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Despite Israeli Push in Gaza, Hamas Fighters Slip Through Tunnels Despite Israeli Push in Gaza, Hamas Fighters Slip Through Tunnels
(about 4 hours later)
GAZA CITY — Eight Palestinian militants emerged from a tunnel some 300 yards inside Israel on Saturday morning, surprising an Israeli border patrol with a rocket-propelled grenade shot at their jeeps and starting a gun battle that left two Israeli soldiers and one militant dead before the Palestinians retreated underground, the Israeli military said. GAZA CITY — Eight Palestinian militants emerged from a tunnel some 300 yards inside Israel on Saturday morning, armed with automatic weapons and wearing Israeli military uniforms, the Israeli military said. The gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade at two Israeli military jeeps on patrol, starting a battle that killed two Israeli officers and one of the militants, according to the military. The rest then retreated underground, back to Gaza.
Saturday afternoon, two more militants entered Israel, a military spokesman said, either through a tunnel or breaching the border fence, and carrying tranquilizers and handcuffs. Israeli soldiers fatally shot one; the other was wearing an explosive vest that detonated, killing him. Hours later, another militant slipped through a different tunnel into Israeli territory and, according to the military, fired on troops who killed him. Hours later, the military says, two more militants entered Israel either through a tunnel or by breaching the border fence. The Israelis reported the men were carrying tranquilizers and handcuffs; one militant was fatally shot and the other died when the explosive belt he was wearing detonated, a military spokesman said.
The infiltrations came as the Israeli military pressed deeper into Gaza in an intensifying ground war it says is meant to destroy a labyrinth of tunnels leading from Gaza into Israel before they can be used for launching attacks. And Saturday night, in yet another incursion, a militant slipped through a different tunnel into Israeli territory and, according to the military, fired on troops who killed him.
The morning clash was the first time in the current war that the militants killed soldiers inside Israel, and came just three days after another infiltration that the military said was the immediate trigger for adding a ground invasion to a deadly air campaign. The infiltrations came even as the Israeli military pressed deeper into Gaza, killing 62 Palestinians in an intensifying ground war it says is focused on destroying a labyrinth of tunnels before they can be used for launching attacks.
The developments also came as Israeli officials revealed that the tunnel network was far more extensive than had been publicly known, with 13 tunnels discovered and an estimated dozens more suspected. Though the government has said the ground campaign will be limited and aimed only at the tunnels, the growing intensity of the battles that are pushing deeper into civilian areas suggested that the fighting could grow far worse. The morning clash was the first time in the current war that the militants killed soldiers inside Israel. It came just three days after 13 Hamas gunmen poured from another tunnel into Israel in an attempted assault. Israeli officials framed the encounters as successes in thwarting attacks on Israel. But they were also an indication that Hamas could strike even during the invasion through a tunnel network that Israeli officials just revealed they had been studying for a year to plan a way to destroy them.
Already, tens of thousands have been forced to flee. At one hospital in northern Gaza, the director said that 50 casualties arrived in just three hours Saturday morning, a number that had been typical for an entire day during Israel’s air campaign that began on July 8. The Israelis dropped leaflets urging residents of two crowded refugee camps, Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi, to evacuate, raising alarms from the United Nations, which said that shelters were already overwhelmed and in danger of running out of supplies. Though the government has said the ground campaign will be limited and focused on the tunnels, the growing intensity of the battles that are pushing deeper into civilian areas suggested that the impact on Gaza’s civilians could grow far worse.
Among the dead in recent fighting were eight members of a Palestinian family, including four children, killed by an Israeli artillery barrage on Friday night. During the funeral on Saturday, artillery and small-arms fire echoed nearby from clashes between militants and Israeli forces. Hamas rockets whooshed into the sky from a nearby launch site, and some mourners hurried away before the ceremony was over. Already, tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been forced to flee. The day’s death toll appeared to be the highest so far, and at one hospital in northern Gaza, the director said that 40 casualties arrived in just four hours Saturday morning, a number that had been typical for an entire day before the ground invasion.
