Summary
Here’s how things stand halfway through Friday, the fifth day of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, in what is the most serious fighting between the parties since 2014.
After an intense night of exchanges of air strikes and rocket fire, aerial attacks appear to be continuing in Gaza and across Israel, albeit at a slower pace. Violent protests are flaring across the West Bank, and mixed Israeli cities are bracing for another night of ethnically-charged rioting.
The IDF caused confusion in the early hours of this morning by saying ground troops had entered the Gaza Strip - a statement that was later retracted.
For now, there are only a handful of divisions stationed in south Israel, which suggests a ground operation in Gaza is not yet on the cards. A DPA report, quoting an Egyptian security source, said that last night’s mediation talks between Israel and an Egyptian delegation were inconclusive.
A total of 119 people have been killed in Gaza (most caused by Israeli attacks, but a handful from errant Hamas strikes) and nine people have died in Israel.
That’s it from me for the time being - we will reopen this blog at a later stage if the military situation escalates.
Updated
Members of the US Congress debated the deadly hostilities in Israel and Gaza last night.
Rep Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American congresswoman who has been critical of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians, questioned the US government’s ‘unconditional support’ of Israel and, often tearing up as she spoke, accused Israel of being an ‘apartheid state’.
Earlier in the day Joe Biden said there had “not been a significant overreaction” by Israel to the Hamas rocket attacks and Reps. Ted Deutch and Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke in the House in support of Israel’s “right to defend her citizens”.
Until violence erupted this week, Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be on the verge of losing his position at the helm of Israeli politics after 12 years as prime minister. The current conflict provides him with some protection, our correspondent Harriet Sherwood reports.
The country’s fourth inconclusive general election in the past two years had led to the opposition leader, Yair Lapid, being asked to try to put together a coalition. But the flow of rockets and missiles between Israel and Gaza, plus intercommunal violence within Israel itself, has complicated those efforts.
On top of the political threat to his premiership and current criticism over the mayhem in mixed Israeli towns, Netanyahu is also the first serving Israeli prime minister to stand trial on criminal charges, including fraud and bribery. He denies the charges, saying he is the victim of a politically motivated witch-hunt.
More below:
Talks between Israel and an Egyptian mediation delegation last night ended without any concrete steps towards even a temporary ceasefire, DPA, the German news wire service, reports from an Egyptian security source.
According to the source, Israel wants to take out several Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials in Gaza and dent the groups’ military capabilities before returning to negotiations on a ceasefire.
Tensions are also high today on Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria: at least three rockets were fired from south Lebanon in the direction of Israel last night, which landed in the Mediterranean. The Lebanese army said it had arrested a Palestinian national in connection to the incident.
This morning, Israeli forces reportedly targeted a vehicle carrying weapons in Syria’s Homs province. Israel is active in Syria’s skies, carrying out frequent attacks on Hezbollah and Iranian militia infrastructure across the country, but does not usually comment on such activity.
The Palestinian news agency reports that Israeli forces have used live bullets to fire at Palestinians in the village of Budrus, west of Ramallah, after protests turned violent. More as we get it.
🔴 مراسل صفا: اندلاع مواجهات مع الاحتلال في قرية بدرس غرب رام الله والجنود يطلقون الرصاص الحي
— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) May 14, 2021
In case you missed it, our Jerusalem correspondent Oliver Holmes is on this morning’s Today in Focus podcast unpicking how long-simmering anger at the occupation and a series of different events and circumstances over the last few weeks have converged, resulting in the worst unrest in Israel and Palestine since 2014.
Updated
An update from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that more than 200 housing units and 24 schools have been destroyed or severely damaged in the Gaza Strip in Israeli air raids in the last five days.
The agency also sounded the alarm over access to fresh water and impact of the hostilities on Gaza’s Covid-19 response.
Around one quarter of the Strip’s estimated two-million-strong population has limited access to drinking water after power cuts and damage to pipe networks, Ocha said.
The health system is also struggling with a recent spike in coronavirus cases and deaths.
An Israeli jet has bombed a Hamas rocket launching cell in Gaza, the IDF says.
