A growing trend in the news over the past few days involves the widespread protests against Israel. We know to expect this, but on this occasion (with Israel facing over 100 rockets per day from the Gaza strip) it seems more irrational than usual. To say the least.
Erdogan Calls Israel More Barbaric Than Hitler
Anti-Israel Protesters In Paris Defy Ban, Clash With Police
Thousands In Chile Protest IDF Gaza Operation
IDF Intensifies Search For Terror Tunnels After 2 Soldiers Killed In Morning Hamas Raid
The Times of Israel is liveblogging events as they unfold through Saturday, the twelfth day of Operation Protective Edge. Two IDF soldiers — Major (res.) Amotz Greenberg, 45, and Sgt. Adar Barsano, 20 — were killed after a Hamas terror cell infiltrated Israel through a tunnel and exchanged fire with an IDF patrol. One gunman was killed while others escaped back to Gaza. An Israeli man was killed and four of his family members injured as a rocket hit a Bedouin community near Dimona. The army said it planned to expand its operations in the Gaza Strip after uncovering 13 terror tunnels on the Gaza border. Palestinian sources put the total Gaza death toll to date at over 320.
The Times of Israel is liveblogging events as they unfold through Saturday, the twelfth day of Operation Protective Edge. A Hamas terror cell infiltrated Israel through a tunnel and exchanged fire with IDF troops, wounding four of them. One gunman was killed while others escaped back to Gaza. An Israeli man was killed and four of his family members injured as a rocket hit a Bedouin community near Dimona. The army said it planned to expand its operations in the Gaza Strip after uncovering 13 terror tunnels on the Gaza border. Palestinian sources put the total Gaza death toll to date at over 320. Late Friday, IDF Chief Benny Gantz said Hamas’s terror infrastructure was being set back years, and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said Israel would restore security and calm for its civilians one way or another; she pointedly did not rule out bringing down Hamas. (Friday’s liveblog is here.) Remember, you can also follow @TOIAlerts on Twitter — we’re live-tweeting all the updates there as well.
IDF set to expand ground op, go further into Gaza
The IDF is set to expand its ground offensive in Gaza, moving further into the Palestinian enclave.
To date, IDF forces have generally not entered more than three kilometers into Gaza.Channel 2 says more reservists and standing army forces, not hitherto involved, may be utilized.
The IDF has numerous targets for ground forces to tackle, the report says.
The IDF began mobilizing large forces near the Gaza border on Saturday afternoon, for a possible expansion of its ground operation inside the coastal Strip hours after unearthing a series of tunnels believed for suspected use in terror attacks.
Israel sent its ground troops into the area late Thursday night, after the aerial bombardment stage of what it calls Operation Protective Edge failed to halt rocket fire on its southern and central communities. Israel says it has encountered little resistance on the ground so far, and has killed about 20 militants in sporadic gunbattles.
Israeli officials - including Prime Minister Netanyahu - are hinting that the ground operation launched by the IDF may last "months" and that the ultimate goal may be to occupy all of the Gaza strip.
The main target of Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza are secret tunnels linking it to Israel, like the one Israel says Hamas militants used this week in an attempt to infiltrate and attack it. Still, Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs, said that Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” could result in Israel taking control of the entire Gaza Strip.
“The tunnels are the target of this operation, but alongside that, I don’t rule out the possibility of addition stages, of Stage B and Stage C, and the expansion of this operation,” Steinitz said in a speech following Netanyahu’s and broadcast on Israel Radio. “We will weigh all options in coordination with the needs of the operation, and even though we’re not interested in it, the possibility of taking control of the entire Gaza Strip to eliminate the possibility of launching missiles from there.”
One person was killed and three others were wounded near Dimona at around noon Saturday by a rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip.
The four, including a baby and small boy, are all members of the same family from a local Bedouin community. They were taken to hospital in Dimona by relatives after the strike, and the 32-year-old man died shortly after arrival. The man was later identified as Aluj Aday, 32, from one of the Bedouin villages in Israel's Negev desert region,
Of the wounded, a five-year-old boy sustained light wounds, a four-month-old baby is in serious condition and a woman suffered moderate wounds. The children were taken to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva for further treatment.
Israel's southern residents have been under heavy rocket fire throughout Saturday, with sirens wailing every few minutes, and the Iron Dome missile defense system repeatedly in action.
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[Just enough time for Iran to complete their nuclear development]
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