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Israel Intercepts Drone Sent From Gaza Israel Intercepts Drone Sent From Gaza
(about 1 hour later)
JERUSALEM — Israel intercepted a drone sent from Gaza on Monday as it flew just off the shore of the port city of Ashdod, about 14 miles north of the Palestinian enclave, adding a new element to a week-old conflict.JERUSALEM — Israel intercepted a drone sent from Gaza on Monday as it flew just off the shore of the port city of Ashdod, about 14 miles north of the Palestinian enclave, adding a new element to a week-old conflict.
The military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for sending a “number of drones” into Israel, describing the event on its website as one of the “surprises” it had promised over the last week and saying the drones had been dispatched on “special missions.” An Israeli military spokesman did not rule out that the possibility that the Palestinians had access to additional drones.The military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for sending a “number of drones” into Israel, describing the event on its website as one of the “surprises” it had promised over the last week and saying the drones had been dispatched on “special missions.” An Israeli military spokesman did not rule out that the possibility that the Palestinians had access to additional drones.
Also on Monday, Israel prepared to file formal charges against three Jews for the kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager earlier this month. The killing, an apparent act of revenge for the deaths of three young Israelis last month, touched off days of protests and further inflamed tensions in Jerusalem and in the Palestinian territories.Also on Monday, Israel prepared to file formal charges against three Jews for the kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager earlier this month. The killing, an apparent act of revenge for the deaths of three young Israelis last month, touched off days of protests and further inflamed tensions in Jerusalem and in the Palestinian territories.
Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said the suspects, a 29-year-old and two 17-year-olds, admitted to abducting and killing Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, and had reenacted the attack. He said they would be formally charged on Friday with kidnapping and premeditated murder. The suspects’ names remain under a judicial gag order, a judge wrote Monday, to protect the rights of the suspects who are minors. Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said the suspects, a 29-year-old and two 17-year-olds, had admitted to abducting and killing Muhammad Abu Khdeir, 16, and had reenacted the attack for investigators. Mr. Rosenfeld said they would be formally charged on Friday with kidnapping and premeditated murder. According to details released on Monday, the Palestinian youth was bludgeoned and set on fire. The identities of the suspects remain under a judicial gag order, partly, a judge wrote Monday, to protect the rights of the suspects who are minors until they have formally been charged.
The death toll in Gaza from Israeli air and missile strikes continued to mount. Pierre Krähenbühl, the commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, which assists Palestinian refugees, said in a press briefing that he was “deeply alarmed and affected by the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and the devastating human and physical toll it is taking on civilians, including Palestine refugees.” The death toll in Gaza from Israeli air and missile strikes has continued to mount. Pierre Krähenbühl, the commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, which assists Palestinian refugees, said in a news briefing that he was “deeply alarmed and affected by the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and the devastating human and physical toll it is taking on civilians, including Palestine refugees.”
He put the latest casualty numbers there at 174 killed and over 1,100 wounded, adding indications are that “women and children make up a sizable number of victims of the current strikes.” He put the latest casualty numbers there at 174 killed and over 1,100 wounded, adding that it seemed “women and children make up a sizable number of victims of the current strikes.”
According to a statement issued by his office, Mr. Krähenbühl urgently called on the Israeli army to “put an end to attacks against, or endangering, civilians and civilian infrastructure which are contrary to international humanitarian law.” According to a statement issued by his office, Mr. Krähenbühl called on the Israeli army to “put an end to attacks against, or endangering, civilians and civilian infrastructure which are contrary to international humanitarian law.”
He also called for an end to rocket fire from Gaza aimed at Israel, which the United Nations has described as indiscriminate.He also called for an end to rocket fire from Gaza aimed at Israel, which the United Nations has described as indiscriminate.
It was not immediately clear whether the drone was carrying explosives or surveillance equipment. The Israeli military said it had shot down the drone with a Patriot surface-to-air missile. Israeli military officials say they are operating with as much caution as possible to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza and have taken pains to explain the challenging environment in which they are operating. They describe Hamas rockets and launchers placed in and by homes and near schools and hospitals, and accuse Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza of using the local population as a human shield.
“It was shot to smithereens,” Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an army spokesman, said, adding that the navy was searching for remnants of the drone along the coast. Colonel Lerner said that military scanners had picked up the drone as it took off from Gaza and that it was shot down in a location that posed the least risk to civilians. In a telephone interview, the head of the 107 Squadron of F-16I fighters currently engaged in the aerial offensive in Gaza, said the air force was working methodically and surgically and according to “a clear policy of minimum harm to civilians” but that everybody knew it was not a “sterile area.” The squadron commander could not be identified under military rules.
It was not immediately clear whether the Hamas drone that was intercepted had been carrying explosives or surveillance equipment. The Israeli military said it had shot down the drone with a Patriot surface-to-air missile.
“It was shot to smithereens,” Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an army spokesman, said, adding that the navy was searching for remnants of the drone along the coast. Colonel Lerner said that military scanners had picked up the drone as it took off from Gaza and that it had been shot down in a location that posed the least risk to civilians.
Israel’s defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, said in a statement on Monday that the downing of the Hamas drone was “an example of the attempts to continue to harm us by any means, and of the preparedness of the Israel Defense Forces,” and that “Hamas is trying to chalk up an achievement at any price.”Israel’s defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, said in a statement on Monday that the downing of the Hamas drone was “an example of the attempts to continue to harm us by any means, and of the preparedness of the Israel Defense Forces,” and that “Hamas is trying to chalk up an achievement at any price.”