An air raid siren is also warning Israeli communities near the Strip to take cover after a Hamas drone managed to penetrate Israeli airspace.
לפני זמן קצר, תקף כלי טיס חוליית פעילים של ארגון הטרור חמאס בצפון רצועת עזה, בזמן שהייתה בהכנות לשיגור רקטות למרכז הארץ pic.twitter.com/kcEDvElpiJ
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 14, 2021
People across Gaza are fleeing their homes and taking refuge in temporary shelters, according to AP.
Families arrived in pickup trucks, on donkeys and by foot at schools in the Strip run by the United Nations, hauling pillows and pans, blankets and bread. Men lugged large plastic bags and women carried infants on their shoulders, cramming into classrooms.
“Nothing remains for us”, one mother who fled with her children to a school in Beit Lahiya, told an AP reporter. Her son, Othman, said he had felt the family’s house “shake up and down,” adding that “everyone was running.”
My colleagues published this photograph on the blog overnight, but it’s such a powerful image it deserves to be shared with people who are now up and about in different time zones.
On the right: rockets fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel. On the left: Iron Dome interceptors. Picture taken by Anas Baba, a photographer with Agence France-Presse.
Protests against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories and the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza are growing across the West Bank and Jordan this morning.
Thousands of people in Ghor, near the West Bank border in the Jordan valley, gathered to wave Palestinian flags and chant “Freedom for Gaza, freedom for al-Aqsa.”
Smaller numbers of people are out on the streets in Nablus, Hebron, Ramallah, Jenin and Bethlehem, but crowd sizes are expected to swell after Friday’s afternoon prayers.
Today is the second day of Eid al-Fitr, the three-day festival which marks the end of a month of Ramadan fasting.
Updated
Four residents of East Jerusalem have been arrested on suspicion of taking part in the Jerusalem Day violence which helped spark this week’s escalation in Gaza and ethnically-fuelled rioting in several cities across Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post. More than 750 people have been arrested in connection to the street violence since Monday.
Last night, one Jewish man was severely beaten by an Arab mob in Acre, and one Jewish man in Batyam was severely beaten by Jews after being mistaken for an Arab, the paper also said.
Updated
Individuals involved in a new eruption of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed may be targeted by an International Criminal Court investigation now under way into alleged war crimes in earlier bouts of the conflict, its top prosecutor has told Reuters.
The ICC’s Fatou Bensouda said she would press ahead with her inquiry even without the cooperation of Israel, which accuses her office of anti-Semitic bias, and is not a member of the treaty-based court.
“These are events that we are looking at very seriously,” Bensouda said. “We are monitoring very closely and I remind that an investigation has opened and the evolution of these events could also be something we look at.
“This is just to alert people on all sides not to escalate, to be careful to avoid taking actions that will result in the commission of (war) crimes,” Bensouda said in a reference to the current hostilities.
In March, after nearly five years of preliminary inquiries, the ICC said it was opening a formal investigation into suspected war crimes committed by both the Israeli military and Palestinian armed groups.
Updated
Pictures shared by Safa, the Palestinian news agency, show widespread destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes on a blacksmith’s workshop in Shejaiya, east of Gaza City.
Israeli attacks on Friday are targeting senior Hamas officials and the militant group’s network of tunnels inside the territory, the Israeli military said.
📷 طائرات الاحتلال تقصف ورشة حدادة في حي الشجاعية شرقي مدينة غزة pic.twitter.com/KyAzYxAffS
— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) May 14, 2021
In a tweet in Hebrew and Arabic, French president Emmanuel Macron has called for an immediate ceasefire, saying that “the cycle of violence in the Middle East must stop”.
מערבולת האלימות חייבת להיפסק במזרח התיכון. אני קורא בתקיפות להפסקת אש ולדיאלוג. אני קורא לרגיעה ולשלום.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 14, 2021
يجب ان تتوقف دوامة العنف في الشرق الأوسط. أناشد بقوة من اجل وقف إطلاق النار والحوار. أنادي للهدوء والسلام. https://t.co/FI2E0HNuWP
New barrage of airstrikes begins in Gaza after intense night of bombing
A fresh round of airstrikes has begun in Gaza, the IDF has tweeted.
