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Hamas planned wholesale slaughter of Kibbutz Sufa members, says Peres By GREER FAY CASHMAN 07/17/2014 16:29

Hamas planned the wholesale slaughter of members of Kibbutz Sufa near the Gaza border, President Shimon Peres told reporters on Thursday after touring the southern area between Kibbutz Zikim and Ashkelon. It was his second visit to the rocket barraged south of the country in an eleven-day period. On July 6, he visited Sderot.

Related: WATCH: IDF thwarts Gaza terrorists from attempted tunnel infiltration into IsraelPeres is particularly keen to meet with children in the most heavily-targeted areas close to the Gaza border to assess for himself how they have been affected by the traumatic incidents that are part and parcel of their daily lives.

Speaking to journalists at the Iron Dome Battery System in Ashkelon after having visited with mothers and children at Kibbutz Zikim, where last week IDF troops intercepted and killed six terrorists who tried to infiltrate the kibbutz by sea, Peres, in reference to the more recent attempt by 13 terrorists to penetrate Kibbutz Sufa, said that it is becoming increasingly clear that Hamas wanted to murder everyone on the kibbutz.



He saluted the Israel Defense Forces, the Intelligence establishment and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for preventing a major calamity by foiling the attempt. The terrorists had dug an underground tunnel right into the kibbutz grounds he said, shuddering at what the scenario might have been had the terrorists succeeded in seizing everyone on the kibbutz and murdering them in cold blood.

Unfortunately, there are many such underground tunnels, said Peres, insisting that such phenomena cannot be disregarded because they represent the desire of terrorist organizations in Gaza, and the military wing of Hamas in particular to launch a large scale attack on Israel via the tunnels.

Speaking of his visit to Zikim where he had embraced the mothers and children, Peres said that he admired their spirit and their determination to continue to live there without succumbing to the threats of rockets and acts of terror. Peres commended the courage of the Israeli home front in general, saying it was not an easy struggle.

The children with whom he spoke at Kibbutz Zikim had told him that they wanted to live normal lives, to play football and to breathe fresh air. They were sick and tired of Code Red sirens all the time and having to run to shelters. More than anything, they wanted peace.

Peres also related to the four Palestinian children killed by an Israeli air strike while they were playing soccer on the Gaza beach.

There is great regret at the loss of life, he said. The Israel Air Force is doing its utmost to avoid hitting innocent civilians, and he could say wholeheartedly, he emphasized, that double efforts are being made not to target children. “There is a no more humane army than the IDF,” Peres asserted, comparing it with Hamas which he said has no compassion and is not interested in the well-being of its own people. All it cares about is destruction and ruin, he said. Peres made it clear that Israel does not regard the people of Gaza as its enemies. “Our enemies are the terrorist organizations,” he said, adding that Israel would like to see Gaza flourish. It is not Israel that has a disastrous affect on Gaza, he stated. “It is the terrorists.”

The emotional picture taking over the internet “I suddenly saw soldiers embracing my son”

During the alarm in Rehovot, the car’s door was jammed, and in the last minute, Yair 4.5 year old managed to get out of the car, suddenly his parents saw home front command soldiers embracing the son and protecting him instead of defending himself. The picture received positive emotions and comments, “I had to picture this moving moment” said the mother of Yair to channel 2 news.

Jul 18, 2014, 07:00PM | Rio Avitayler









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Yair and the two soldiers

Yair and the two soldiers Lee Aviv Dadon

It happened yesterday at 1pm, Lee Aviv Dadon – 34 year old, and her husband Barak drove with their child, 4.5 years old, when suddenly an alarm went off, the door was jammed and the parents panicked. Yair managed to get out of the car through another door, and then the couple witnessed an emotional sight, home front command officers grabbed and embraced the son to protect him. The mother took footage of the incident and uploaded the picture, which caused a lot of positive feedback.





“As we entered our neighborhood in Rehovot the alarm went off.” Said Dadon. “We stopped at the side of the road, a vehicle in front of us also stopped, and 4 officers from the home front command exited the vehicle, and instead of protecting themselves they protected my son.” Her husband took the baby out of the car, and asked her wife to help Yair out of the car. “Everyone were hiding in cover, it was very stressful while I struggled with the car door, and when he ran for cover. I suddenly saw two home front command soldiers embracing him, it was simply amazing, and I asked them for permission to photo the moment.” The soldiers who do not know the family, simply acted on instinct to protect the child, and even after the alarm they spoke with the child to make sure he is relaxed and calm. “I thanked them, I was really emotional, Yair was calm”.

immediately after the event, she knew she has to do something, and uploaded the picture, “I wanted everyone to see the true face of our moral and human soldiers who protect other instead of themselves.”

