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High death toll following intense day of fighting in Gaza

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13 Israeli soldiers and around 70 Palestinians were killed overnight Saturday and yesterday during the bloodiest day yet during Operation Protective Edge.

With more than 1,000 rockets having been fired from Gaza since the operation began, Israel launched a ground incursion on Thursday night, with the immediate goal of uprooting the network of tunnels used by Hamas to launch attacks against Israel. On Saturday night and yesterday, this effort focused on the Shejaya neighbourhood of Gaza City, where fierce battles took place. 13 Israeli soldiers, from the Golani infantry brigade were killed. An additional 5 Israeli soldiers were also killed over the weekend in separate incidents. Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry said that around 70 Palestinians had died in Shejaya, including many civilians. Israeli forces had instructed residents to leave the area before the battle began. In total, AFP says that Palestinians report over 500 casualties since Operation Protective Edge was launched two weeks ago, it is not clear what percentage of this figure are civilians. Israel announced yesterday that it was opening a field hospital for injured Palestinians on the Israeli side of the Erez border crossing.

Fighting continued around Shejaya overnight, during which 6 Israeli soldiers were injured and 10 Hamas terrorists were killed. In addition, the IDF arrested 20 Hamas fighters. Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike is reported to have killed the head of Hamas’s surveillance unit. By yesterday afternoon, the IDF had uncovered 36 tunnel shafts and destroyed 14 tunnels since the ground incursion commenced. Reports are emerging this morning that Israeli forces have uncovered the opening of a tunnel from Gaza in the communal dining room of Kibbutz Kissufim, near the Gaza border.

Meanwhile yesterday, 87 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, a slight decrease on the rate of rocket fire during previous days. 16 of yesterday’s rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system. Most of the rockets were aimed at Israel’s southern cities and communities and none caused any injuries.

Also yesterday, Hamas claimed to have kidnapped an Israeli soldier. However, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor commented “these rumours are untrue.”