News
Lull in Gaza fighting despite Hamas breaching ceasefires
Although continued Hamas rocket fire scuppered attempts to institute a temporary ceasefire yesterday, there appeared to be something of a lull in the Gaza fighting.
Despite the relative let-up in fighting in Gaza overnight and this morning, Israeli forces struck around 20 terror targets yesterday, including a continued concerted effort to uncover and destroy complex tunnels constructed by Hamas to launch attacks on Israel. The number of Israeli soldiers killed since the IDF launched a ground incursion 10 days ago increased to 43 over the weekend. Yesterday, the IDF announced that Oron Shaul, who was declared missing last week, had been killed in action.
On Saturday, a 12-hour truce was agreed between Israel and Hamas, at the behest of the United Nations. The pause in fighting allowed Gazans to stock up and assess damage caused by the fierce ground fighting of more than a week. Israel suggested extending the truce for a further four hours, which was rejected by Hamas. Nonetheless, Israel decided to hold fire on Sunday morning, suggesting a 24-hour ceasefire. However, after several rockets were fired at southern and central Israel, the IDF announced at 10am that it would continue its offensive. Hamas then asked for a 24-hour truce to begin at 2pm, but several rockets subsequently were launched at southern Israel, prompting Israel to reject Hamas’s request.
In total, 56 rockets were fired at Israel yesterday, a significant reduction from previous days during Operation Protective Edge. Seven of yesterday’s rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system. Following a night of quiet with no rocket attacks, a missile was fired at Ashkelon this morning, landing in a nearby open area.
Meanwhile, 16 Palestinians were also reportedly killed during yesterday’s fighting, with the total number of Palestinians killed during Operation Protective Edge surpassing 1,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Yesterday’s casualties included four people who were killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the centre of the Gaza Strip and three others in and around Khan Younis.