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Israel’s Operation in Gaza to Last as Long as Necessary, Netanyahu Says Soldier Thought to Be Captured Was Killed in Battle, Israel Says
(about 3 hours later)
JERUSALEM — Israel will continue its military campaign in the Gaza Strip as long as necessary to stop Hamas attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday evening. But he added that once the army’s operations to destroy tunnels into Israel are completed, Israel will decide how to redeploy its forces, suggesting a de-escalation of the ground war in Gaza. JERUSALEM — The Israeli military announced early Sunday morning that Second Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, who had been thought captured by Palestinian militants since a deadly clash Friday morning that shattered a planned 72-hour cease-fire, was now considered to have been killed in battle.
“From the beginning, we promised to return the quiet to Israel’s citizens, and we will continue to act until that aim is achieved,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a nationally televised statement, with his defense minister beside him. “We will take as much time as necessary, and will exert as much force as needed.” A military spokeswoman declined to say whether Lieutenant Goldin had been killed along with two comrades by a suicide bomb one of the militants exploded, or later by Israel’s assault on the area to hunt for him; she also refused to answer whether remains had been recovered.
Israel was not ending its operation unilaterally, he said, adding, “We will deploy in the places most convenient to us.” Earlier, on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue its military campaign in the Gaza Strip as long as necessary to stop Hamas attacks on Israel, while suggesting a de-escalation of the ground war in Gaza may be near.As the death toll mounts to more than 1,650 Palestinians, many of them women and children, and pictures of homes, mosques and schools smashed into rubble fill the media, Mr. Netanyahu is under considerable international pressure, from Washington and Europe, to end the conflict. The United Nations warned starkly of “an unfolding health disaster” in Gaza with little electricity, bad water and a shortage of medical supplies. At the same time, Mr. Netanyahu is under political pressure at home to deliver on his promises to crush Hamas, particularly with 63 Israeli soldiers dead and Sunday’s announcement that the officer captured by Hamas was now considered dead. He insisted Saturday that Hamas had been severely hurt and he warned that it would pay “an intolerable price” if it continues to fire rockets at Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu praised the United States for supporting Israel, and asked for international help to rebuild Gaza and secure its “demilitarization.” His former deputy defense minister, Danny Danon, who was fired by Mr. Netanyahu for public criticism of the government, said in a statement Saturday that “the cabinet is gravely mistaken in its decision to withdraw forces from Gaza. This is a step in the wrong direction.”
Earlier Saturday, the armed wing of Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian faction that dominates the coastal strip, said that it was not holding an Israeli officer who has been missing since a deadly clash Friday that shattered a planned 72-hour cease-fire. But Mr. Netanyahu, in a nationally televised speech with his defense minister beside him, insisted that Israel was achieving its goals and could alter its tactics. “We promised to return the quiet to Israel’s citizens and we will continue to act until that aim is achieved,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “We will take as much time as necessary, and will exert as much force as needed.”
The Qassam Brigades, which have led the 26-day-old battle with Israel, suggested in a statement that the officer might have been killed along with his captors in an Israeli assault that followed an attack by Palestinian militants, who emerged from a tunnel that Israeli troops were trying to destroy near the southern border town of Rafah. Two Israelis were killed in the attack, bringing the military’s casualty count to 63. Israel was not ending its operation unilaterally, he said, adding: “We will deploy in the places most convenient to us to reduce friction on I.D.F. soldiers, because we care about them.” There were Israeli television reports on Saturday that some forces were pulling out of Gaza, and Israel informed Palestinians in Beit Lahiya and al-Atatra, in northern Gaza, that it was now safe to return to their homes. Israeli officials have said that the army’s effort to destroy the elaborate tunnel system from Gaza into Israel would be finished in the next day or two.
“Until now, we have no idea about the disappearance of the Israeli soldier,” the statement read. “We do not know his whereabouts or the conditions of his disappearance.” Saying the leadership had lost touch with its “troops deployed in the ambush,” the statement added, “Our account is that the soldier could have been kidnapped and killed together with our fighters.” Israeli officials suggested that the army would leave built-up areas and some forces would redeploy inside Gaza, closer to the border fence, in order to respond to attacks if necessary. Others units will return to southern Israel.
