Israel mounts airstrikes as 40,000 reservists called up

The Israeli army called up 40,000 reservists yesterday as it launched “Operation Protective Edge”, with unremitting air strikes throughout the day on militant targets in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 16 residents and wounding more than 100.

Gaza militants kept up a steady barrage of rocket fire, and last night Israel’s “Iron Dome” anti-missile defence system intercepted an incoming projectile over Tel Aviv as sirens wailed across the city. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility and said the target of the missile was Israel’s Ben-Gurion international airport.

The Tel Aviv and Jerusalem municipalities ordered public bomb shelters to be opened.

Sirens also sounded in the central Israeli cities of Rishon Lezion, Petah Tikva, Lod and Givatayim.

Four militants, who came from Gaza via the sea, evading Israeli naval patrols, were also killed in a firefight with Israeli troops about 3km north of the Gaza border, close to a kibbutz and a military base.

Rockets vs airstrikes

Israel’s massive aerial bombardment – there were more than 150 sorties yesterday – was ordered after militants fired some 85 rockets on Monday night, reaching deep into southern Israel. Speaking at an emergency meeting of the top defence echelon in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the gloves needed to come off when dealing with Hamas: “Hamas chose to escalate and they will pay dearly for it.”

He urged the defence establishment to “engage in an unremitting, long and powerful strike in Gaza”.

“We must be prepared to go all the way, and a ground offensive is also on the table,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Seven people, including a woman and two children, were killed in a strike on a three-storey house in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis. Israeli sources said residents had ignored a telephone warning shortly before the strike to immediately vacate the building.

Three people were killed in a strike on a car in the Daraj neighbourhood in the centre of Gaza city. Four homes the army claimed belonged to militants were destroyed.

Israeli navy missile boats off the Gaza coast also fired at militant targets.

Many of the Hamas political and military leaders abandoned their homes, fearing Israeli attacks. Hamas responded by “calling on all resistance factions to return fire until Israel understands that our nation will neither surrender nor despair. Blood for blood.”

Hamas also issued a statement calling on the Palestinian Authority to take action against Israel, saying “national unity sometimes requires paying a price”.

President Mahmoud Abbas called on the international community to immediately intervene to stop Israeli “aggression”, saying more violence would drag the region into destruction and instability. He called on the United Nations to provide international protection for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Some Israeli residents in the south left their homes to stay with relatives or friends in the centre and north of the country.

Many residents spent the day in bomb shelters or secure rooms as a state of emergency was declared in communities within 40km (25 miles) of the Gaza border.

Large gatherings banned

Children’s summer camps that had no bomb shelters were closed and gatherings of more than 300 people were banned.

The White House condemned rocket attacks against Israel and expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself. “We strongly condemn the continuing rocket fire inside of Israel and the deliberate targeting of civilians by terrorist organisations in Gaza,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. “No country can accept rocket fire aimed at civilians and we support Israel’s right to defend itself against these vicious attacks.”