Breaking News 18:27 IDF: 13 additional Isra_

JPost.com Operation Protective Edge
IDF to hold fire in Gaza's Shejaia despite Hamas breaking humanitarian truce By YAAKOV LAPPIN, REUTERS LAST UPDATED: 07/20/2014 16:40
Tweet Select Language​▼Palestinians say at least 50 killed in district, which IDF says is center of terror activity; Abbas accuses Israel of "massacre."

Hamas members on Sunday violated a humanitarian cease-fire in the Shejaia area of Gaza and fired on IDF soldiers with anti-tank missiles and automatic fire, the army said.

The air force began resuming strikes in Shejaia, firing on locations from which the army came under fire. However, the IDF announced that they would extend the truce.

Related: Two more soldiers killed in Gaza bringing death toll to fiveRockets intercepted over Beersheba, Ashkelon and Tel Aviv areaDuring the two-hour humanitarian ceasefire, Hamas and other terror organizations violated the truce repeatedly, the army said. Due to a request by the Red Cross, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, agreed to extend the truce until 5:30 p.m. for urgent humanitarian needs. "Any attempt to exploit the respite for firing will be answered," the army warned.

Prior to the cease-fire, the IDF had been carrying out wide-ranging attacks on Shejaia, which the army considers a main center of terror activity in the Gaza Strip.



Gaza medical sources were reporting that at least 50 people had been killed and hundreds wounded in the IDF attacks.

The IDF called on residents of the area to take the opportunity of the cease-fire to vacate Shejaia and make their way to Gaza City.

The army warned that any attempt to take advantage of the cease-fire to launch attacks on Israel would be answered with fire.

The mass casualties in Shejaia appeared to be the heaviest since Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on July 8.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the IDF's intensified shelling in the area as "the new massacre committed by the Israeli government in Shejaia."

Asked about the attack on Shejaia, an Israeli military spokeswoman said: "Two days ago, residents of Shejaia received recorded messages to evacuate the area in order to protect their lives."



Hamas, the dominant armed group in the Gaza Strip, had urged people across the territory not to heed the Israeli warnings and abandon their homes.

As the tank shells began to land, Shejaia residents called radio stations pleading for evacuation. An air strike on Shejaia home of Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, killed his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, hospital officials said.

Militants kept up their rocket fire on Israel, with no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough toward a ceasefire in sight. Sirens sounded in southern Israeli towns and in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. There were no reports of casualties.

Israel sent ground forces into the Gaza Strip on Thursday after 10 days of air, naval and artillery barrages failed to stop rocket fire.

Breaking News 19:20 Iron Dome downs rockets over Shfela region

JPost.com Operation Protective Edge
IDF shows photos of Hamas rocket sites dug into hospital, mosques By YAAKOV LAPPIN, REUTERS 07/21/2014 16:06
Tweet Select Language​▼The images were taken from the northeastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaia, which was the scene of heavy fighting in recent days.
Hamas fires rockets from Wafa Hospital in the Gaza neighborhood of Shejaia Photo: IDF SPOKESMAN'S OFFICE
The IDF on Monday released declassified photos showing how Hamas uses hospitals, mosques, and playgrounds as rocket launch sites.

The images were taken from the northeastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaia, which was the scene of heavy fighting in recent days.

Israel's army said it had been targeting militants in the clashes, charging that they had fired rockets from Shejaia and built tunnels and command centers there. The army said it had warned civilians to leave two days earlier.

Sounds of explosions rocked Gaza City through the morning, with residents reporting heavy fighting in Shejaia and the adjacent Zeitoun neighborhood. Locals also said there was heavy shelling in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip.

"It seems we are heading towards a massacre in Beit Hanoun. They drove us out of our houses with their fire. We carried our kids and ran away," said Abu Ahmed, he did not want to give his full name for fear of Israeli reprisals.

The Islamist group Hamas and its allies fired multiple missiles across southern and central Israel, and heavy fighting was reported in the north and east of Gaza.

