This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-conflict.html
The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 11 | Version 12 |
|---|---|
| Israeli Leader Sees No Quick End to Gaza War | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| JERUSALEM — An informal lull between Israel and Hamas timed for the start of a Muslim holiday collapsed into deadly violence on Monday and Israel’s prime minister signaled no quick end to the three-week-old Gaza war, advising Israelis that “patience and determination” were needed. | JERUSALEM — An informal lull between Israel and Hamas timed for the start of a Muslim holiday collapsed into deadly violence on Monday and Israel’s prime minister signaled no quick end to the three-week-old Gaza war, advising Israelis that “patience and determination” were needed. |
| Despite intensifying outside pressure for a cease-fire, no diplomatic way out was in sight. | Despite intensifying outside pressure for a cease-fire, no diplomatic way out was in sight. |
| A day of relatively low-level hostilities erupted by late afternoon into a series of bloody events in quick succession. An explosion at Gaza’s Shati refugee camp killed 10 Palestinians, mostly children playing outdoors, and another blast damaged an outside wall of Gaza’s main hospital compound. | A day of relatively low-level hostilities erupted by late afternoon into a series of bloody events in quick succession. An explosion at Gaza’s Shati refugee camp killed 10 Palestinians, mostly children playing outdoors, and another blast damaged an outside wall of Gaza’s main hospital compound. |
| Hamas blamed Israel for both strikes but the Israeli military insisted it had not carried out any attacks in those areas and said the blasts were caused by misfired Hamas rockets meant to hit Israel. | Hamas blamed Israel for both strikes but the Israeli military insisted it had not carried out any attacks in those areas and said the blasts were caused by misfired Hamas rockets meant to hit Israel. |
| Mortar rounds fired from Gaza killed four Israeli soldiers at a staging area on the Israeli side of the border, and Palestinian gunmen emerged from a tunnel running beneath the border and clashed with Israeli soldiers. The military said the gunmen had intended to attack civilians in a nearby Israeli border community. One militant was killed in the clash. | Mortar rounds fired from Gaza killed four Israeli soldiers at a staging area on the Israeli side of the border, and Palestinian gunmen emerged from a tunnel running beneath the border and clashed with Israeli soldiers. The military said the gunmen had intended to attack civilians in a nearby Israeli border community. One militant was killed in the clash. |
| There were reports of more Israeli casualties but the military did not provide details. | There were reports of more Israeli casualties but the military did not provide details. |
| “We will not complete the operation without neutralizing the tunnels,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in a televised address. “This is the clear and unequivocal objective of the state of Israel and the need for it has been apparent again today.” | “We will not complete the operation without neutralizing the tunnels,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in a televised address. “This is the clear and unequivocal objective of the state of Israel and the need for it has been apparent again today.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu did not announce any immediate change in the stated goals of the operation, which have been defined as severely damaging Hamas’s rocket and tunnel infrastructure, but all the indications were that the fighting would intensify. | Mr. Netanyahu did not announce any immediate change in the stated goals of the operation, which have been defined as severely damaging Hamas’s rocket and tunnel infrastructure, but all the indications were that the fighting would intensify. |
| By Monday evening the Israeli military said it had warned Palestinian civilians in several areas of the eastern and northern Gaza Strip to evacuate their homes “immediately,” through phone calls and text messages, and it stepped up airstrikes and shelling in the north and south of the Gaza Strip, killing at least 23 Palestinians overnight, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. | By Monday evening the Israeli military said it had warned Palestinian civilians in several areas of the eastern and northern Gaza Strip to evacuate their homes “immediately,” through phone calls and text messages, and it stepped up airstrikes and shelling in the north and south of the Gaza Strip, killing at least 23 Palestinians overnight, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. |
| A fifth Israeli soldier was killed in combat in southern Gaza and Hamas fired rockets deep into Israel. | A fifth Israeli soldier was killed in combat in southern Gaza and Hamas fired rockets deep into Israel. |
| At around midnight flares lit up Gaza City, and early Tuesday morning Israeli warplanes attacked the house of Ismail Haniya, the deputy chief of the Hamas movement, in the Shati refugee camp on the western edge of the city, according to witnesses and the Hamas news media. | At around midnight flares lit up Gaza City, and early Tuesday morning Israeli warplanes attacked the house of Ismail Haniya, the deputy chief of the Hamas movement, in the Shati refugee camp on the western edge of the city, according to witnesses and the Hamas news media. |
| Moshe Yaalon, the Israeli defense minister, spoke of a campaign that could last “more long days.” | Moshe Yaalon, the Israeli defense minister, spoke of a campaign that could last “more long days.” |
| “If the terrorist organizations in Gaza think they can break Israel and its citizens,” Mr. Yaalon said, “they will come to understand in the next few days that this is not the case.” | “If the terrorist organizations in Gaza think they can break Israel and its citizens,” Mr. Yaalon said, “they will come to understand in the next few days that this is not the case.” |
| International pressure for a cease-fire has grown with alarm over the soaring casualty figures, mostly in Gaza. More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed, the majority civilians, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. At least 48 Israeli soldiers and three civilians on the Israeli side have been killed. | International pressure for a cease-fire has grown with alarm over the soaring casualty figures, mostly in Gaza. More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed, the majority civilians, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. At least 48 Israeli soldiers and three civilians on the Israeli side have been killed. |
