Hamas: Didn’t agree to ceasefire
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal tells CNN’s Nic Robertson the group did not agree to conditions of the 72-hour ceasefire that allowed Israel Defense Forces to remain in Gaza and continue operations to neutralize tunnels. The truce broke down after less than two hours as Israel bombarded parts of Gaza in response to the alleged kidnapping of a soldier. In an interview from Doha:
A truce is a truce, but the presence of the Israeli forces inside Gaza and destroying the tunnels means it’s an aggression. We did not deceive Mr. John Kerry, and we did not deceive the Israelis, we fight honorably. We told everyone that this is our position. … Therefore they are the ones who should be responsible for this.
#Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told me had not agreed to ceasefire including Israel's presence and destruction of tunnels in Gaza. exclusive
— Nic Robertson (@NicRobertsonCNN) August 2, 2014
Kidnapped soldier declared dead
The Israel Defense Forces says 2nd. Lt. Hadar Goldin has died in Gaza and is listed as a fallen soldier whose resting place is unknown. The decision to declare him dead is made according to the findings of a special board headed by IDF Chief Rabbi Brigadier Gen. Rafi Peretz, which takes into account medical evidence and halachic considerations of Jewish law among other factors. The message is delivered to the family by Peretz, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, IDF Head of Personnel Major General Orna Barbibay. Goldin in an interview on completing officer training:
In life, you can choose to do things for yourself and you can choose to do great things.
Fairfax cartoon withdrawn
Fairfax Media apologizes for a cartoon considered anti-Semitic by Jewish groups that the Sydney Morning Herald published in its daily and online editions, and withdraws the online version. The cartoon, which showed an old man sitting alone in an armchair wearing a kippah skullcap and controlling the 2014 Gaza conflict by remote control, drew criticism from the New South Wales Board of Jewish Deputies due to its use of Jewish symbology and the fact that the old man has an unusually large nose, a genetic trait often associated with Jews. SMH:
It was also significant that the cartoon had its genesis in news photographs of men seated in chairs and lounges, observing the shelling of Gaza from the hills of Sderot. One of those photos depicted an old man, wearing a kippah, reclining casually as part of a group – with Mr Le Lievre seeing comparisons between this and someone watching their television
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies say the editorial ‘unreservedly apologising for the publication of an antisemitic cartoon’ means the matter is now closed.
Editorial cartoon
An editorial cartoon in The Australian newspaper draws strong reaction from readers as it depicts a militant endangering a child in order to win the battle for public opinion in the 2014 Gaza conflict:
https://twitter.com/MariamVeiszadeh/statuses/495775041976401920
British aid worker reported killed in IDF strike
The UK government and Foreign Office are investigating reports that Rochdale man Kadir Islam has died following an Israeli airstrike in the southern city of Rafah. Friends say he was killed while delivering medical supplies to a hospital, but it isn’t known which agency he was working for. Prime Minister Cameron:
I’m extremely concerned about these reports and we are doing everything we can to get to the bottom (of them) and find out exactly what has happened. I don’t want to say anything before we’ve been able to do that but this only reinforces the need for an immediate unconditional humanitarian ceasefire observed properly by both sides. This slaughter, this killing has got to end.
Thousands attend soldier’s funeral
Thousands attend the funeral of 23-year-old IDF Second Lt. Hadar Goldin at the military section of the Kfar Sava cemetery, with only those on a list created by the family admitted to the cemetery and the rest of the crowd gathering outside the gates. The fiancee, mother and twin brother of the Givati Brigade reconnaissance soldier, initially believed kidnapped by Hamas and later confirmed dead, express their regrets along with two family rabbis while his father urges the crowd to ‘live righteously.’ Simha Goldin:
You who came en masse, live righteously and don’t hate one another. Hadar wanted to be a Jewish fighter. Do the same as he did. Take the bible with you and become Jewish fighters. I thank the crowds who came from far and wide to be with my family.
US ‘appalled’ at UN school strike
The U.S. says it is appalled by a strike that kills at least 10, including children, at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency school where around 3,000 are sheltering, apparently in response to militant actions near the UNRWA facility. The comment is the State Department’s strongest criticism yet of Israeli actions during Operation Protective Edge. Spokesperson:
The United States is appalled. The coordinates of the school, like all UN facilities in Gaza, have been repeatedly communicated to the Israeli Defense Forces […] Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties. The suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians.
Denounces ‘ignorant’ Bardem, Cruz
Voight denounces the open letter signed by Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and others as ignorant and inciting anti-Semitism:
You have forgotten how this war started. Did Hamas not kidnap and kill three young teenagers for the sake of killing, and celebrated after the killing? What a travesty of justice. I am asking all my peers who signed that poison letter against Israel to examine their motives. Can you take back the fire of anti-Semitism that is raging all over the world now?