The new attack follows a pre-dawn Israeli offensive on Hamas targets in the enclave using artillery and extensive airstrikes. Today is the fifth day of hostilities, which show no sign of abating.
Our jets and aircraft just struck a number of Hamas launch sites and observation posts in Gaza.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 14, 2021
Updated
Israel’s Iron Dome has just intercepted a Hamas drone, according to the IDF.
The Iron Dome Aerial Defense System just intercepted a Hamas UAV that crossed from Gaza into Israel.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 14, 2021
Good morning to those just joining us. I’m Bethan McKernan, one of the Guardian’s Middle East correspondents, bringing you the latest after a night during which there was confusion over whether Israel had put boots on the ground in Gaza and the IDF was forced to retract an earlier statement.
If you see news or video footage you think we may have missed, please let me know on bethan.mckernan@theguardian.com or on Twitter @mck_beth.
Updated
With that awful news, that is it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. My colleague Bethan McKernan, the Guardian’s Middle East and Turkey correspondent, will be taking you through the next few hours of developments.
Updated
Gaza death toll rises to 119 – health ministry
The death toll has risen overnight to at least 119 Palestinians, including 31 children and 19 women, according to Gaza’s health ministry. There have been 830 injuries.
Israel’s death toll has risen to eight.
Updated
In the northern Gaza Strip, Rafat Tanani, his pregnant wife and four children were killed after an Israeli warplane reduced the building to rubble, according to an AP report citing local residents.
Sadallah Tanani, a relative, said the family was “wiped out from the population register” without warning. “It was a massacre. My feelings are indescribable,” he said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says the death toll has climbed to 109 Palestinians, including 28 children and 15 women, with 621 people wounded, according to the Associated Press.
The Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups have confirmed 20 deaths in their ranks, though Israel says that number is much higher. Seven people have been killed in Israel, including a 6-year-old boy and a soldier.
Helen Sullivan with you for our live coverage of the attacks on Gaza. If you see news or video footage you think we may have missed, let me know on Twitter on @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.
Many thanks to those who have sent information throughout the night.
More on the violence within Israel last night, via AP:
In Tel Aviv, two Jewish men attacked a journalist covering a gathering of ultra-nationalists. In the city of Lod, a Jewish man was shot and seriously wounded by an Arab man. In Jaffa, an Israeli soldier was attacked by a group of Arabs and was hospitalised in serious condition.
For the fourth night last night communal violence continued in Israel, too, with Jewish and Arab mobs clashing in the town of Lod. The fighting took place despite a bolstered police presence ordered by the nation’s leaders.
Palestinian journalist Aya Isleem has tweeted this footage of the destruction taken by Israeli public broadcaster KAN this morning:
Gaza today#Gaza_under_attack pic.twitter.com/eHm4abAjbK
— Aya Isleem 🇵🇸 #Gaza (@AyaIsleemEn) May 14, 2021
Summary
If you are just joining us, air strikes and rocket fire appear to be continuing in Gaza this morning, as the Israeli Defence Forces say that they launched an operation involving bombing by 160 aircraft last night in order to destroy tunnels built by Hamas.
At 1am on Friday, Gaza time, during Eid al-Fitr, the IDF tweeted that “air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza strip”, but a few hours later, it sent “clarification” stating that there are “currently no IDF ground troops” in Gaza.
There was nonetheless a marked escalation in violence from Israeli forces last night.
The “misunderstanding” regarding the ground troops being investigated, according to the Times of Israel, citing an IDF spokesperson.
Meanwhile the US State Department issued an advisory against travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories. The UN has called for a ceasefire and announced that the Security Council will meet on Sunday.
We do not yet know the death toll from last night’s attacks.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and is usually a time of celebration.
Updated
Israel forces launched operation of 160 planes bombing Gaza – IDF
We now have confirmation of the operation by 160 aircraft (but not of the number of missiles dropped):
According to the Israeli Defence Forces:
Throughout the night, approximately 160 IDF aircraft from 12 squadrons struck over 150 underground targets in the northern Gaza Strip.
