Hamas: shelling killed soldier
Hamas says it has no clear indication of the whereabouts of Israel Defense Forces Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin or of militants that the IDF says kidnapped him, and assesses that he has been killed by his own side. In a statement:
We have lost contact with the group of fighters that took part in the ambush and we believe they were all killed in the (Israeli) bombardment. Assuming that they managed to seize the soldier during combat, we assess that he was also killed in the incident.
The IDF’s Hannibal Procedure rule states that no soldier of any rank is to be captured, and includes standing orders to bombard possible escape routes in the event of an abduction.
Deputy seeks longer ceasefire
Deputy Secretary of State William Burns is heading to Cairo to seek an extension of the 72-hour ceasefire agreed by Hamas and Israel. Israeli officials rarely meet on the Sabbath, which starts at sundown Friday, while travel time for negotiating delegations to reach Cairo is also an issue. A senior U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity in New Delhi during Kerry’s visit:
There is a hope for an extension because people have to travel and don’t want to lose a whole day […] We obviously hope there will be (an extension of the ceasefire) and would encourage that, but obviously to do so there’s got to be some sense of serious purpose on the table.
Envoy: Truce ‘should hold’
A key U.S. official says the 72-hour truce agreed by Israel and Hamas should hold while the two sides can negotiate a more durable ceasefire, unlike a previous 12-hour ceasefire that broke down with renewed rocket fire. Martin S. Indyk, who served until June as special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations:
It’s the package deal that Kerry has been working on for two weeks. Both sides have accepted it and the follow-on negotiations, and both sides seem to prefer that to continuing the conflict. This one should hold.
Israel: ‘Flagrant violation’ ends truce
The 72-hour truce agreement breaks down less than four hours into the ceasefire period as Israel says Hamas breaches the terms of the agreement. Palestinian and Israeli officials confirm Jerusalem has told United Nations envoy Robert Serry Statement that the truce is over. Netanyahu’s office:
Once again the terror organisations in Gaza flagrantly violating the ceasefire to which they committed themselves, this time to the US Secretary of State and the UN Secretary General
Rockets three hours into ceasefire
Israeli artillery starts a heavy bombardment of targets in the Gaza Strip around three hours into the 72-hour ceasefire period, said to be in response to rocket fire during the preceding hour. The Kerem Shalom crossing is closed after coming under rocket fire, with the Israel Defense Forces focusing its strikes on the southern town of Rafah.
Reporter: rockets fired from Al Shifa hospital
Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat reports rockets fired from ‘right in the back of the parking lot’ of Al-Shifa hospital around 2 a.m. local time. Unnamed correspondent:
Really, it happened right in the area, the sound of it was really loud […] It’s true that rockets are launched here from the Gazan side into Israel
Strikes launched ahead of ceasefire
Hamas reports that the Israel Air Force has struck along the Philadelphi corridor on the territory’s border with Egypt minutes after the 72-hour ceasefire begins, while the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepts six incoming rockets aimed at Ashdod, and another three explode outside the town. The truce holds despite the exchanges of fire.
‘Child sacrifice’ ad campaign
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of the This World: The Values Network promotes an essay by Wiesel accusing Hamas of using children as human shields and comparing this to the Jewish myth of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac:
[…] we have produced this advertising campaign with Elie Wiesel, to stop the terrorist cowards of Hamas from hiding behind innocent children and pregnant women
The campaign includes full-page ads in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald and use of social media.
Powerful ad produced by Rabbi Shmuley's org, This World: The Values Network, featuring Nobel Laureate, Elie Wiesel. pic.twitter.com/TYp26m0uXt
— Rabbi Shmuley (@RabbiShmuley) July 31, 2014
‘Never second guess me’
Netanhayu gives an imperative to the Obama administration over the phone with U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro:
Not to ever second guess me again
He says that he warned the U.S. ahead of time not to trust Hamas to stick to ceasefire conditions, after a three-day truce agreement breaks down within two hours as Hamas militants are said to abduct an Israel Defense Forces soldier on a tunnel operation and the IDF responds with tank shells.
Israeli soldier captured
23-year-old Hadar Goldin is dragged into a tunnel by a Palestinian militant group. The capture happens two hours after a three-day ceasefire begins. Two Israeli soldiers die while searching for the missing soldier. Netanyahu’s office says:
Once again, Hamas and the terror organisations in Gaza have blatantly broken the ceasefire to which they committed, this time before the American Secretary of State and the UN Secretary General
UN: ‘Collective effort’
The United Nations says Qatar, Turkey and Egypt have assisted in securing the 72-hour ceasefire, amid concern among Arabic nations about an apparent regional rise in hardline Islamism. UN statement:
We thank key regional stakeholders for their vital support of this process, and count on a continued collaborative international effort to assist Egypt and the parties reach a durable ceasefire as soon as possible
UN official Jeffrey Feltman:
The Egyptians played an important role, the Qataris played an essential role in helping bring the parties on board, the Turks were in touch with all sides. This was a collective effort.
