UN Security Council calls emergency meeting on Gaza escalation
The UN Security Council will convene for an emergency session tomorrow to discuss the latest escalation in the Gaza Strip, two diplomats representing countries on the panel tell The Times of Israel.
This will be the fourth emergency session held to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the establishment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government less than five months ago. The Security Council has also held four of its mandated monthly meetings on the conflict during that same period.
Wednesday’s meeting will take place behind closed doors at 3 p.m. It was requested by the United Arab Emirates, China and France, the diplomats say.
Council members will be briefed on the security escalation by the UN’s Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland, but no resolution is expected at the conclusion of the meeting, the diplomats add.
IDF chief: ‘We’ll expand our operations as much as needed’ in Gaza
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi says the strikes in Gaza were in the works for a while and that the military “waited and chose the best time.”
Halevi says Israel wants calm in Gaza and for residents of the enclave to have “safe and quiet lives” but that Islamic Jihad’s “offensive activities” harm this effort.
“Therefore we acted in a targeted manner,” he says, “and we will expand our operations as much as needed.”
Nobody who fires at Sderot and elsewhere, and seeks relentlessly to kill Israeli citizens, is immune from Israel’s response, he says.
He also touts the “accurate operation” and says the IDF worked to not harm non-combatants, after 10 civilians were killed as well.
If it had been possible to eliminate the three Islamic Jihad commanders without non-combatant casualties, the IDF would have done so, he says.
PM says any escalation will meet ‘crushing response,’ IDF ready to act on more than one front
In primetime televised remarks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touts Israel’s overnight operation in Gaza, saying the three senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad members who were killed were responsible for rocket fire from the Strip and directing attacks in the West Bank.
Referring to the deaths of non-combatants, Netanyahu says Israel does everything to avoid harming civilians, while Palestinian terrorists target them.
“That’s the difference between us and them,” he says.
He also warns Islamic Jihad and other Gaza terror organizations: “Any escalation on your part will be met with a crushing response on our part.”
He says that Israel is in the midst of what could be a protracted campaign, and says that when it was decided upon — “a week ago,” when Islamic Jihad fired over 100 projectiles at Israel — he “told the IDF to prepare for any scenario” including the possibility of conflict “on more than one front.”
Speaking after Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says “the campaign isn’t over.”
“The security establishment is ready for any scenario,” he adds.
He confirms that the operation was decided upon in the wake of last Tuesday’s rocket fire — when Islamic Jihad “fired indiscriminately at Israeli citizens” in what he called a direct challenge to Israel’s right to its land.
He specifies that Jihad Ghanem, one of three terror chiefs killed this morning, orchestrated the 2004 killings of Tali Hautel, who was eight months pregnant, and her four daughters, aged two to eleven, near their home in Gaza’s Gush Katif settlement bloc. Terrorists opened fire on the vehicle she was driving, and then shot them dead at close range.
Tel Aviv opens public bomb shelters as Israel waits for response from Gaza
The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality is opening public bomb shelters, in anticipation of potential rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the killing of three senior Islamic Jihad members overnight.
A statement from the municipality stresses the move is a precaution and that there is no reason to enter the shelters absent warning sirens.
EU ‘gravely concerned by Gaza escalation,’ says ‘civilian lives must be protected’
The European Union says it’s “gravely concerned by the escalation in Gaza” after Israel carried out airstrikes that killed three senior officials in Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“The EU deeply regrets the loss of civilian lives, including children, and calls for the respect of international humanitarian law,” the bloc’s foreign office says in a statement, referring to 10 others killed in the attacks. “Civilian lives must be protected under all circumstances.”
Israeli strike reported on ‘resistance site’ in central Gaza
Palestinian media outlets are reporting a fresh Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip.
According to the reports, a “resistance site” in central Gaza was struck by the Israeli Air Force.
There are no immediate reports of injuries.
The Israel Defense Forces has not yet commented on the reports.
Netanyahu: Israel ‘in the middle of a campaign’ in Gaza, ‘ready for any possibility’
In prepared remarks at the start of the security cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is “ready for any possibility” as it gears up for an expected response to the killing of three senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad members in Gaza.
Netanyahu says he and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the assassinations after last week’s rocket fire from the coastal enclave, claiming the strikes “amputated the organization’s leadership in Gaza.”
“Our principle is clear: Whoever harms us, we harm them, and with greater force. Our long arm reaches every terrorist at the time and place of our choosing,” the premier says.
“We are in the middle of a campaign and we are ready for any possibility. I advise our enemies: Don’t mess with us,” he adds.
Hamas health ministry confirms 2 killed in Israeli strike
The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip said two were killed and another two were wounded in the Israeli strike near Khan Younis.
IDF releases video of strike on PIJ cell planning to launch anti-tank missile
The Israel Defense Forces publishes footage of an airstrike against a Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell in the Gaza Strip planning to carry out an anti-tank guided missile attack on the Israeli border.
The IDF says the squad was struck as it was taking missiles by car to a launch site.
“IDF soldiers monitored the activity of the squad and struck it while they were on their way to the launch pad,” the military says.
IDF says it hit anti-tank missile cell in fresh Gaza strike
The Israel Defense Forces says it has struck an anti-tank guided missile cell near the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, before it managed to carry out an attack on the border.
The IDF says it will provide further details on the strike later.
Unconfirmed Palestinian media reports say two members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been killed in the strike.
Security cabinet convenes to discuss Gaza operation
The security cabinet convenes to deliberate the military operation in the Gaza Strip, ahead of expected rocket attacks by Palestinian terrorists in response to the assassination of three senior Islamic Jihad members.
Sound of explosions heard in southern Gaza; reports say Israel fired artillery
Palestinian media outlets are reporting explosions heard near Deir al Balah and al-Qarara in the southern Gaza Strip.
Some reports suggest the explosions are caused by an Israeli artillery strike.
There is no immediate comment by the Israel Defense Forces on the explosions.
I noticed over the years the EU/UN and others express grave concern when Israel responds to a missile barrage or terrorist attack. No grave concerns when anti-Israel forces fire the first shot. With Russia running the Security Council, grave concern hypocrisy has reached the top of the asymptotic curve.
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