He says they are unaware of the genesis of the conflict:
They are obviously ignorant of the whole story of Israel’s birth, when in 1948 the Jewish people were offered by the UN a portion of the land originally set aside for them in 1921, and the Arab Palestinians were offered the other half. The Arabs rejected the offer, and the Jews accepted, only to be attacked by five surrounding Arab countries committed to driving them into the sea. But the Israelis won. The Arabs tried it again in 1967, and again in 1973, launching a sneak attack on the holiest Jewish holiday. Each time the Jews prevailed but not without great loss of life. And when Israel was not fighting a major war, it was defending itself against terrorist campaigns.
On more recent history:
And yet Israel has always labored for a peaceful relation with its Arab neighbors. It voluntarily returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in return for peace, and gave the Palestinians all of Gaza as a peace gesture. What was the response? The Palestinians elected Hamas, a terrorist organization, and they immediately began firing thousands of rockets into Israel.
Scales back forces
Israel begins scaling back forces in Gaza, with eyewitnesses reporting tanks pulling back from urban areas towards the border. The drawdown is aimed at allowing Israel to regroup and plan its next course of action, with troops set to soon pull back from densely populated urban areas once tunnel destruction is completed, and decide over the next three days how to proceed with its goals. Netanyahu makes a televised speech:
We promised to return quiet to Israel and that is what we will do. We will continue to act until that goal is reached, however long it will take and with as much force as needed
‘Leave Gaza or destroy it’
The brother of an Israel Defense Forces soldier killed in Gaza says Netanyahu must decide whether to leave Gaza and pursue diplomacy, or destroy the territory. Omar Gotlib’s Facebook account:
I ask you to take the children out of Gaza and turn to diplomacy — or just stop being afraid of the world and turn Gaza into rubble. I’m not afraid of the boycott to come. My countrymen are more important than a few opinions in the faraway, distant world
The left-wing Meretz voter, who does not support Netanyahu’s Likud, says Gaza should be taken…
…if not pleasantly, then with full force — without soldiers, only bombs weighing ton upon ton. Just don’t let the erosion and attrition continue. Stop being a politician, and be a leader. Make a decision free of outside interests, just out of concern for the pure souls that are in that accursed place, which rivals the Dead Sea as ‘The Lowest Place in the World.’
Residents can return
The Israel Defense Forces says the 70,000 residents of the northern town of Beit Lahiya can return, signaling its offensive in the area is winding down. All-clear statement:
The residents are advised to beware of explosive devices Hamas has spread across the area
‘Very close’ to completing tunnel mission
Israel Defense Forces are poised to complete their mission to deal with cross-border offensive tunnels and will push on with the mission after ceasefire negotiations break down. A senior official:
We are very close to completing the mission of dealing with the tunnels […] There’s no point in promoting an agreement. We’re not talking about cease-fires anymore. Israel will act in its own interest. We will take action against attacks from Gaza, and will finish dealing with the tunnels
Israel will boycott truce talks
Israel’s security cabinet decides the country will not send a delegation to Cairo for truce talks after the planned 72-hour ceasefire designed to facilitate negotiations breaks down. Instead, it will seek to resolve the 2014 Gaza conflict unilaterally and reach understandings with Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and the international community on rebuilding the Gaza Strip, demilitarizing Hamas and supervision of goods. Senior official:
If we feel that deterrence has been achieved we’ll leave the Strip based on the principle of calm for calm. If we feel deterrence has not yet been achieved, we’ll continue the operation in the Gaza Strip, or leave and press on with aerial strikes.
Calls for unconditional release
Obama calls on Hamas to demonstrate that it can meet ceasefire commitments by releasing Israel Defense Forces 2nd. Lt. Hadar Goldin who has been dragged into a tunnel by militants 90 minutes into the 72-hour truce agreement:
If they are serious about resolving the situation, that soldier needs to be unconditionally released as soon as possible. I think it’s going to be very hard to put a ceasefire back together again if Israel and the international community can’t feel confident that Hamas can follow through on a ceasefire commitment.
17 Gazans killed ahead of ceasefire
Palestinian health official Ashraf al-Kidra says 17 Gaza residents are killed in Israeli strikes ahead of the 72-hour ceasefire agreed to by both sides. He says the dead include 10 members of one family killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis, while Gaza police report heavy Israeli tank shelling in northern and eastern Gaza.
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
10 Gazans killed 4 hours into ceasefire
Gaza officials and Palestinian media say at least 10 people have been killed and 15 wounded around four hours into the 72-hour ceasefire period. Health Ministry official Ashraf al-Kidra and Gaza police spokesman Ayman Batniji say Israeli tanks shelled the eastern part of the town of Rafah in the south of the enclave shortly before 1000 local time, 0200 Eastern Standard Time. The Israel Defense Forces says a heavy exchange of fire has erupted in the area.
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.