Israel destroyed a drone-manufacturing facility in Gaza during a previous round of cross-border fighting, in November 2012, and has intercepted at least two drones in Israeli airspace that were dispatched by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite organization to the north, in the last couple of years. The drone on Monday, however, was thought to be the first to have entered Israel from Gaza.Israel destroyed a drone-manufacturing facility in Gaza during a previous round of cross-border fighting, in November 2012, and has intercepted at least two drones in Israeli airspace that were dispatched by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite organization to the north, in the last couple of years. The drone on Monday, however, was thought to be the first to have entered Israel from Gaza.
Despite growing international calls for a cease-fire, Israel continued its air offensive in Gaza and rockets continued to fly into Israel on Monday. International alarm has been growing over the rising death toll among Palestinians in Gaza — more than half of them noncombatants. More than 1,100 people have also been wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Despite growing international calls for a cease-fire, Israel continued its air offensive in Gaza and rockets continued to fly into Israel on Monday. International alarm has been growing over the rising death toll among Palestinians in Gaza — about half of them noncombatants, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. More than 1,100 people have also been wounded, the health ministry said.
Israeli troops are massed at the Gaza border, where they are awaiting a government decision about whether to embark on a ground operation – a development that would likely bring significantly more casualties. Israeli troops are massed at the border with Gaza, where they are awaiting a government decision about whether to embark on a ground operation – a development that would likely bring significantly more casualties.
Also Monday a Palestinian man was fatally shot by the Israeli military during a clash in the village of Samua in the southern West Bank, according to Palestinian news reports and the military. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, identified the dead man as Munir Ahmed Hamdan Al-Badarin, 21. Also on Monday, a Palestinian man was shot dead by the Israeli military during a clash in the village of Samua in the southern West Bank, according to Palestinian news reports and the military. The official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, identified the dead man as Munir Ahmed Hamdan al-Badarin, 21.
A military spokesman said initial information indicated that a several Palestinians were throwing stones and firebombs at Israeli cars and that a soldier or soldiers opened fire. He added that the episode was under investigation by the military authorities. An Israeli military spokesman said initial information indicated that several Palestinians had been throwing stones and firebombs at Israeli cars and that a soldier or soldiers opened fire. The spokesman added that the episode was under investigation by the military authorities.
The West Bank has been particularly restive since the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers there last month and the subsequent revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem. As part of a broad search for the missing Israeli teenagers the military carried out the harshest clampdown in the West Bank in a decade aimed against Hamas, which Israel blamed for the kidnappings. Scores of institutions were raided and hundreds of Palestinians, many of them affiliated with Hamas, were arrested. The West Bank has been particularly restive since the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers there last month and the subsequent revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem. As part of a broad search for the missing Israeli teenagers, the military carried out the harshest clampdown in the West Bank in a decade aimed against Hamas, which Israel blamed for the kidnappings. Scores of institutions were raided and hundreds of Palestinians, many of them affiliated with Hamas, were arrested.
The tensions in the West Bank spread to the Gaza border, where the hostilities escalated into full-blown confrontation.The tensions in the West Bank spread to the Gaza border, where the hostilities escalated into full-blown confrontation.
President Mahmoud Abbas of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority was expected to discuss efforts to end the violence at a meeting of the Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo later on Monday. Jamal Shobaki, the Palestinian ambassador to Egypt, told Palestinian radio on Monday that Mr. Abbas was in contact with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt as part of an effort to halt the Israeli offensive in Gaza. President Mahmoud Abbas of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority was expected to travel to Cairo later Monday or on Tuesday to discuss efforts to end the violence, according to Xavier Abu Eid, a Palestinian official. Jamal Shobaki, the Palestinian ambassador to Egypt, told Palestinian radio on Monday that Mr. Abbas was in contact with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt as part of an effort to halt the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas have begun laying out their conditions for a cease-fire deal, but officials on both sides said Sunday that there was no firm proposal or active mediator in place yet. Israel and Hamas have begun laying out their conditions for a cease-fire deal, but officials on both sides said on Sunday that there was no firm proposal or active mediator in place yet.
Israeli military officials say that Hamas is looking for an “image of victory” before it gives up. They have also suggested that the militants are frustrated by the lack of Israeli fatalities so far in the fighting, something that has been largely attributed to Israel’s sophisticated Iron Dome missile defense system, which has intercepted most of the rockets heading for built-up areas, and to Israelis quickly seeking shelter after hearing warning sirens. In addition, the rockets are largely inaccurate, many falling in open ground outside cities.Israeli military officials say that Hamas is looking for an “image of victory” before it gives up. They have also suggested that the militants are frustrated by the lack of Israeli fatalities so far in the fighting, something that has been largely attributed to Israel’s sophisticated Iron Dome missile defense system, which has intercepted most of the rockets heading for built-up areas, and to Israelis quickly seeking shelter after hearing warning sirens. In addition, the rockets are largely inaccurate, many falling in open ground outside cities.
Hamas has fired about 1,000 rockets into Israel in the past week, including some that have reached as far north as the Hadera area, south of the port city of Haifa. Several have been intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system over the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas, but others have struck cities in the south, causing injuries and property damage.Hamas has fired about 1,000 rockets into Israel in the past week, including some that have reached as far north as the Hadera area, south of the port city of Haifa. Several have been intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system over the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas, but others have struck cities in the south, causing injuries and property damage.