Non-stop attacks lifted the Palestinian death toll to 496, including almost 100 children, since fighting started on July 8, Gaza health officials said. Israel says 18 of its soldiers have also died along with two civilians.

Despite worldwide calls for a cessation of the worst bout of Palestinian-Israeli violence for more than five years, Israeli ministers ruled out any swift truce.

"This is not the time to talk of a ceasefire," said Gilad Erdan, communications minister and a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inner security cabinet.

EU Foreign Ministers issue statement supporting Israel
Israel received diplomatic support from an unexpected source on Tuesday, as European Union foreign ministers issued a joint statement strongly supporting Israel's current military operations in the Gaza Strip and denouncing the Islamist terror militia Hamas for starting the war and committing war crimes both against Israeli and Palestinian civilians. The statement condemed "the indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel by Hamas and militant groups in the Gaza Strip, directly harming civilians. These are criminal and unjustifiable acts. All terrorist groups in Gaza must disarm. The EU strongly condemns calls on the civilian population of Gaza to provide themselves as human shields." The statement added however that "While recognizing Israel's legitimate right to defend itself against any attacks, the EU underlines that the Israeli military operation must be proportionate and in line with international humanitarian law."

UK Ambassador 'Britain holds Hamas responsible'
UK Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that his government blames the Islamist terror militia Hamas entirely for the current conflict and fully supports Israel's right to defend itself. "This was a conflict triggered by Hamas raining down on Israel hundreds and hundreds of rockets fired indiscriminately at Israeli towns and cities. Israel has a right and indeed an obligation to defend its citizens," Gould said. "We are very concerned, as is the whole world, about the number of casualties in the conflict, and like everyone else we hope it will be brought to and end soon and a cease-fire will be quickly agreed [on]. What is true is that every life that is lost is a tragedy, every family that is affected is a family that is going to be suffering for a long time. The situation is a difficult and sad one."

JPost.com Operation Protective Edge
Israel uncovers Hamas tunnel filled with maps, weapons, and IDF uniforms By YAAKOV LAPPIN LAST UPDATED: 07/23/2014 15:29
Tweet Select Language​▼Hamas gunmen shoot at IDF from hospital, prompting return fire; IDF says hospital used as command center by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The IDF on Wednesday uncovered a new tunnel shaft in Gaza, leading to an underground passage that contained IDF uniforms, maps, and weapons.

Meanwhile, a Givati infantry unit fired on a terrorist cell that surfaced from a tunnel. One terrorist has been shot.

Elsewhere in Gaza, an Amored Corps force fired on two terror cells that were about to fire an anti-tank missile at the army. The cell was hit, the army said. Overnight between Wednesday and Thurday, a Golani infantry force came under anti-tank fire. Soldiers returned fire, and directed an air strike at the cell that fired the missile. The cell was hit.

Hamas has used positions in the Al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza to fire automatic weapons and anti-tank missiles on soldiers, and the IDF fired back in recent minutes, the army said Wednesday.

"The hospital was used for activating war rooms and command and control centers by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad," the army said.

The IDF Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories has issued repeated and direct warnings to the hospital's manager, and to other Palestinians involved in running the hospital, the army said.

"Firing on our soldiers has grown in recent hours and endangered forces. As a result, the IDF has decided to strike terrorists operating in the hospital complex," it added.

Meanwhile, the 401st Armored Brigade and units under its command have attacked over 150 targets since the start of the offensive against Hamas, and killed over 20 terrorists.



Units of the brigade destroyed a car bomb by firing an accurate tank shell, and uncovered many weapons used by the enemy, the army said.

Merkava 4 Tanks operating inside Gaza are protected by the Trophy anti-missile system, and as a result, are able to move deep inside enemy territory and destroy targets from a distance, while dealing with the threat of anti-tank missiles, and providing cover for infantry soldiers.

On Tuesday, the brigade's commander, Col. Sa'ar Tzur, oversaw a brigade-wide operation involving tanks, infantry, and air support to seize areas in Gaza. Terrorists fired shells and RPGs at the army during the operation, which responded with a large wave of return fire from tanks and infantry soldiers.

A terrorist cell was also found approaching the forces, and was destroyed from the air.

