Live blog: Gaza under attack
#GazaUnderAttack
MEE follows events in Israel and Palestine as they happen. Are you there? Got something to add? Get in touch with MEE at info@middleeasteye.org and follow us on Twitter at @MiddleEastEye
Bombardment of al-Sujahiyya
Reports and YoutTube clips coming in of bodies lying in the streets of al-Sujahiyya after continuous overnight bombardment. The death toll is at least 20 but rising rapidly. AFP reports that ambulances are unable to reach much of the area along the border because of heavy fire. Survivors are streaming out on foot. Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra says casualties are expected to rise significantly. Shelling is still intense and there is the sound of small arms fire.
Electricity still out in most of Gaza
MEE's reporter Mohammed Omar reports that eletricity is still out in most of the Gaza Strip.
"Technical teams are not allowed to fix the damages. Electricity company say 13 lines were hit by Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling. This leaves Gaza with 90% electricity deficit. The 10% is not enough to bring electricity for 2 hours at max. This means 22 hours of blackout. One could notice this through the very low contribution of youth on social media and also media from Gaza. No much is getting outside of Gaza. This will also affect both water and sewage in Gaza. This situation is likely to continue as it is, if not worse, particularly that ICRC tried to coordinate for technical teams to fix damages, but Israel refused."
Israeli military claim to thwart Hamas tunnel attack
The Israeli military claim to have thwarted an attempt by Hamas to invade Israel through underground tunnels to "massacre civilians in an Israeli community."
In the ensuing gunfire one Hamas fighter was killed and another fled back to Gaza.
IDF forces opened fire at the infiltrators. One terrorist was killed; the others escaped to Gaza. 2 of our soldiers were wounded.
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 19, 2014
Egypt: No plans to revise ceasefire proposal
Egypt has no plans to revise its ceasefire proposal to end fighting between Israel and the Hamas, Cairo's foreign minister said on Saturday.
"It provides the needs of all sides and we will continue offering it and we hope to get their support as soon as possible," said Sameh Shukri at a news conference with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius.
Khaled Meshaal calls for siege to be lifted
Khaled Meshaal calls for siege to be lifted
Haaretz is reporting Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshal as saying the group will not agree to a cease-fire until Israel lifts the economic siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.
He also called to free detainees who were rearrested after being released in the Shalit prisoner swap.
Hamas also wants Egypt to show flexibility in opening the Rafah Crossing.
He said he was willing to discuss any deal based on these demands, adding that Qatar and Turkey were also taking part in the mediation efforts alongside Egypt.
- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/live-blog-israel-palestine-tensions-co...
Khaled Meshaal calls for siege to be lifted
Haaretz is reporting Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshal as saying the group will not agree to a cease-fire until Israel lifts the economic siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.
He also called to free detainees who were rearrested after being released in the Shalit prisoner swap.
Hamas also wants Egypt to show flexibility in opening the Rafah Crossing.
He said he was willing to discuss any deal based on these demands, adding that Qatar and Turkey were also taking part in the mediation efforts alongside Egypt.
- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/live-blog-israel-palestine-tensions-co...
Haaretz is reporting Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshal as saying the group will not agree to a cease-fire until Israel lifts the economic siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.
He also called to free detainees who were rearrested after being released in the Shalit prisoner swap.
Hamas also wants Egypt to show flexibility in opening the Rafah Crossing.
He said he was willing to discuss any deal based on these demands, adding that Qatar and Turkey were also taking part in the mediation efforts alongside Egypt.
Bolivian President calls Gaza assault "genocide"
Bolivian President Evo Morales has condemned Israel's assault on Gaza as "genocide" during a visit to Peru.
"What is happening in Palestine is genocide. Some are saying that it should be investigated. There is no need to investigate if they (Israel) don't punish the instigators and perpetrators of genocide."
Palestine turns Israeli bombs into Art #Gaza #StopKillingOurKids pic.twitter.com/pbEINff5i4
— Ramy Abdu| د. رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) July 19, 2014
Israeli troops clash with Gaza militants
AFP: Breaking news - Israeli troops clash with Gaza militants at border.
