ma'an area south of the city.
Maha abd al-Nabi Salim Abu Hilal was killed in a strike on her home that also "seriously" injured her husband and three children. She was brought to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital.
Suleiman Baraka, 31, and Aref Baraka, 58, were also killed in a strike, and their bodies were both brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in Deir al-Balah.
At least 55 wounded after the al-Hamoud house in Beit Lahiya was hit at dawn. Injuries were also reported during an Israeli strike on the home of the al-Haw family as well as against Block 7 in Jabaliya.
Israeli aircraft also targeted a house east of al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip belonging to Abu Abdullah Abu Huwayshal, destroying it completely.
Violent clashes broke out between Palestinian fighters and Israelis forces in the Nabahin field east of al-Bureij.
The dead overnight included Yusuf Ibrahim, 19, son of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs who died of wounds sustained in an Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp the day before. Ahmad al-Luh died early Thursday in al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital as a result of injuries as well.
The deaths in the besieged Gaza Strip come on the 24th day of an Israeli assault which has nearly topped the death toll from the 2008-9 Cast Lead, the bloodiest attack on the area in memory when Israel killed 1,400 in 22 days.
Israel launched the current assault -- called Operation Protective Edge -- in early July as part of what it said was an effort to combat rockets, but has since changed the focus to destroying what it say are tunnels dug from Gaza into Israel.
Rocket fire into Israel increased in late June and early July after Israel launched a sweeping assault on Hamas across the West Bank, killing nearly a dozen, injuring more than 100, and leading to more than 1,000 arrests, along with nightly airstrikes on Gaza.
Hamas has insisted that any ceasefire include an end to the eight-year Israeli blockade, which has severely crippled the tiny coastal enclave's economy and led to recurring shortages of basic goods.
Israeli authorities, meanwhile, have signaled their refusal to end the assault without inflicting heavy damage on Palestinian military capabilities.
No blame for Israel
While both the White House and the State Department condemned the shelling of the UN-run school in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Wednesday in which at least 16 Palestinians were killed, neither would assign blame to staunch US ally Israel.
"Obviously nothing justifies the killing of innocent civilians seeking shelter in a UN facility," deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf acknowledged, in some of the toughest US comments since the start of the 23-day fighting in the Gaza Strip.
"Innocent Palestinians seeking refuge in these schools should not have shells dropped on them, should not come under attack."
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said Israeli forces had hit the school, which had been sheltering some 3,300 Gazans.
But despite heated exchanges with reporters, Harf stressed that "we don't know for certain who shelled this school, we need to get all the facts."
National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan also condemned "those responsible for hiding weapons in United Nations facilities in Gaza" and warned of rising fears that thousands of Palestinians who have been told by Israel to leave their homes increasingly had nowhere to go in the blockaded narrow coastal strip.
US officials also warned that patience with "crazy" Israeli criticism of would-be-peacemaker John Kerry had snapped.
New ammunition for Israel
The Pentagon confirmed the Israeli military had requested additional ammunition to restock its dwindling supplies on July 20, with the US Defense Department approving the sale just three days later.
"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
"This defense sale is consistent with those objectives."
Two of the requested munitions came from a little-known stockpile of ammunition stored by the US military on the ground in Israel for emergency use. The War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel is estimated to be worth $1 billion.
The decision to provide ammunition to Israel could fuel controversy, coming just as Washington expresses growing concern about the deaths of more than 1,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, since the Israeli operation began on July 8.
Kirby said Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel told his Israeli counterpart that the United States was concerned about the deadly consequences of the spiraling conflict, including a "worsening humanitarian situation" in Gaza, and called for a ceasefire and end to hostilities.
He also renewed calls for the disarmament of Gaza's Hamas rulers and "all terrorist groups."
Relations between Israel and its staunch ally the United States have plunged in recent days after Kerry returned from a mission to the Middle East to try to broker a ceasefire between the Israelis and Hamas militants.
Anonymous Israeli officials have hit out at Kerry's truce proposal, calling it "a strategic terrorist attack" and criticizing it for being a "Hamas wish-list" including moves to lift a long-standing Israeli blockade of Gaza while failing to address Israel's security concerns, such as Hamas rocket fire and a network of underground tunnels.
And on Tuesday a fabricated transcript of a call between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went viral on social media.
Out to hurt ties?
Stressing the "unprecedented" US support for Israel, Harf hit out at Israeli elites' "offensive and absurd" claims that Kerry backs Hamas.
She rubbished the fake transcript as "complete crap," adding "there's clearly people ... who are putting out false and defamatory and absurd information."
"I don't know what else you can assume about the intentions except that they're designed to hurt our relationship," she added.
Washington, which has provided billions in military aid to Israel, including funding the Iron Dome shield protecting the country from Hamas rockets, was "very committed" to Israel's security, which is "why these vicious attacks on the secretary are just crazy," she added.
And US lawmakers are working on a package of additional military support from Washington to commit $225 million for the Iron Dome missile defense shield.
More than 100 people died in Israeli strikes across Gaza Wednesday, medics said, including 17 at a crowded marketplace, sending the Palestinian toll from the 23 days of fighting to 1,363.
On the Israeli side, the conflict has cost the lives of 56 Israeli soldiers, and two civilians, as well as that of a Thai national.