TOP STORY
Rocket barrages on Tel Aviv continue despite cease-fire efforts
Terrorist groups in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip continued their rocket attacks on Israeli civilians Thursday, launching barrages at Tel Aviv and several other cities in Israel's central region a day after a Thai man was killed by a mortar which struck the greenhouse he was working in near the Gaza border. The attacks came despite IDF success in its ground offensive in Gaza, including the surrender on Wednesday night of 150 terrorist suspects in the Khan Yunis and Rafah neighborhoods of southern Gaza. Several more terror tunnels have also been uncovered and a large number of weapons captured and destroyed. Elsewhere, fire was directed at IDF troops from the the Al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City, drawing return fire. Read More
HEADLINES
Islamic State linked video calls for Syria-like jihad in Gaza
A video from a previously unknown jihadi media outlet called Al-Fawaris surfaced on Wednesday. The video, analyzed by the MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor, includes a tirade by jihadi cleric Abu hareth Al-Maqdisi threatening Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for failing to support Hamas in its war against Israel. "Oh our brothers in Gaza, know that you are fighting an enemy following Satan's path, whereas you are fighting in the way of [Allah] the merciful," Maqdisi said. "True, we are fighting in Syria, but our heart yearns to arrive and fight the sons and brothers of the apes and pigs [the Jews] He added that Gazans must be patient and wait for either victory or martyrdom, adding that Allah will soon send "extraordinary soldiers who will fight and defeat the Jews." Read More
HEADLINES



Israel denounces UNHRC probe of 'Israeli war crimes' in Gaza
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) held an emergency session on Wednesday to address the current round of hostilities between Israel and terrorist organizations in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The meeting resulted in a vote to investigate Israel for alleged war crimes, with the US casting the lone dissenting vote and 17 countries abstaining, including all the EU countries on the Council. "This investigation by a kangaroo court is a foregone conclusion," the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said. "Rather than investigate Hamas, which is committing a double war crime by firing rockets at Israeli civilians while hiding behind Palestinian civilians, the UNHRC calls for an investigation of Israel." Read More
HEADLINES
Mashal, from the safety of Qatar, declares willingness to die for Gaza
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal issued a statement on Wednesday saying the Islamist terror militia is ready for a "humanitarian" cease-fire with Israel presumably similar to the ones it has already violated by firing rockets at Israeli civilians on several occasions in recent days. He added however, that any cease-fire must be proceeded by Israel unilaterally giving in to Hamas demands to release security prisoners, discontinue the blockade of the Strip which prevents Hamas from importing weapons and, in a bizarre new twist, that Israel "disarm" its military. Read More
ICEJ Appeal-Relief for Israelis under fire
It is difficult to predict where this latest military confrontation will lead, but it is clear that southern Israel is already living under constant rocket threat, more of the country could soon follow, and this crisis will likely take some time to play out. The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem is fully committed to helping needy Israeli citizens who have fallen victim to these rocket attacks from Gaza. Read More >>
NEWS IN BRIEF
Human shields reports from Gaza earn journalists threats
The use of the Islamist terror militia Hamas of Palestinian children as human shields in its fight against Israel has not escaped the notice of journalists covering the conflict from inside Gaza. On Wednesday, Peter Stefanovic of Australia's Channel Nine News tweeted: "Hamas rockets just launched over our hotel from a site about two hundred metres away. So a missile launch site is basically next door." Financial Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief John Reed reported seeing "two rockets fired toward Israel from near al-Shifa hospital, even as more bombing victims were brought in." Wall Street Journal photographer Nick Casey tweeted a photo of a Hamas official using Shifa hospital for media interviews on Tuesday, writing: "You have to wonder w the shelling how patients at Shifa hospital feel as Hamas uses it as a safe place to see interviews." Several counter-tweets have threatened the journalists who report seeing terrorists use civilians as human shields with lawsuits and physical violence.
Ban decries use of UNRWA schools as terrorist weapons depots
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on Wednesday deploring the apparent disappearance of 20 rockets recently discovered in a UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school in the Gaza Strip, the second such incident in a week. Ban "expresses his outrage and regret at the placing of weapons in a UN-administered school," a UN statement said. "By doing so, those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children, UN employees working in such facilities and anyone using the UN schools as shelter."