Parallel to the Air Force strikes, ground forces, artillery and armored troops deployed along the border and fired hundreds of artillery shells and dozens of tank shells against targets in the Gaza Strip.
During the strike, the purpose of which was to severely damage the strategically important underground tunnels belonging to Hamas, many kilometres of the tunnel network were destroyed.
Updated
The Independent’s Middle East correspondent Bel Trew reports that Israel launched an operation of 160 planes bombing Gaza last night, in what they say was a targeted attack on an underground tunnel system.
The Times of Israel is also reporting this. The air campaign saw 450 missiles dropped, according to the Times of Israel, which cites IDF spokesperson Hidai Zilberman. The Guardian is working to verify the information with the Israeli Defense Forces.
#Israel army says there was no ground invasion overnight but a significant joint operation that saw 160 planes from 12 different squadrons and infantry troops operate together to destroy an underground tunnel system known as the ‘metro’ “that is a city under the city of Gaza”
— Bel Trew (@Beltrew) May 14, 2021
Updated
On this morning’s episode of Today in Focus, Oliver Holmes, the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, discusses what has prompted the worst unrest in Israel and Palestine since 2014:
Al Jazeera reports that airstrikes have continued into Gaza this morning, with rockets also being launched at Israel from Gaza.
The Guardian has not confirmed this independently, but it appears to be the case from a live feed being streamed by Al Jazeera from Gaza.
Al Jazeera cites the Safa Press agency as “reporting more Israeli shelling and aerial bombardments in Gaza on Friday morning” and that “several air raids were launched in the eastern and northern part of Gaza City.”
“Artillery fire and shelling were also reported in the town of al-Fakhari, east of Khan Yunis in Gaza.”
The live feed also appeared to show rockets being fired from Gaza.
📹 استهداف جديد في حي الزيتون بمدينة غزة#غزة_تحت_القصف pic.twitter.com/FCYzXaeMXx
— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) May 14, 2021
In the last hour, sirens could also be heard on the feed.
Updated
Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, was asked about the attacks in Gaza at a post-budget lunch.
Morrison said:
It’s obviously a deeply sensitive topic. And it’s one I’m both personally and our government is deeply concerned by, the terrible and escalating violence we’re seeing in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. As always we’d urge all those involved to exercise restraint, to restore calm so people can live peacefully. And avoid unilateral actions that might destabilise peace.
That said, Israel unquestionably has the right to defend itself and its people. Unquestionably. And equally, Palestinians need to be able to live peacefully.
Hi, Helen Sullivan with you again.
The military reporter for the Times of Israel has just tweeted that Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Hidai Zilberman says that no Israeli troops entered on Thursday night / early morning on Friday, and that there was a “misunderstanding” that is now being investigated.
UPDATE:
— Judah Ari Gross (@JudahAriGross) May 14, 2021
IDF now clarifies that *NO* Israeli troops entered Gaza territory last night. The soldiers, tanks and artillery were located close to the border, but on the Israeli side.
IDF Spox Hidai Zilberman says the military is investigating what led to the misunderstanding.
In case you are just joining us, the IDF sent the Guardian “clarification” a few hours ago stating that there are “currently no IDF ground troops” in Gaza.
It did not explain the earlier statement tweeted by the IDF’s english account at 1am on Friday Gaza time stating, “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza strip”. This prompted reports that Israel had launched an invasion by ground troops inside the Gaza territory.
We are pausing this live coverage for a while, but will bring you any key developments and breaking news when it happens.
IDF: 'There are currently no IDF ground troops inside the Gaza strip'
The Israeli Defense Forces have sent the Guardian their “clarification” stating that there are “currently no IDF ground troops” in Gaza. It is brief, and does not explain the earlier statement to the contrary given to journalists and published in Twitter:
The IDF statement "clarifying" what happened tonight in Gaza: pic.twitter.com/jrxphiwUm0
— Helen Sullivan (@helenrsullivan) May 14, 2021
Clarification: there are currently no IDF ground troops inside the Gaza strip. IDF air and ground forces are carrying out strikes on targets in the Gaza strip.