US restocks Israel with ammunition
The United States confirmed it had restocked Israel's supplies of ammunition, hours after issuing a strong condemnation of an attack on a United Nations school in Gaza.
The Israeli military requested additional ammunition to restock its dwindling supplies on July 20, the Pentagon said. The US Defense Department approved the sale just three days later.
"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.
"This defense sale is consistent with those objectives."
Two of the requested munitions came from a little-known stockpile of ammunition stored by the US military on the ground in Israel for emergency use. The War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel is estimated to be worth $1 billion.
Kirby stressed that those munitions had been in WRSA-I stock for "a few years, well before the current crisis."
"All stocks in WRSA-I, as required by law, are 'in excess to US requirements," he added.
"Issuing munitions from the WRSA-I stockpile was strictly a sourcing decision and White House approval was not required."
But Kirby did not indicate whether the White House was involved in the decision to supply the other ammunition.
The decision to provide ammunition to Israel could fuel controversy, coming just as Washington expresses growing concern about the deaths of more than 1,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, since the Israeli operation began on July 8.
Kirby said Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel told his Israeli counterpart that the United States was concerned about the deadly consequences of the spiraling conflict, and called for a ceasefire and end to hostilities.
In a telephone call with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Hagel expressed "the United States' continued concern about the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths and loss of Israeli lives, as well as the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza."
Hagel "stressed the need for a humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities and leads to a permanent cessation of hostilities," the spokesman added.

Following two days of massive Israeli bombardment of all parts of the Gaza Strip resulting in more than 200 Palestinians dead, the early hours of Thursday morning saw 11 additional Palestinians killed, and over 15 wounded in new airstrikes as of 10 am. The bodies of two Palestinian family members who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza were brought to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital:
Suleiman Baraka, 31 and
Aref Baraka, 58
Two civilians were reported to have died from wounds sustained in earlier airstrikes. Both died in Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Hospital in Gaza City. They were identified as:
Ahmed al-Loah, 22 years old and
Baraa' Yousef, 19.
The four men all died in the Al Aqsa Hospital, which was itself the target of an Israeli air strike on July 21st. 5 people were killed, and 70 were injured in that blast.
In northern Gaza, 15 people wounded in Israeli airstrikes arrived at the Kamal Odwan Hospital for treatment in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday.
In Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, Abu Yousef Hospital received the body of a woman who died in an Israeli airstrike. She was identified as:
Maha Abdul-Nabi Salim Abu Hilal.
In Khan Younis, six Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike, and their bodies taken to the Gaza European Hospital. They were identified as:
Majdi Mohammad Ahmad Fseifis, 34
Mohammad Juma’ an-Najjar, 32
Hani Abdullah Abu Mustafa
Hanan Yusef Abu Taimeh
Mahar an-Najjar
Mahmoud Fouad an-Najjar
According to journalist Mohammad Omer, airstrikes early Thursday morning targeted Al Aqsa TV in northern Gaza, which was previously targeted by Israeli airstrikes on Monday. Airstrikes hit the home of the Sabra family in southern Gaza, the head of the family is a well-known Palestinian doctor. The al-Maghazi refugee camp has been hit numerous times throughout the night, as has the area around the UN school in Jabalia that was directly targeted by an Israeli airstrike Tuesday.
The continued bombardment of the area around the Jabalia school made it difficult for investigators to enter the area to examine the damage. They did manage to get in on Thursday morning to conduct a preliminary investigation into the attack, which took place in the pre-dawn hours on Tuesday and killed a number of children in their sleep.
Suleiman Baraka, 31 and
Aref Baraka, 58
Two civilians were reported to have died from wounds sustained in earlier airstrikes. Both died in Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Hospital in Gaza City. They were identified as:
Ahmed al-Loah, 22 years old and
Baraa' Yousef, 19.
The four men all died in the Al Aqsa Hospital, which was itself the target of an Israeli air strike on July 21st. 5 people were killed, and 70 were injured in that blast.
In northern Gaza, 15 people wounded in Israeli airstrikes arrived at the Kamal Odwan Hospital for treatment in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday.
In Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, Abu Yousef Hospital received the body of a woman who died in an Israeli airstrike. She was identified as:
Maha Abdul-Nabi Salim Abu Hilal.
In Khan Younis, six Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike, and their bodies taken to the Gaza European Hospital. They were identified as:
Majdi Mohammad Ahmad Fseifis, 34
Mohammad Juma’ an-Najjar, 32
Hani Abdullah Abu Mustafa
Hanan Yusef Abu Taimeh
Mahar an-Najjar
Mahmoud Fouad an-Najjar
According to journalist Mohammad Omer, airstrikes early Thursday morning targeted Al Aqsa TV in northern Gaza, which was previously targeted by Israeli airstrikes on Monday. Airstrikes hit the home of the Sabra family in southern Gaza, the head of the family is a well-known Palestinian doctor. The al-Maghazi refugee camp has been hit numerous times throughout the night, as has the area around the UN school in Jabalia that was directly targeted by an Israeli airstrike Tuesday.
The continued bombardment of the area around the Jabalia school made it difficult for investigators to enter the area to examine the damage. They did manage to get in on Thursday morning to conduct a preliminary investigation into the attack, which took place in the pre-dawn hours on Tuesday and killed a number of children in their sleep.
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