Tunnels under the border with Gaza have had a powerful hold on the Israeli psyche since 2006, when Hamas fighters used one to capture an army lieutenant, Gilad Shalit, who was held for six years. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman, said a task force had been working for a year on a plan for a ground invasion to destroy the tunnels. The Palestinian death toll in Gaza during the war rose to 334, with more than 2,400 wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said. About 75 percent of the casualties have been civilians, according to a United Nations count.
Israeli troops have uncovered 13 tunnels from Gaza into Israel since the start of the ground operation, some of them as much as 30 yards underground, with multiple entry points beneath greenhouses and open fields, he said on Saturday. He added that the 13 tunnels, which he now said were under Israeli control, were all over the periphery of Gaza and that he believed there were “tens” more. The Israeli military dropped leaflets urging residents of additional areas, including two crowded refugee camps, Al-Bureij and Al-Maghazi, to evacuate, raising alarms from the United Nations, which said that shelters were already overwhelmed and in danger of running out of supplies. More than 63,000 people have flocked to official shelters, a number that has tripled in two days, and many more have taken refuge with friends and family.
The military said the infiltrators on Saturday had planned “a lethal attack” in a nearby community, but did not name the town. Among the conflict victims buried Saturday in Gaza were eight members of the Abu Jarad family, including four children, killed by an Israeli artillery barrage Friday night. During their funeral Saturday, artillery and small arms fire echoed nearby from clashes between Hamas militants and Israeli forces. Hamas rockets whooshed into the sky from a nearby launch site, and some mourners hurried away before the ceremony was over.
Lerner said troops were in the process of demolishing the tunnels, and have been engaged in “urban warfare” inside Gaza. Hamas on Saturday night issued a statement giving its own version of the infiltrations, describing them as one of several “surprises” it had in store for the “army of occupation” in revenge for those killed during “its aggression on Gaza.” It said 12 fighters went “behind enemy lines” and could have attacked civilian areas, but waited six hours to confront the army directly. The group claimed it had destroyed three jeeps and killed six soldiers, and tweeted photos of M-16 rifles it said it had captured in the raid.
Hamas militants were fighting back with antitank missiles, small-arms fire and grenades, Colonel Lerner said Before the first tunnel incursion last week, Israel had explained its latest assault on Gaza as a way of quieting a drastic increase of rocket fire from the area after weeks of heightened tensions over the killings of Israeli and Palestinian youths.
A rocket fired from Gaza killed an Israeli, Odeh Lafia al-Waj, 32, in a Bedouin village near Dimona, injuring four members of his family, including a three-month-old girl who was critically hurt. He was the first Israeli civilian killed by one of about 1,600 rockets fired by Hamas, most of which are intercepted by defense systems or fall in open fields; another was killed by a mortar shell close to Gaza. But tunnels under the border have had a powerful hold on the Israeli psyche since 2006, when Hamas fighters used one to capture an army lieutenant, Gilad Shalit, who was held for six years.
The Palestinian death toll in Gaza rose to 301 since July 8, including 72 children, 24 women and 18 elderly people, with more than 2,000 wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said. About 75 percent of the casualties have been civilians, according to a United Nations count. “You need an event along the scale of the current event in order for you to be able to go in,” Yair Lapid, the Israeli finance minister, said on Israeli television Saturday. “After all, had we gone into Gaza three months ago, out of the blue, everyone would have said: Why are you entering Gaza?”
As the funeral procession for the Abu Jarad family wound through the streets of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, men took turns carrying the bodies of an infant and a toddler, wrapped in bloody white shrouds. Adults’ bodies were wrapped in the yellow flags of Hamas’s rival party, Fatah. In recent months, Hamas officials have been referring to the tunnels as part of their strategy for battling Israel. In March, a former Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniya, said in a speech before thousands of supporters in Gaza City that tunnels open “a new strategy in confronting the occupation and in the conflict with the enemy from underground and from above the ground.”
