Friday, August 22, 2014

Israeli 4 Year Old Killed In Mortar Fire, Netanyahu: Hamas Will Pay Heavy Price




Four Year Old Killed In Mortar Fire


A four-year-old Israeli boy was killed by a mortar shell fired from the Gaza Strip on Friday afternoon. The boy, named late Friday as Daniel Tragerman, was at home with his parents and siblings at their kibbutz in the Sha’ar Hanegev Region, close to the border with Gaza, when the attack took place.

An Israeli army spokesperson said the fatal shell was fired from near an UNRWA shelter in Gaza. Earlier, Israeli officials had said it was fired from an UNRWA school — an asserted the IDF later corrected.


Sirens wailed only very shortly before the mortar shell struck outside the Tragerman family home at the kibbutz, and his parents — Doron and Gila — were unable to get their son Daniel into their protected room in time. He was killed by shrapnel from the explosion that smashed into the house.

He was critically wounded, and later died of his wounds.
Several cars and buildings sustained damage from the fire following the explosion of the mortar shell.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would pay a “heavy price” for the killing. In a phone call to local Sha’ar Hanegev council head Alon Shuster, Netanyahu said the IDF and Shin Bet would intensify their operations against Hamas and other Gaza terror groups until sustained calm was guaranteed for Israel.
Shuster said the family had only recently returned to their home, having stayed elsewhere during part of the war.
US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro condemned the attack. “I condemn in the strongest terms this outrageous terrorist attack and offer condolences to the boy’s family. Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself, which the United States supports,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Tragerman was the first Israeli fatality since Hamas breached a truce on Tuesday and resumed rocket fire at Israel, prompting a re-escalation of fighting and the collapse of ceasefire talks in Cairo.
One person was in critical condition, and two others were lightly injured, in a separate rocket attack in the Ashdod area later Friday.
By Friday evening, Gaza-based terror groups had fired over 110 rockets and mortar shells into Israel since the morning. Sirens sounded across southern and central Israel as a barrage of rockets was launched in the late afternoon hours.







Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday evening warned Hamas that it would “pay a heavy price” after a four-year-old boy was killed in a mortar attack on southern Israel.
"On behalf of the citizens of Israel, I express my deep sorrow and send condolences to the family of the child. At this difficult moment I wish to strengthen the citizens of Israel,"  Netanyahu added.
"The IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) will intensify the operations against Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in Gaza until the goals of Operation Protective Edge are achieved,” he declared.

Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, condemned the incident as well.
“I've just heard the terrible news that a 4-year-old child was killed by a mortar strike in the south. I condemn in the strongest terms this outrageous terrorist attack and offer condolences to the boy's family. Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself, which the United States supports,” wrote Shapiro on his Facebook page.

Friday’s incident occurred in a kibbutz in the Sha'ar Hanegev regional council. According to Channel 2 News, terrorists in Gaza fired a barrage of mortars at the kibbutz, one of which exploded in a location near where the boy was standing.
The boy sustained critical injuries, and rescue services rushed him to hospital. A short time later, he was pronounced dead.
Gaza terrorists fired more than 90 rockets at Israel on Friday, and the attacks continued throughout the evening.
At least eight rockets and mortars exploded in the Eshkol region shortly after 8:00 p.m. No one was physically injured and there was no damage, as the rockets exploded in open areas.







Israel’s objective in its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip must be to defeat the Islamist terror organization and render the group incapable of orchestrating any further attacks against the Jewish state, Avigdor Liberman said in a Friday night TV interview.
“Our strategic goal as a state must be either to defeat or force the surrender of Hamas,” the foreign minister said during an interview with Channel 2. “Surrender means that Hamas raises the white flag and begs for a ceasefire without any preconditions and requirements,” he elaborated.
“Defeat means that Hamas has no ability to fire missiles, produce rockets or restore tunnels.” He said this goal was entirely “realistic.”
Liberman went on to heavily condemn Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who, the foreign minister asserted, has led an incitement campaign against Israel throughout the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip.
“Abbas failed in Gaza and lost it to Hamas, he did not deliver the goods then and is incapable of doing so today,” Liberman charged. “While Hamas focused on terrorist actions, Abbas led a militant and inciting line against Israel.”
While insisting that he did not wish to attack Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Liberman criticized Netanyahu for what he called his indecisiveness with regard to Abbas and for entrusting the Palestinian leader with assisting in ending the conflict with Hamas.
“When Abbas formed a government with Hamas, Netanyahu insisted on not recognizing it, and now suddenly Abbas is a lifesaver?” Liberman asked. “It just doesn’t fit.”