The area of Beit Hanoun, Gaza, targeted heavily overnight
#c4news #Gaza report: N Gaza Strip village Beit Hanoun very hot. 8 ppl from Abu Jarad family killed by tank shell last night.
— Jonathan Miller (@millerC4) July 19, 2014
Two strikes near Beit Hanoun, the artillery and missiles haven't stopped all night and morning #Gaza #skybreaking pic.twitter.com/5irReBCMMM
— Sherine Tadros (@SherineT) July 19, 2014
UN has warned that basic supplies in Gaza will run out by tomorrow
BREAKING NEWS: UNRWA running out of emergency funds as figure for displaced with us in #Gaza passes 50,000 RT
— Chris Gunness (@ChrisGunness) July 19, 2014
BREAKING NEWS: We can get through today in #Gaza but if the situation continues 2 deteriorate & we receive more displaced in our schools..RT
— Chris Gunness (@ChrisGunness) July 19, 2014
UNRWA in #GAZA may run out of basic stocks of mattresses and other vital supplies tomorrow 4 lack of funds RT
— Chris Gunness (@ChrisGunness) July 19, 2014
Summary
- Palestinian death toll has reached 318, according to the Gaza health ministry.
- Around 2,283 Palestinians have been wounded
- Two Palestinians were killed in fresh Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Saturday morning, among them a six-year-old child.
- The two new deaths were a man killed north of Gaza City and a six-year-old child killed in the northern Gaza area of Beit Lahiya.
- Israeli death toll currently stands at 2, with one civilian and one soldier killed, the latter due to friendly fire.
- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is to leave for the Middle East on Saturday to discuss the escalating conflict
Witness: Israeli gunboats shell Gaza beach areas
MASSIVE airstrike by #Israeli gunboats on beachfront homes #Gaza
— 𝕄𝕠𝕙𝕒𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕆𝕞𝕖𝕣 𝔸𝕝𝕞𝕠𝕘𝕙𝕒𝕪𝕖𝕣 (@Mogaza) July 19, 2014
Three Israeli soldiers injured in gun battle with Gaza fighters
LIVE UPDATES: Three Israeli soldiers injured in gun battle with Gazan militants http://t.co/0wpS3H0bXR
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) July 18, 2014
Qassam brigades, Israeli army clash in northern Gaza
Clashes broke out late on Friday between fighters from Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, and an Israeli army force northern the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun.
"Our mujahedeen are now in battle with an Israeli force in northern Beit Hanoun," the brigades said in a statement.
Noise from the clashes can be clearly heard in northern Gaza, eyewitnesses said, noting that Israeli helicopters and artillery are taking part in the confrontation, whereas the Al-Qassam members use machine guns and anti-tank missiles.
"Clashes came to an end after the Israelis withdraw," one witness told Anadolu Agency from Beit Hanoun.
Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement that its fighters had surprised an Israeli force that had infiltrated into eastern Rafah and forced it to retreat after inflicting "confirmed" casualties among the Israelis.
The brigades said earlier that it had blown up five explosive charges at a special Israeli unit that had staged an incursion into Beit Lahia in the northern the Gaza Strip.
The group said it had also fired five rockets at concentrations of Israeli soldiers northern the Gaza Strip.
Gaza resident: Where can I flee?
UN: 80% of Gazans receive electricity for only four hours a day
UN says 80 per cent of the population of #Gaza is receiving electricity during only four hours a day, down from 12 hours previously.
— Chris Doyle (@Doylech) July 18, 2014
NY Times: How the west chose war in Gaza
"For many Gazans, and not just Hamas supporters, it’s worth risking more bombardment and now the ground incursion, for a chance to change that unacceptable status quo. A cease-fire that fails to resolve the salary crisis and open Gaza’s border with Egypt will not last. It is unsustainable for Gaza to remain cut off from the world and administered by employees working without pay.
"The current escalation in Gaza is a direct result of the choice by Israel and the West to obstruct the implementation of the April 2014 Palestinian reconciliation agreement. The road out of the crisis is a reversal of that policy." – wrote Nathan Thrall in the New York Times.