In Gaza’s Khan Younis, seven people were killed, mostly men, and others were wounded when a drone struck a group of people in the middle of the city, the health ministry said. Officials often portrayed the tunnels as crucial to being able to abduct Israelis to trade for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The number of Palestinians who have left their homes for official United Nations shelters reached 50,000, according to a U.N. spokesman. But the true number of those who have fled was likely much higher, as most have taken refuge with friends and family. Israeli troops have uncovered and taken control of 13 tunnels so far, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said, running as much as 30 yards underground and sturdily built with what the military estimates is 600,000 tons of concrete. Concrete is a precious resource in Gaza, with most imports banned except for international projects, so it appeared that the material came through tunnels from Egypt or was diverted from its intended purpose. The lack of concrete for building has left many Gazans unable to rebuild homes and without work.
The Israeli military planned to distribute more leaflets Saturday advising residents of Khan Younis, and the nearby refugee camps — extremely crowded areas — to evacuate, Colonel Lerner said. Colonel Lerner added that the tunnels were all over the periphery of Gaza and he believed there were “tens” more.
But many Gaza residents say they are unsure where to go, since fighter jets and drones may strike anywhere. Israel blames Hamas for operating in residential areas, and has urged Palestinians to move away from the group’s personnel and rocket launch sites and to pressure Hamas not to use their neighborhoods. Civilians here say they have little sway over armed Hamas militants and do not always know that they are operating nearby until it is too late. He said troops were in the process of demolishing the tunnels, and have been engaged in “urban warfare” inside Gaza. Hamas militants were fighting back with antitank missiles, small-arms fire and grenades, Colonel Lerner said.
Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works agency, said, “The number of displaced Palestinians seeking shelter in Unrwa schools in Gaza doubled in the last 36 hours and now stands at over 50,000. This is the same level as during the Gaza conflict in 2008/9. It is rising. A rocket fired from Gaza killed an Israeli, Odeh Lafia al-Waj, 32, in a Bedouin village near Dimona, wounding four members of his family, including a three-month-old girl who was critically hurt. He was the first Israeli civilian killed by one of about 1,600 rockets fired by Hamas, most of which are intercepted by defense systems or fall in open fields. Another Israeli had been killed last week by a mortar shell close to Gaza.
“We have accommodated those fleeing the fighting in 44 schools. However, Unrwa is extremely concerned that a more intensive military operation will see these numbers rise even higher, causing additional burden on an already vulnerable population. Unrwa is especially concerned about the impact this is having on the 1.2 million refugees it serves, the majority of whom were already reliant on food and other assistance from the organization.” Meanwhile, in northern Gaza, scores were buried. In Khan Younis to the south, seven people were killed, mostly men, and others were wounded when a drone struck a group of people in the middle of the city, the health ministry said.
He said the military was working with international organizations to help them find safe harbor, but he acknowledged that there were not enough places to go. Four Israeli rockets struck a building in Rafah on the same floor where a dozen foreign and Palestinian journalists were working in an office. They narrowly escaped, and Israel later issued a statement saying it was not responsible for journalists’ safety.
“The alternative is that they stay put and that is more dangerous to them and that’s why we advise them to leave the area and take refuge, at least temporarily,” Colonel Lerner said. “We are directing them toward safer zones, safer areas, away from the areas where we plan to operate.” Many Gaza residents say they are unsure where to go for safety. Israel blames Hamas for operating in residential areas, and has urged Palestinians to move away from the group’s personnel and rocket launch sites and to pressure Hamas not to use their neighborhoods. Civilians here say they have little sway over armed Hamas militants and do not always know that they are operating nearby until it is too late.
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said it was “extremely concerned” that a more intensive military operation would sharply increase the numbers fleeing within Gaza, where people are effectively trapped by border restrictions, and noted that the number of displaced people had already outpaced that in the Gaza conflict in 2008 and 2009.