| The secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, joined the Security Council in calling for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire, telling reporters in New York, “Gaza is in a critical condition. Israeli missiles have pummeled Gaza. Hamas rockets have randomly struck Israel.” | The secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, joined the Security Council in calling for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire, telling reporters in New York, “Gaza is in a critical condition. Israeli missiles have pummeled Gaza. Hamas rockets have randomly struck Israel.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu criticized the Security Council’s statement earlier Monday, saying that it “related to the needs of a murderous terrorist organization that attacks Israeli citizens,” referring to Hamas, “and does not address the security needs of Israel.” | Mr. Netanyahu criticized the Security Council’s statement earlier Monday, saying that it “related to the needs of a murderous terrorist organization that attacks Israeli citizens,” referring to Hamas, “and does not address the security needs of Israel.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu reiterated his demand that the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip “must be part of any solution.” | Mr. Netanyahu reiterated his demand that the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip “must be part of any solution.” |
| In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry, who spent much of last week in a frustrated effort to achieve even a temporary halt to the fighting, said, “We also believe that any process to resolve the crisis in Gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of Hamas and all terrorist groups.” | In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry, who spent much of last week in a frustrated effort to achieve even a temporary halt to the fighting, said, “We also believe that any process to resolve the crisis in Gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of Hamas and all terrorist groups.” |
| He also clearly referenced the Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire and a role for the Palestinian Authority after his effort fell short and was harshly criticized by Israelis and the West Bank-based Palestinian leadership. Obama administration officials said Monday that the criticism of Mr. Kerry was unwarranted. | He also clearly referenced the Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire and a role for the Palestinian Authority after his effort fell short and was harshly criticized by Israelis and the West Bank-based Palestinian leadership. Obama administration officials said Monday that the criticism of Mr. Kerry was unwarranted. |
| The day began with a fragile, unsigned calm meant to usher in Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that ends the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said the army had “toned down its activities” and was only “combating tunnels on the one hand and responding to Hamas aggression on the other.” | The day began with a fragile, unsigned calm meant to usher in Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that ends the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said the army had “toned down its activities” and was only “combating tunnels on the one hand and responding to Hamas aggression on the other.” |
| After three weeks of hostilities broken only by a couple of brief humanitarian pauses, Eid al-Fitr was supposed to offer respite to both sides and stirred hopes that the hiatus could create the basis for a more formal cease-fire. | After three weeks of hostilities broken only by a couple of brief humanitarian pauses, Eid al-Fitr was supposed to offer respite to both sides and stirred hopes that the hiatus could create the basis for a more formal cease-fire. |
| People came out onto the streets in Gaza City and displaced families filled the Unknown Soldiers Park. | People came out onto the streets in Gaza City and displaced families filled the Unknown Soldiers Park. |
| But the respite’s short duration was foreshadowed early in the day when several rockets and mortars were fired into Israel, and the Israeli military responded with an airstrike and artillery fire, killing a Palestinian man and a 4-year-old boy, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. | But the respite’s short duration was foreshadowed early in the day when several rockets and mortars were fired into Israel, and the Israeli military responded with an airstrike and artillery fire, killing a Palestinian man and a 4-year-old boy, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. |
| The back-and-forth volleying extended into the afternoon, then disaster struck. | The back-and-forth volleying extended into the afternoon, then disaster struck. |
| Munther al-Dirby, 25, said he was sitting on a sidewalk in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp watching children play when two missiles crashed down. | Munther al-Dirby, 25, said he was sitting on a sidewalk in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp watching children play when two missiles crashed down. |
| “I grabbed my son and when I looked up, everyone was scattered in the street,” he said. | “I grabbed my son and when I looked up, everyone was scattered in the street,” he said. |
| Two small craters punctured the asphalt. Shrapnel had shattered the windows of cars and sprayed holes in nearby walls. As ambulances brought the dead one-by-one from the hospital back to the neighborhood, young men held the bodies aloft on stretchers and crowds followed them to the cemetery, chanting, “God is Great!” and “Children are the beloved of God.” | Two small craters punctured the asphalt. Shrapnel had shattered the windows of cars and sprayed holes in nearby walls. As ambulances brought the dead one-by-one from the hospital back to the neighborhood, young men held the bodies aloft on stretchers and crowds followed them to the cemetery, chanting, “God is Great!” and “Children are the beloved of God.” |
| At around the same time another explosion collapsed part of a wall surrounding a building belonging to Shifa Hospital. The blast left a two-foot-deep crater but caused no injuries. The building was marked as an outpatient department but it was clear that it was unused, with missing windows and closed gate. | At around the same time another explosion collapsed part of a wall surrounding a building belonging to Shifa Hospital. The blast left a two-foot-deep crater but caused no injuries. The building was marked as an outpatient department but it was clear that it was unused, with missing windows and closed gate. |
| The Interior Ministry in Gaza said that Israel’s assertion that Palestinian rockets were responsible for the strikes at Shifa and the Shati camp was “a failed attempt to escape from its responsibility for these crimes” and said the bomb squad had “seized remains and ordnance of Israeli shells that landed in these places.” | The Interior Ministry in Gaza said that Israel’s assertion that Palestinian rockets were responsible for the strikes at Shifa and the Shati camp was “a failed attempt to escape from its responsibility for these crimes” and said the bomb squad had “seized remains and ordnance of Israeli shells that landed in these places.” |
| The Israeli military said its radars and sensors had detected the paths of four “terrorist rockets” fired at that time and distributed an aerial photograph tracing their routes. | The Israeli military said its radars and sensors had detected the paths of four “terrorist rockets” fired at that time and distributed an aerial photograph tracing their routes. |
| Besides the two that landed at Shifa and Shati, the military said, one fell into the sea and the other was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile defense system en route to the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. | Besides the two that landed at Shifa and Shati, the military said, one fell into the sea and the other was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile defense system en route to the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. |