Palestinians search in the rubble of a
destroyed house where eight members of the Al Haj family were killed in a
strike early morning in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip
on Thursday, July 10, 2014.
The Al Haj family never heard it
coming: An Israeli missile smashed into their home in the middle of the
night, destroying the structure and killing eight relatives in a matter
of seconds. A survivor said all the dead were civilians.
As Israel intensified its bombardment Thursday of the Gaza Strip
in an offensive against the Hamas militant group, with more than 900
targets attacked so far, it said it was doing everything possible to
avoid civilian casualties in the crowded urban landscape. The risk of
more civilian deaths will remain high, especially if Israel moves in
with ground forces. More pics after cut....
More than 85 people have been killed, including dozens of
civilians, and over 300 wounded since the offensive began Tuesday,
Palestinian medical officials said.
Undeterred, Hamas militants have fired hundreds of rockets into
Israel, including salvos Thursday at the country's two largest cities,
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, that were intercepted by the rocket-defense
system known as the Iron Dome.
President Barack Obama called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and lent his support to Israel's efforts to defend itself from
the rocket fire, but he also urged both Israel and the Palestinians to
protect civilians and restore calm. The White House said the U.S. was
willing to "facilitate a cessation of hostilities," potentially along
the lines of a 2012 cease-fire that Egypt and former Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton helped broker.
At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council,
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern about the threats
to civilians in Israel and Gaza, and urged an immediate cease-fire.
Palestinians carry the body of
3-year-old Mohammed Mnassrah during his funeral in the Maghazi refugee
camp, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 10, 2014. Mohammed was killed
alongside his parents and one year old brother at his family's family
house in an Israeli air strike yesterday, relatives said.
Palestinian relatives of eight members
of the Al Haj family, who were killed in a strike early morning, grieve
in the family house during their funeral in Khan Younis refugee camp,
southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Smoke rises following an Israeli
strike on Gaza, seen from the Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, July 10,
2014.
Palestinian mourners chant slogans as
they carry the bodies of eight members of the Al Haj family, who were
killed in an Israeli missile strike early morning, during their funeral
in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, July 10,
2014.
Israeli soldiers drive an armored
personnel carrier to a position near the Israel Gaza border, Thursday,
July 10, 2014.
Palestinians inspect damage to a house
after it was hit by an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City, Thursday,
July 10, 2014.
An Israeli man takes pictures from a
hilltop at the Israel-Gaza Border, as Israel continues its strikes in
Gaza, Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Palestinian relatives of eight members
of the Al Haj family, who were killed in an Israeli missile strike
early morning, grieve in the family house during their funeral in Khan
Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Residents look at damage caused by a
rocket fired by Palestinian militants from in side Gaza Strip after it
hit in Netivot, southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a
house after it was hit by an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City,
Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Israelis looks at a site where
remnants of a long-range rocket fired by Palestinians militants from
Gaza landed after being shot down by Israel’s "Iron Dome," in Tel Aviv,
Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Palestinians gather around a car
wreckage after an airstrike in Jabalya refugee camp in the north of the
Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Israeli soldiers ride on a tank to a
position near Israel Gaza Border, Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Palestinian mourners chant slogans as
they carry the bodies of eight members of the Al Haj family, who were
killed in an Israeli missile strike early morning, during their funeral
in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, July 10,
2014.
Israelis looks at a site where
remnants of a long-range rocket fired by Palestinians militants from
Gaza landed after being shot down by Israel’s "Iron Dome," in Tel Aviv,
Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Palestinian relatives weep over the
coffin of Amer Alfayome, covered by a yellow Fatah flag, during his
funeral in Gaza city, Thursday, July 10, 2014. Alfayome was killed
during an Israeli air strike last night, relatives said.
Israeli soldiers drive an armored
personnel carrier to a position near the Israel Gaza border, Thursday,
July 10, 2014.
Palestinians search in the rubble of a
destroyed house where eight members of the Al Haj family were killed in
a strike early morning in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip
on Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Palestinians search in the rubble of a
destroyed house where eight members of the Al Haj family were killed in
a strike early morning in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip
on Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Palestinians search in the rubble of a
destroyed house where eight members of the Al Haj family were killed in
a strike early morning in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip
on Thursday, July 10, 2014.
View of central Israel seen from Tel
Aviv as an Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket from
the Gaza Strip, Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Smoke rises following Israeli strikes
on Gaza, seen from Israel-Gaza Border, Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Graphic explains Israel’s defense system; 3c x 6 inches; 146 mm x 152 mm;
Source- Associated Press
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