In pictures: wounded children of Gaza
(MEE/Mohammed Asad)
Gaza deaths soar to 296 on day 11 of Israel assault
Fifty-five Gazans were killed on Friday as Israel pressed a major ground offensive in the coastal enclave, raising the overall Palestinian death toll since July 8 to 296, Palestinian medics said.
The latest Palestinian deaths included three members of a family killed in an Israeli strike in southern Gaza's Rafah, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra.
Shortly before, eight members of a single family -- two men, two women and four children -- were killed in tank shelling on their home in northern Gaza's Beit Hanun.
Many of the deaths were in southern Khan Yunis and Rafah, where a five-month-old baby was among those killed.
Figures provided by the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights show civilians account for more than 80 percent of the victims of Israel's assault since July 8.
At least 2,200 Palestinians have also been wounded.
In Pictures: a funeral in Gaza for three children
MEE's Dylan Collins in Gaza attended a funeral for three children killed by Israel's assault on the coastal enclave, taking a series of photos cataloguing the grief and anger felt by the community.
(MEE/Dylan Collins)
(MEE/Dylan Collins)
Australia's ABC captures Israeli missile strike in Gaza
Australian television channel ABC caught on video the moment an Israeli missile hit an area in the north of the Gaza Strip on Friday night.
Al-Qassam say they have 250,000 explosives
Abu Obaida, spokesperson for Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades, has given a public statement on the situation in Gaza.
“We are winning this battle and our people will soon celebrate a victory. Al-Qassam has hand made a quarter of a million explosives.”
“We will continue to fight this enemy until it takes our demands seriously.”
Ban Ki Moon to travel to Middle East on Saturday
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to the Middle East on Saturday, "to help mediate the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas," a UN official said at the emergency Security Council session.
US ambassador: only end to Gaza crisis is for Hamas to end rocket attacks
The US ambassador to the UN, Samatha Power, spoke at the emergency Security Council meeting and strongly criticised the role played by Hamas in the current Gaza crisis:
“The US are deeply concerned by Hamas attacks. The UN in Gaza found 20 Hamas rockets in one school…such tactics are indefensible. The only way to end this is an immediate cessation of rocket attacks from Hamas and a de-escalation in hostilities.”
Israeli ambassador: 'our forces...are not fighting the people of Gaza'
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, has spoken out in defence of his country's assault on Gaza at the Security Council.
“Our forces are fighting in Gaza but they are not fighting the people of Gaza. We operating only against terrorist targets and genuinely regret any civilian casualties.”
“Hamas uses Palestinian casualties to further a propaganda campaign…in the hope of pressuring the international community to press for Israel to answer its demands.”
“The Jewish people believe in the value of life, Hamas believe in taking life.”
Palestine rep to UN struggles to hold back tears while reading statement in Arabic to Gazans. Keeps pausing to compose himself.
— Andy Carvin (@acarvin) July 18, 2014
UN Security Council hold emergency meeting
The UN Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis in Gaza.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the UN, said:
“Before the eyes of the world Israel is waging war against a defenceless population beaching human rights and international law, destroying the pillars of the international system.”
“The Security Council continues to stand aside as Israel continues to flagrantly violate the UN’s resolutions.”
“We call on the Security Council to adopt a resolution condemning Israel’s military aggression against the Palestinian civilian population, calling for its immediate cessation, and urging the lifting of the blockade and ensuring the protection of the Palestinian people.”
“Israel as the occupying power has forfeited its legal obligations.”
Israel fires flares in Gaza
(Photo credit: MEE/Mohammed Asad)
4 children reportedly killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza
#Israeli F16 attacked Abu Jarad Family's house to the north of #Gaza ,4 children have been killed and 15 injured at least (Initial report)
— Mohammed Alqattawi (@m_alqattawi) July 18, 2014
Four children, youngest aged 2, reported dead in #Israel tank fire in #Gaza now, @AFP reports.
— Sara Hussein (@sarahussein) July 18, 2014
Qassam Brigades say, it will have important speech tonight. #GazaUnderAttack
— 𝕄𝕠𝕙𝕒𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕆𝕞𝕖𝕣 𝔸𝕝𝕞𝕠𝕘𝕙𝕒𝕪𝕖𝕣 (@Mogaza) July 18, 2014
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