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Rockets fired on Sderot, as IDF continues Gaza op

Two rockets land in open areas, while Palestinians report nine family members killed in attack on Rafah; last known terror tunnel to be destroyed.

Air raid sirens sounded in Sderot and Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council and the IDF continued its activities in the Gaza Strip as Operation Protective Edge entered its 27th day on Sunday. Two rockets exploded in open areas around 8 am; no injuries or damages were reported.

 

 

The majority of the overnight and morning activities in Gaza occurred around the Rafah area, near the border between Israel, Egypt, and the Strip.

 

The IDF began withdrawing forces from Gaza on Saturday, redeploying its forces in a "temporary security strip." The military is expected to complete the destruction of the final known terror tunnel into Israel over the course of Sunday.

  

"What we are doing in the field right now is based on the lack of an agreement; it is possible an understanding will not be reached," said a senior military source. "There are other options on the table."

 

At the same time, Israel will allow the entry into Gaza of large amounts of products, humanitarian goods, medicine, and medical supplies.

 

According to Palestinian reports, nine family members were killed in Rafah in the early morning hours in an IDF attack. Seventeen casualties were reported in total, with the rest were killed in the central Strip.

 

"The operation is not over," claimed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night, despite calls for a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip – with the IDF nearing its declared objective of destroying the terror tunnels reaching into Israeli territory.

 

"We won't accept the continuation of rocket fire and we have different options that we will use to restore the calm, however long it takes," he said. "I prefer achieving the goal using the diplomatic option, but if there's no choice, we'll use all of the means at our disposal."

 

Since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge on July 8, 64 IDF soldiers and officers, two Israeli civilians, and one Thai migrant worker have been killed. The Palestinian casualty count, according to local medical sources, has passed 1,600 dead, with 296 children killed in Strip.

 

The data suggests whole families have been killed, 9,000 Palestinians have been injured, and hundreds of homes have been destroyed.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.03.14, 08:38
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