Gaza Residents See Growing Toll in Israel Fight - Wall Street Journal

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 19 Juli 2014 | 16.13

July 19, 2014 4:35 a.m. ET

Israeli soldiers carry their gear toward a staging area outside the Gaza Strip on Friday. Meanwhile, Israeli gunboats lit up the sky with their fire before dawn, while helicopters fired into the coastal enclave. Hamas fired mortar rounds at invading troops and rockets across the border. Reuters

Israel bombarded Gaza from the air, land and sea the night after sending in ground forces, and held out the possibility of significantly expanding the operation to weaken the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers.

On Saturday morning, as the whine of drones was heard overhead, Gazans took in the previous night's losses. The death toll had risen to 316, including more than 70 children, Gaza health officials said.

Almost 60 additional Palestinian deaths were reported since the ground operation began late Thursday night, including eight people in Beit Hanoun who officials said died when their house was shelled by Israelis. Ashraf Al Kidra, the health ministry spokesman, called the attack "a new massacre."

Hamas's militant wing said on Saturday that it had clashed with Israeli fighters inside Gaza overnight, saying its snipers shot soldiers near the northern border and attacked them at an agricultural college.

Israel said three of its soldiers were injured overnight by snipers and another three were hurt when an explosive device detonated. The military also said it was contending with the use of animals to carry explosives, including a donkey which it said exploded but didn't injure soldiers.

The long night passed for many of Gazans in the dark, as officials said Israel cut off the electricity it supplies to the strip and overworked local generators there couldn't keep up.

One man described one scene from the bombardment on Friday night on Baghdad Street in the eastern Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City. He said his home was filling with water after his water tank was destroyed. He said he had sent his wife and children away but chose to stay behind, though he was unable to move from his hiding place in a corner.

"I didn't want Hamas using my house as a trap for the Israelis," he said, noting that the group had placed mines and booby traps in private homes in the past.

Israel said it wanted to destroy Hamas's military capabilities and would target militant groups, their leaders, tunnels and the territory's rocket arsenal. Israel said one of its soldiers was killed by friendly fire, the second Israeli death since the fighting began.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday he had instructed the military "to be ready for the possibility of a significant expansion of the ground operation." He said he ordered the incursion after 10 days of aerial bombardments because all other means to stop rocket fire from Gaza had failed.

A military official said Israel wasn't expecting an easy battle with Hamas.

"In five years, Hamas has learned lessons in conflicts with us," the official said. "We're not talking about a ragtag terror group. We're talking about a foreign-trained outfit that's well-armed and with combat capabilities. The feeling is that we're facing a Hamas that's more advanced."

Hamas officials threatened to exact a high price from Israel in return. Spokesman Sami Abu Zhory claimed his forces had chased Israel away on Thursday night.

"Israel will sink in the ground operation," he said. "We will be patient and can stay at this for a long time."

Hamas has grown increasingly isolated and weakened in the Arab world over the past year. Neighboring Egypt, which controls Gaza's only gateway to the outside world, classified the Islamist group as terrorists.

The military-aligned government in Cairo sees Hamas in the same light as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group in Egypt that the military ousted in a coup one year ago.

What does Israel's invasion of Gaza do to the broader tensions in the region given that Palestine's allies are occupied with other conflicts? Michael Eisenstadt, Washington Institute senior fellow, discusses with Simon Constable on the News Hub. Photo: Associated Press

Hamas has also had a falling-out with its longtime ally Iran, a staunch supporter of the regime in Syria. It left its base in the Syrian capital of Damascus last year after disagreeing with Iran on whether to enter the Syrian civil war along with the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

Israel's Arab neighbors oppose the attacks on Gaza, but have come to Hamas's defense less forcefully than in its previous conflicts. The Arab League is pressuring Hamas to accept a cease-fire.

The group has also been weakened by financial troubles, Hamas leaders said. It was running out of money because of the loss of approximately $30 million a month as a consequence of an Egyptian crackdown on the group, which involved shutting its smuggling tunnels through Sinai.

Hamas's situation was so dire its leaders even agreed to end a seven-year feud with political rival Fatah, which ruled the West Bank, and they formed a unity government.

Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas leader whose house was destroyed in airstrikes this week, said the main motivation behind the reconciliation was to pay employees, who hadn't received checks in three months.

The group could gain sympathy and support from the Arab and Muslim worlds by returning to armed conflict.

"I don't think there's anyone in Hamas who thinks they can beat Israeli militarily. I think that what Hamas is probably banking on is that the Arab street throughout the Middle East cannot tolerate an Israeli invasion," said Gershon Baskin, a political analyst who has relayed messages between Israel and Hamas in the past.

Thousands of soldiers backed by tanks have invaded Gaza to destroy arms-smuggling tunnels and other military infrastructure. WSJ's Mark Kelly reports.

Hamas militants continued to launch rockets at Israel despite the escalation of Israeli attacks, the military said.

Israel said Thursday night that it was sending thousands of troops into Gaza backed by tanks and armored vehicles. There were also gunboats stationed off the coastal enclave.

The mounting toll of civilian deaths and displaced in Gaza has raised international concern. Turkish leaders, hosting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, criticized Israel.

"The priority is to achieve a cease-fire for Israel to stop its land invasion, its naval and airborne attacks, and to stop the bloodshed of innocent people, mostly Palestinian children," said Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

He called for the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and a resumption of talks to achieve a two-state solution to the decadeslong Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

After cease-fire negotiations failed in Egypt this week, Mr. Abbas traveled to Turkey where he met with Mr. Gul. Both blamed Israel for the conflict, accusing it of trying to undo a unity deal between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, which had been locked in a long-running rivalry until recently.

Israel suspended U.S.-backed peace talks with Palestinians when Hamas and Fatah struck a power-sharing agreement in April after a seven-year split.

"Israel is constantly coming up with excuses to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem, and to undermine the great reconciliation we have accomplished," Mr. Abbas said in a joint briefing with Mr. Gul.

Write to Nicholas Casey at nicholas.casey@wsj.com and Tamer El-Ghobashy at tamer.el-ghobashy@wsj.com


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