IS issues Fatwa for Iraqi women to be circumcised
Gunmen fighting under the banner of the Islamic State (IS, formally ISIS) in Iraq have issued a decree that all women and girls between the ages of 11 and 46 living in the areas under their control must undergo female genital mutilation, in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic Sharia Law. According to a UN official as many as "four million girls and women could be affected" adding that the practice, also known as female circumcision, has not been widely practiced in Iraq for decades and is only to be found in "certain isolated pockets of the country." Meanwhile, Fouad Massoum, a 76 year old Kurdish politician has been elected President of Iraq by the legislative assembly in Baghdad Thursday, even as IS gunmen destroyed the ancient Moslem shrine dedicated to the prophet Jonah in Mosul, underlying the challenges facing any new government in the country

Mortars Fired Despite Humanitarian Ceasefire
At 20:04, the red alarm sounded in the Gaza vicinity communities. Four mortar shells exploded in open areas. No injuries or damage was reported. The cabinet approved the extension of the ceasefire until midnight. UN Representative to Israel: “Extend the ceasefire 24 hours.”Jul 26, 2014, 09:30PM | Rachel Avraham
Iron Dome intercepts rocket over Tel Aviv

The ceasefire was just broken. The Red Alarm sounded in the Eshkol Regional Council in the Gaza vicinity following the firing of four mortars. No injuries or damage was reported. The firing of the mortars took place despite Israel’s decision to extend the humanitarian ceasefire until midnight tonight. Later tonight, Israel’s cabinet is expected to discuss Operation Protective Edge. It started to convene at 21:30.

Later on, the sirens were sounded near the Security Barrier. Haim Yalin, the head of the Eshkol Regional Council, stated following the incident that “a ceasefire cannot be one-sided. The fire upon Eshkol cannot be considered a ceasefire. We cannot relate to the fire upon Eshkol as legitimate. The residents of Eshkol deserve a life of quiet, without alarms, bomb shelters, and the fear of tunnels. The war that exists in the area must neutralize the tunnels and return the quiet to the region.”

Apparently, Hamas did not like the idea of extending the ceasefire four hours only, since they allege rescue workers cannot operate during the night hours. Hamas wants to promote a longer humanitarian ceasefire, which will last until the end of Eid El Fitr, the Muslim religious holiday that ends Ramadan, but they have not yet made an official statement on the matter. Hamas is said to be holding consultations on the subject.

A senior level Israeli official earlier on stated that from Israel’s perspective, there is no reason to prevent Gazan civilians from taking care of themselves as the IDF continues to destroy terrorist tunnels. “Our war is not against the population,” the official stated.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Channel 2 News that Israel “still has freedom of operation. I don’t know for how long, but we succeeded to have three weeks of freedom of operation and this is an achievement that many expressed doubts about.” He added that Israel must ensure that “Hamas will not start digging new tunnels and the creation of long-range rockets must be stopped. Without this, it is forbidden for us to stop.”

A tunnel terror underneath a bathtub in Gaza exposed
This is what it looks likeJul 26, 2014, 09:00PM | Yael Klein

In between sewage pipes, under the sink and the cleaning supplies military forces discovered a terror tunnel shaft in a bathroom in Shuja'iyya. During the operation Hamas terrorists have used those same command and control tunnels also to try and abduct soldiers. During the ground offensive IDF soldiers have also exposed a tunnel camouflaged under a bathroom.

Inside a house in the neighborhood of Shuja'iyya in Gaza a tunnel shaft was found under the sink, in between the sewage pipes and the cleaning supplies. According to IDF assessments this tunnel was not originally destined to aid terrorists with infiltration to Israel, but was built for a different destination.

This is a command and control tunnels which connects between different destinations inside Gaza Strip, in order to enable Hamas activists to hide inside it for longer periods of time, without being exposed to attacks and dangers above ground.

During the operation the terrorists have been using this kind of tunnels also for offense activities against IDF, when Hamas activists have been emerging out of them, opening fire at the forces and even trying to execute and abduction.

A military source: the number of terrorists exterminated: higher than we estimated
Residents of Gaza take advantage of ceasefire and go out on the streets to asses the damageJul 26, 2014, 01:06PM | Yael Klein
IDF attacks in Gaza

Now that the ceasefire is valid residents of Gaza are going out in the streets, getting equipped with food, taking dozens of bodies out of the debris and estimating the damage. A military source said that the number of terrorists killed in battled is higher that was estimated at first, and stresses that tunnel destroying operations continue.

The Gaza residents are using the 12 hours of humanitarian ceasefire to equip themselves with food and money. At the same time actions are still being taken by IDF to destroy the terrorist tunnels.

