Death toll in Gaza exceed 330 as Israel maintain its positions

The second night since the start of the ground invasion of Gaza resulted in 26 Palestinians killed and four Israeli soldiers injured, one of them in a road accident. The Israeli army has killed 330 Palestinians since the beginning of Operation Margin Protector on Gaza in the early hours of July 8. 72 of them were children under 18 and women, according to the count of the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Of the nearly 3,300 injured, 657 are children. The United Nations estimates that more than 75 % of the dead are civilians. So far, there have been two Israeli casualties, a civilian and a soldier. Israel investigates whether the latter was a victim of so-called friendly fire. The first hours of the night were among the worst in the offensive, with dozens of dead Palestinians.

Israeli troops kept overnight positions they had occupied on Friday in the Palestinian territory. To the south, near the town of Khan Yunis, soldiers and tanks are deployed over one kilometer inside Gaza. To the north and east remained, according to testimony from neighbors, one hundred meters inside.

Meanwhile,the situation of displaced persons fleeing Israelis continued to worsen, whose troops barely encountered resistance. The UN reported that their shelters had received 40,000 Palestinians until Friday afternoon. To these figures must be added the Palestinians who took refuge in the homes of relatives or friends. Often families like Hanana Fuad, who lives in the Zeitun neighborhood, less than two kilometers from the border with Israel, send their children to the homes of relatives living in central areas of Gaza City.

Hard bombing Friday ended up forcing the complete evacuation of the Al Wafa hospital, a health center associated with Hamas in which fourth and last floor Israel claims to have detected a “hub” of the Islamist group.  On Friday, the structure showed artillery blows it has received in recent weeks. The sidewalks are filled with rubble around and broken glass. The streets in these border areas are almost entirely empty.

On Saturday, the Israeli army accused Hamas of using an “explosive donkey” against its soldiers south of Gaza: “Send an animal to death to pursue targets may seem shocking,” the Army note said . “But it’s not the first time that Palestinians adopt this tactic.”

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Posted by Maleeha Tareen on Jul 20 2014. Filed under Latest News, Middle East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.