The statement repeated earlier assertions by Hamas leaders that the clash on Friday had occurred at 7 a.m., an hour before the onset of the cease-fire secured by the United Nations and Secretary of State John Kerry. The Israeli military said the attack occurred at 9:20 a.m., and Mr. Kerry, President Obama and the United Nations appeared to accept that account, with statements Friday that clearly blamed Hamas for the cease-fire’s breakdown and demanded that the group immediately and unconditionally release the captive. Hamas, for its part, vowed to continue fighting. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, told the news agency Maan that “a unilateral withdrawal or redeployment by Israel in the Strip will be answered by a fitting response by the Hamas military arm.” He said that “the forces of occupation must choose between remaining in Gaza and paying the price or retreating and paying the price or holding negotiations and paying the price."Mr. Netanyahu thanked the United States, which along with the United Nations appeared to support Israel’s position that Hamas’s actions violated the cease-fire, and he asked for international help to rebuild Gaza on the condition of its “demilitarization.” Israel appears to be hoping that with the support of Egypt and the international community, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas can control Gaza through a unity government agreed upon with Hamas and take responsibility for security there and for the Rafah crossing to Egypt.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said Saturday morning that the search for the officer, Second Lt. Hadar Goldin, had not progressed, but that Israeli forces “have increased our activities.” Mr. Netanyahu repeated that his goal was to restore “peace and calm” to Israel and that he intended to do so by whatever means — diplomatically or militarily. “All options are on the table,” he said. But he indicated that Israel would not get caught up again in discussions about a negotiated cease-fire with Hamas and Islamic Jihad and would act in its own interests, while seeking support from Mr. Abbas and the international community for what Mr. Netanyahu described vaguely as “a new reality” in Gaza.
A military statement said Israeli forces had struck more than 200 targets across Gaza in the 24 hours since the Rafah confrontation, including what it described as a research and development lab for weapons manufacturing at the Islamic University. Five mosques that the military said concealed weapons or Hamas outposts were also hit, according to the statement, along with a launcher used to fire rockets toward Tel Aviv around 6 a.m. Saturday. Around noon, a barrage of rockets flew into southern Israel. Israel has decided not to send a delegation to cease-fire talks hosted by Egypt, at least not now, Israeli officials said.
The Gaza-based Health Ministry, which had reported 70 people killed in Rafah on Friday, said the casualties had continued there overnight, including seven members of one family who died when their home was bombed. More than 1,650 Palestinians have now been killed in the operation, the ministry said. Mr. Netanyahu said he had no new information on the condition of Second Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, the Israeli officer who has been missing since a deadly clash Friday that shattered a planned 72-hour cease-fire.
Rafah’s main hospital was evacuated overnight amid the violence, leaving injured people scrambling to find treatment at small clinics on the other side of the city, according to Gaza-based journalists. The soldier’s parents called on the prime minister and on the army not to leave their son behind.
There was no electricity in the area, and Israeli news outlets reported that troops had sealed all the roads out of Rafah to the north. Israeli tanks were seen along the Philadelphi route, which runs along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt and has long been riddled with smuggling tunnels, though Egypt has shut many of them down over the past year. Firefights and heavy airstrikes were reported in the area. Hours before, as word spread that Israel’s leaders were considering pulling all ground forces from Gaza, Lieutenant Goldin’s family spoke to journalists outside their home in the Tel Aviv suburb Kfar Saba. “I demand that the state of Israel not leave Gaza until they bring my son back home,” said his mother, Hedva. His sister, Ayelet, 35, added, “If a captive soldier is left in Gaza, it’s a defeat.”
Palestinian officials said Saturday that they still planned to send a delegation to Cairo for talks that could start on Sunday. The family said they were convinced that Lieutenant Goldin is alive.