Gaza terrorists continued their rocket attacks on Israel on Friday evening.
While southern Israel was hit the hardest, rockets were also fired towards central Israel, including Tel Aviv.
At least eight rockets and mortars exploded in the Eshkol region shortly after 8:00 p.m. No one was physically injured and there was no damage, as the rockets exploded in open areas.
One rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome system over Be’er Sheva, and two more exploded in open regions. There were no injuries or damages.
A rocket from Gaza also exploded in an open area in the Gush Dan region of central Israel. Sirens were heard in Holon, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv and Rishon Lezion before the explosion.
No physical injuries or damages were reported.
According to the IDF, since midnight on Thursday, 90 rockets have been fired from Gaza towards Israel.
On Friday evening, a four-year-old was killed after a mortar launched from the northern Gaza Strip directly slammed into a car.






Masked Hamas gunmen on Friday afternoon killed seven suspected informants for Israel near a Gaza City mosque as worshipers were ending midday prayers, bringing the total number of alleged collaborators killed in the coastal strip during the day to 18, according to witnesses and Hamas media.

One witness said masked gunmen lined up the seven men in a side street and opened fire on them. He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his own safety.

Other witnesses told AFP that six of the victims were grabbed from among hundreds of worshipers leaving the city’s largest mosque, by men in the uniform of Hamas’s military wing. They were pushed to the ground. One of the masked men shouted: “This is the final moment of the Zionist enemy collaborators,” then the gunmen sprayed them with bullets.





A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip Friday made a direct hit on a synagogue in Ashdod, causing significant damage to the building.

Three people sustained shrapnel injuries. One woman in her 40s was moderately injured and was transferred to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for treatment. Two men in their 20s were transfered to Kaplan Medical central in Rehovot for light injuries.

Several people were treated for shock on site.
As of late afternoon Friday, more than 70 rockets had been fired into Israel since 6:00 a.m. by Gaza-based terrorist groups. Eight were intercepted by Iron Dome





The Russian military has moved artillery units manned by Russian personnel inside Ukrainian territory in recent days and is using them to fire at Ukrainian forces, New York Times reported, citing NATO officials. The Russian move, NYTimes reports, represents a significant escalation of the Kremlin’s involvement in the fighting there and comes as a convoy of Russian trucks with humanitarian provisions has crossed into Ukrainian territory without Kiev’s permission. The US is now getting involved, as WSJ reports,

  • Pentagon calls on Russia to 'Remove Vehicles Immediately' From Ukraine
  • Kirby says "very concerned" by Russian convoy in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Security Service chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko said the move amounted to a "direct invasion," and The Pentagon has warned "failure to [remove its vehicles] will result in further costs and isolation."

The Russian military has moved artillery units manned by Russian personnel inside Ukrainian territory in recent days and is using them to fire at Ukrainian forces, NATO officials said on Friday.

...

Since mid-August NATO has received multiple reports of the direct involvement of Russian forces, “including Russian airborne, air defense and special operations forces in Eastern Ukraine,” said Oana Lungescu, a spokeswoman for NATO.

“Russian artillery support — both cross-border and from within Ukraine — is being employed against the Ukrainian armed forces,” she added.


The United States is very concerned about the movement of a Russian convoy into Ukraine in violation of its territorial integrity and is calling on Moscow to withdraw its equipment and personnel immediately, the Pentagon said on Friday.

"This is a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity by Russia," Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, told a briefing. "Russia must remove its vehicles and its personnel from the territory of Ukraine immediately.Failure to do so will result in additional costs and isolation."


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