Israel claims Hamas targets hit in latest heavy airstrikes
Gaza death toll rises amid looming power and water cuts
The Israeli military unleashed another heavy wave of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip yesterday, claiming it destroyed militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders. International diplomacy to end the week-long war that has killed hundreds appeared to make little headway.
The latest attacks destroyed the five-story building housing the Hamas-run Religious Affairs Ministry, a building Israel claimed housed the main operations centre of Hamas’ internal security forces. Israel also killed a top Gaza leader of Islamic Jihad, another militant group whom the Israeli military blamed for some of the thousands of rocket attacks launched at Israel in recent days. Israel said its strikes destroyed 15km of tunnels used by militants.
At least 212 Palestinians have been killed in the week of airstrikes, including 61 children and 36 women, with more than 1400 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Ten people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and a soldier, have been killed in the rocket attacks launched at Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with top security officials yesterday and later said Israel would “continue to strike terror targets” in Gaza. “We will continue to operate as long as necessary in order to return calm and security to all Israeli citizens,” he said.
The new airstrikes, which hit Gaza yesterday, hollowed out one floor of a multistorey concrete building and killed five people. A woman picked through clothing, rubble and splintered furniture in a room that had been destroyed. Children walked over debris in the road.
A car in the street that witnesses said was hit by an airstrike was bent and torn, its roof ripped back and what was left of the driver’s side door smeared with blood.
Gaza City’s mayor, Yahya Sarraj, said the strikes had caused extensive damage to roads and other infrastructure. He said water supplies to hundreds of households were disrupted. “We are trying hard to provide water, but the situation remains difficult,” he said.
The UN has warned that the territory’s sole power station is at risk of running out of fuel. Gaza already experiences daily power outages for between eight and 12 hours, and tap water is undrinkable. Mohammed Thabet, a spokesman for the territory’s electricity distribution company, said it has fuel to supply Gaza with electricity for two or three days.
Palestinian officials said Israel pledged to open its only cargo crossing with Gaza for several hours today to allow humanitarian aid — including fuel, food and medicine — to enter.
Israel also said it targeted what it suspected was a Hamas submersible weapon preparing for an attack on Israel’s coast.
The war broke out May 10, when Hamas fired long-range rockets at Jerusalem after weeks of clashes in
the holy city between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police. The protests were focused on the heavyhanded policing of a flashpoint sacred site during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers.
More protests were expected across the region today in response to a call by Palestinian citizens of Israel for a general strike. The protest has the support of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.