"Combat Engineering Corps forces are working now to bring to a physical destruction of the tunnels", told a military source adding that the forces are still in the field and are assisting with the delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza. The source noted that the number of Hamas activists killed in battle is much higher than what IDF estimated, and clarified that and violation of the ceasefire from the Hamas side will be answered with shooting, especially regarding the destroying of the tunnels.

According to reports from Gaza, thousands of Palestinians fled the streets at 8:00 this morning. "Some walked to their houses in order to closely inspect the damage done to the buildings as a result of IDF shootings and to search for bodies buried under the debris", eye witnesses report. Medical teams and further assistance teams report over 70 bodies which were found since the humanitarian ceasefire was validated. According to Palestinian sources, more than 900 people were killed in Gaza so far, many of which are civilians.

The fighting continued overnight until the ceasefire was validated, while US Secretary of State John Kerry continued attempting to end the fighting which has lasted 19 days. In the past 24 hours IDF has attacked over 155 terror targets throughout Gaza, killing over 15 terrorists and blowing up 10 tunnels. IDF troops have exposed a number of booby-trapped houses which contained large amounts of ammunition and communication devices. IDF Spokesman reports that an air force air craft attacked a group of terrorists who were shooting at Nahal Brigade forces, hitting the target.

The Palestinian ministry of medicine reports that 18 family members were killed by an IDF tank shell in southern Gaza on Thursday. The ministry spokesperson Ashraf El-Kidra added that all the dead belong to a family named El-Nager and that the incident happened two days ago near Khan-Yunis. El-Kidra added that the number of dead was determined only this morning, following the great difficulty of releasing the bodies out from the debris.

'At least 160 children died digging tunnels for Hamas' By JPOST.COM STAFF 07/28/2014 11:10
Tweet Select Language​▼Use of child labor not stopped by police in Gaza, where children's "nimble bodies" help dig the tunnels that lead into Israel and Egypt.
Palestinian youngsters in Gaza take part in a Hamas military training camp .
training camp. Photo: REUTERS
Hamas used children to help them dig numerous tunnels into Israel and Egypt, a 2012 paper written for the Journal of Palestine Studies reported.

The paper, titled Gaza's Tunnel Phenomenon: The Unintended Dynamics of Israel's Siege says that little had been done to stop the phenomenon of child labor during the digging of the tunnels by Hamas in Gaza.

In December 2011, the paper's author Nicolas Pelham accompanied a police patrol in Gaza and reported that "nothing was done to impede the use of children in the tunnels, where, much as in Victorian coal mines, they are prized for their nimble bodies."

Related: Gaza’s tunnelsHe continued and said that "at least 160 children have been killed in the tunnels, according to Hamas officials."

Since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge 21 days ago, IDF forces have uncovered 31 tunnels leading into Israel.

More than 1,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, have been killed during the offensive.

BREAKING: Four Israelis Killed in Eshkol Mortar Attack
Four people were killed from a mortar that fell in the Eshkol Regional Council. Helicopters already transferred the wounded to local hospitals. Jul 28, 2014, 08:45PM | Rachel Avraham
Rocket attack yesterday

Despite the humanitarian ceasefire, the barrage of rockets continues into Southern Israel and now there are injuries. Four people were killed and 9 more were wounded from a mortar that fell in the area of the Eshkol Regional Council. Helicopters evacuated the wounded to local hospitals.

Following the tragic incident, the head of the Eshkol Regional Council Haim Yalin criticized the country’s decision-makers in recent days: “The Cabinet continues to falter and Hamas continues to fire upon us. There is no situation like this. Or we are at war or we have a ceasefire from the moment that we make a decision to have one. Our communities were hit the hardest.”

Hamas police shot and killed Gaza civilians
Many in Israel repeatedly claim vehemently that those responsible for the suffering of Gaza civilians are Hamas members, and not the IDF soldiers attacking Gaza now. One incident that occurred in the city is further proof of this claim: Hamas police killed starving Palestinian civilians and wounded dozens of others to stop a violent conflict that erupted in a food distribution facilityJul 29, 2014, 07:56PM | Robyn Rosh



Gaza is a pressure cooker at high temperature especially these days. One incident that occurred there yesterday (Monday) is one small example of this: Hamas police killed two hungry civilians and wounded dozens more.

It occurred in the town of Beit Hanoun. A large group of residents huddled in a food distribution facility, government food stamps in hand. Because of their famine and the shortage of food, a debate started among the citizens. The debate quickly degenerated into a violent confrontation, weapons were drawn and civilians began to fire.