Kerry: ‘Lull of opportunity’
Kerry urges both sides to use the unexpected three-day truce to secure a more durable agreement:
It is a lull of opportunity, a moment for the different factions to be able to come together with the state of Israel in an effort to try to address ways to find a sustainable ceasefire and then obviously, over a longer period of time, address the underlying issues
Ceasefire a time to try and figure out road ahead; it’s not a solution, it’s the opportunity to find durable solution. #Gaza
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) August 1, 2014
Three-day ceasefire
A 72-hour ceasefire takes effect at 8 a.m. in Israel, midnight Eastern Standard Time. The truce, announced unexpectedly overnight by Kerry during his visit to India and also by Ban Ki-Moon in New York, appears to be holding with fishing boats venturing offshore from Gaza beaches, while Israeli forces on the ground remain in place. The three-day timeframe is considered to be long enough to negotiate on key issues while allowing Israeli forces to complete their mission of destroying smuggling tunnels. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will head to Cairo for talks during the ceasefire. Statement by Kerry and Ban:
We urge all parties to act with restraint until this humanitarian ceasefire begins, and to fully abide by their commitments during the ceasefire
Some fishing boats & kids swimming on #Gaza beach as 72 hours ceasefire went into effect. pic.twitter.com/5mR395VfVN
— Hazem Balousha (@iHaZeMi) August 1, 2014
1,374 Palestinian, 59 Israeli deaths
The Palestinian death toll reaches 1,374 on day 24 of the 2014 Gaza conflict as at least 10 people are killed in Israeli strikes and three more die of existing injuries, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra says. Fifty-six Israeli soldiers have died in fighting and rocket fire has killed two Israeli civilians and a Thai migrant worker inside Israel.
86,000 reservists
An Israel Defense Forces official says the military has called up an additional 16,000 reservists on day 24 of Operation Protective Edge, in order ‘to give the army the time needed to complete the mission.’ This brings the total number called up during the campaign to 86,000.
We’ll decide today where to place them and in which commands
‘Two hours of electricity’
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says Gaza residents are receiving extremely limited supplies of electricity after Israeli shells are said to knock out the territory’s only power plant. UNOCHA:
Gaza city is receiving electricity for about two hours a day, while localities in the Middle Area have no supply at all […] According to the Palestinian Energy Authority, repairs could take months to complete, exacerbating the Gazan electricity crisis. This will affect private households, companies, and public services provision, including water, sanitation and health facilities. Hospitals will depend more heavily on their own diesel-powered generators, which are not adequate to power services for extended periods. Previously, hospital generators have burned out with extensive use, and power fluctuations damage finely calibrated medical equipment
Calls for immediate ceasefire
Abbott calls on both sides to cease hostilities:
It should be a ceasefire immediately by both sides. That’s what there should be, because plainly, too many people are dying. It’s just wrong what’s happening, so there should be a ceasefire
Canberra’s support for Israel isn’t unconditional
[…] they’re capable of making mistakes just like everyone else is, but no one intends, or should intend, any attack which results in the death of innocent people
that’s got to go hand-in-hand with the recognition of Israel’s right to exist behind secure borders. The problem in the Middle East is that in the end so many people are not prepared to accept Israel’s right to exist.
Paris riot police deploy
Hundreds of riot police deploy near the Israeli embassy as several thousand demonstrators turn out in Paris for France’s first pro-Israel rally of the 2014 Gaza conflict. Among signs carried by protestors:
Gaza hostage of Hamas
The protest comes amid reports that France may ban the Jewish Defence League, or LDJ, blamed for provoking violence at pro-Palestinian rallies.
Video shows ‘weapons, tunnel’ in mosque
The IDF releases a video it says shows militarization of a mosque:
While operating in Gaza against Hamas, IDF soldiers found a mosque that contained many weapons. Furthermore, two tunnel openings were found in the bottom floor, which was also the prayer area
UN school strike kills 19
Gaza officials say that at least 19 Palestinians die and 90 are wounded as a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency is struck by Israeli shells. The Israel Defense Forces says regarding its ongoing investigation:
Hamas militants fired mortar shells from the vicinity of the school, and [Israeli] soldiers responded by firing towards the origins of the fire
A Palestinian child, wounded in an Israeli strike on a UN school in Beit Lahia, Gaza, lies in Kamal Edwan hospital pic.twitter.com/1tLo549jZb
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 30, 2014