Before Friday’s attack, the 12-member team was to be led by Azzam al-Ahmed of the Palestinian Fatah faction — who is aligned with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, and who helped negotiate an April reconciliation pact between Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization — and was to include five Hamas members and two from Islamic Jihad, another Gaza-based militant group. But it was unclear on Saturday whether the Egyptians would allow in anyone based in Gaza. “I hope and believe in human kindness, that the world will do anything to bring Hadar with a smile back home,” his brother Chemi, 32, said in an interview.
The Israeli military on Saturday informed residents of the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, which had been under heavy bombardment, that they could safely return to their homes. Some analysts said this indicated that Israel was planning a unilateral withdrawal of its ground troops, but Mr. Netanyahu made clear Saturday that Israel would continue to target tunnels and would consider redeploying its forces in Gaza only when the military decided that the operation was complete. When his mother called him on Friday, Chemi said, he knew something terrible had happened, but did not know whether Lieutenant Goldin or his twin, Tzur, who was also fighting in Gaza, was involved. Chemi said the twins, who attended kindergarten in Cambridge, England, did not talk much about their military service. In Gaza, the armed wing of Hamas said early Saturday that it was not holding the Israeli officer. The Qassam Brigades suggested in a statement that the officer might have been killed along with his captors in an Israeli assault that followed a suicide-bomb attack by Palestinian militants, who emerged from a tunnel that Israeli troops were trying to destroy near the southern border town of Rafah.
“After completing the anti-tunnel operation, the I.D.F. will act and continue to act, in accordance with our security needs and only according to our defense needs,” Mr. Netanyahu said in his televised speech, referring to the Israel Defense Forces. “Until now, we have no idea about the disappearance of the Israeli soldier,” the statement said. Saying the leadership had lost touch with its “troops deployed in the ambush,” the statement added, “Our account is that the soldier could have been kidnapped and killed together with our fighters.”
An Israeli government official sent a statement to journalists on Saturday morning demanding “a strong and swift response” by the international community to the apparent capture of Lieutenant Goldin, including “practical steps” to return him. The Israeli Army continued to pound Rafah in its search for Lieutenant Goldin, striking more than 200 targets across Gaza in the 24 hours since the Rafah confrontation, including what it described as a “research and development” lab for weapons manufacturing at the Islamic University, run by Hamas. Five mosques that the military said concealed weapons or Hamas outposts were also hit, according to the Israelis.
“Israel received a clear-cut assurance that Hamas has accepted a cease-fire for 72 hours without preconditions,” said the statement, also citing the involvement of Qatar, which has been a financial patron of Hamas and represented it in the diplomatic discussions. “Hamas and Qatar defied the U.S. and the U.N. by breaching a clear-cut commitment that was given to them.” Around noon, a barrage of rockets flew into southern Israel.
The Associated Press reported that Mr. Netanyahu had expressed frustration with Washington’s diplomatic efforts in a Friday phone call to Dan Shapiro, the United States ambassador to Israel. Mr. Netanyahu told Mr. Shapiro he expected the Obama administration to back Israel’s Gaza offensive and “not to ever second-guess me again” regarding Hamas, The A.P. said, citing people familiar with the conversation. The Gaza-based health ministry, which had reported 70 people killed in Rafah on Friday, said the casualties had continued there overnight, including seven members of one family who died when their home was bombed.
Asked about the report, Mr. Shapiro declined to comment.
The Qassam Brigades’ latest statement underscored the ongoing challenge of matching international diplomacy to the asymmetrical combat on the ground.
Mr. Kerry had said that during the planned cease-fire, Israel could continue operations to destroy tunnels into its territory — the stated goal of the ground campaign that it began on July 17. Hamas had rejected an earlier pause in the fighting because of this condition demanded by Israel. Many in Gaza found the condition fundamentally unfair, viewing it as essentially saying that one side could continue its operation and the other could not.
Qassam said it had agreed only to stop firing rockets on “Zionist towns and cities” for the 72-hour pause.
“On the operational level,” it said in its statement, “we can’t cease firing against the troops advancing into Gaza, which work and move all the time so they could collide with our ambushes. This will definitely lead to clashes.”