Hamas police officers rushed to reach the place of the shots and sounds of the debate. In an attempt to restore calm the organization members also drew weapons and pointed them at the citizens. Two residents of Beit Hanoun were killed this incident, and dozens more were wounded.

From Jerusalem Post .
IDF Forces Found Missiles, Explosive Devices and Maps in Mosque
During the night, the IDF attacked 80 terrorist targets within Gaza, including mosques that Hamas used for terrorist activities. The infantry and engineering corps destroyed three tunnels designed to harm Israeli civilians, in addition to revealing anti-tank missiles and other weapons hidden inside a mosque.Jul 30, 2014, 11:43AM | Rachel Avraham

On the 23rd day of Operation Protective Edge, IDF forces continue to attack terrorist targets and tunnels.

During the last night, engineering and infantry forces destroyed at least three terror tunnels designed to harm Israeli civilians. Among other things that the Paratroopers Brigade found inside a tunnel pit were Kalashnikov weapons and grenades. Within a mosque, soldiers discovered weapons, including explosive devices, maps, radios, and anti-tank missiles ready to be launched.

Throughout the night, the IDF targeted 80 targets throughout the Gaza Strip. Naval forces destroyed a weapons storage facility and a launching area from where mortars were fired. They also attacked a residential building used for terrorism.

Among the targets that were bombed were two mosques used for terrorist purposes. One of them was close to a kindergarten.

Belgian doctor refuses treatment to Jewish patient By JTA 07/31/2014 16:07
Tweet Select Language​▼Patient suffering from a fractured rib told to get treated in Gaza; incident among string of anti-Semitic incidents in Belgium.
Doctors (illustrative) Photo: REUTERS/Swoan Parker
ANTWERP, Belgium – A Belgian physician who refused to treat a Jewish woman with a fractured rib suggested she visit Gaza to get rid of the pain.

The physician made the remark on Wednesday while manning a medical hotline in Flanders, Belgium’s Flemish region, whose capital, Antwerp, has a sizeable Orthodox Jewish population, the local Jewish monthly Joods Actueel reported Thursday.

Related: Brussels Jewish Museum suspect charged with 'murder in a terrorist context'The woman, Bertha Klein, had her son, who is American, call the hotline at 11 p.m.

“I’m not coming,” the doctor reportedly told the son and hung up. When the son called again, the doctor said: “Send her to Gaza for a few hours, then she’ll get rid of the pain.” According to Joods Actueel, the doctor confirmed the exchange, saying he had an “emotional reaction.”

Health ministry officials were looking into the incident, according to the monthly’s online edition. According to Joods Actueel, the doctor knew the patient was Jewish because of Klein’s son’s American accent.

The family called a friend, Samuel Markowitz, who is an alderman of the Antwerp district council and a volunteer paramedic. He called the doctor to confirm the exchange, and also recorded their conversation.

Hershy Taffel, Bertha Klein’s grandson, filed a complaint with police for discrimination.

“It reminds me of what happened in Europe 70 years ago,” Taffel told Joods Actueel. “I never thought those days would once again be repeated.”

Joods Actueel editor-in-chief Michael Freilich said the incident is particularly alarming because it comes amid a string of recent incidents which involved boycotts against Jews in Belgium since the start of Israel’s attack on Hamas in Gaza on July 8.

Since then, an Orthodox Jewish woman was refused service at a clothes store in Antwerp, and police removed a sign in French and Turkish from a café near Liege which said dogs were allowed but Zionists and Jews were not.

Witnesses report horrific scenes as IS advances
The Islamic State (IS, formally ISIS) terror militia made further gains in Syria and Iraq on Tuesday, beheading a group of fighters from a rival Sunni group it captured in while fighting in the eastern Syrian town of Jerthe. In what is becoming a common occurrence, the severed heads were placed on polls in the town's central square as a warning to anyone considering resistance against IS. Meanwhile, IS forces have captured the city of SInjar in northern Iraq, trapping thousands of members of the Yazdi ethnic group with a religion related to ancient Zoroastrianism, which IS has unapologetically declared needs to be exterminated because they are, in IS's opinion, "devil worshippers." Witnesses described scenes of horror in Sinjar including mass executions of Yazdi men and the enslavement of women. UN agencies added that many children, including babies, were forced to leave the city without their parents and allowed to die from dehydration in the desert.