Updated
Here are some photographs from tonight’s attacks:
Hamas rockets are intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system:
Updated
Helen Sullivan here – a reminder that you can send any news and video footage you think we may have missed to helen.sullivan@theguardian.com or to me on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
There has nonetheless been a marked escalation in violence from Israeli forces tonight.
Palestinian journalist Henriette Chacar has this account by her colleague in Gaza from an hour ago:
From our colleague on the ground in Gaza: "My children are completely panicked. It feels like more than 200 bombs are going off at once. The houses are shaking. Building are collapsing on people. The sound of their screams is terrifying."
— Henriette Chacar هنريت شقر (@HenrietteChacar) May 13, 2021
Updated
From the Washington Post’s Jerusalem bureau chief:
from IDF last two hours:
— Steve Hendrix (@SBHendrix) May 13, 2021
12:17: “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.”
1:26: “*Official IDF Statement*
There are ground troops in Gaza.”
2:13: “Clarification: there are currently no IDF ground troops inside the Gaza Strip.”
The full statement from the US state department advising against travel to Israel and Palestinian territories:
US State Department raises the travel advisory level for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza pic.twitter.com/UrZAajbgrc
— Elizabeth Hagedorn (@ElizHagedorn) May 13, 2021
Updated
Here is an image of rockets being fired tonight from Gaza in response to the attacks from Israel:
This video shows being intercepted by Israel’s “Iron Dome” defence system tonight (we have not verified this independently):
#Breaking | 50 Interceptions overall by Iron Dome over Ashkelon in southern Israel a few minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/5H8wq3dOqb
— ORI - WorldNews IL (@OriElmakayes) May 13, 2021
Updated
Al Quds (the Palestinian Arabic daily newspaper) reports that “several areas in the cities of the West Bank, including Jenin, Nablus and Qalqilya, are currently witnessing rallies in solidarity with the Gaza strip”.
عدة مناطق بمدن الضفة الغربية منها جنين ونابلس وقلقيلية تشهد حاليًا مسيرات تضامنًا مع قطاع غزة#فلسطين #جريدة_القدس #عاجل #متابعة #الأقصى #غزة #غزة_تحت_القصف #الاحتلال #المقاومة #تل_أبيب
— جريدة القدس (@alqudsnewspaper) May 14, 2021
Updated
What we are now trying to understand is why the IDF at first said there were troops on the ground in Gaza and then retracted that.
As the Wall Street Journal’s Israel / Palestinian territories correspondent writes, the IDF’s international spokesman, Jonathan Conricus, said to her: “There are ground troops in Gaza.” He retracted the statement two hours later:
To be clear, @LTCJonathan told me directly, "there are ground troops in Gaza." That was the basis for a first story saying so. He retracted that statement two hours later and I changed the story to reflect that, and that is noted in the text and will be corrected. https://t.co/8HRBjBwTYW
— Felicia Schwartz (@felschwartz) May 14, 2021
Updated
UN calls for ceasefire 'out of respect for the spirit of Eid'
United Nations secretary general António Guterres has tweeted calling for “an immediate de-escalation and cessation of hostilities in Gaza and Israel”.
Guterres appealed for the ceasefire “out of respect for the spirit of Eid”:
Out of respect for the spirit of Eid, I appeal for an immediate de-escalation and cessation of hostilities in Gaza and Israel. Too many innocent civilians have already died. This conflict can only increase radicalization and extremism in the whole region.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 13, 2021
Eid al-Fitr, which began on Wednesday night and continues into Thursday night, marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and is usually a time of celebration.
Updated
So to summarise what has happened in the past few hours.
The Israeli defence force tweeted at 1am (Gaza time: GMT+3) on Friday 14 May that “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza strip”.
It was unclear from this statement whether there were Israeli boots on the ground in Gaza, and over the past few hours we have received extensive footage and reports of airstrikes in the Gaza strip by Israeli forces. Now the IDF has revised its statement to (the Times of Israel reports):
“There are currently no IDF ground troops inside the Gaza strip. IDF air and ground forces are carrying out strikes on targets in the Gaza strip.”
Updated
IDF: 'There are currently no IDF ground troops inside the Gaza Strip'
The IDF’s statement saying that there are currently no IDF ground troops inside the strip, per Judah Ari Gross, the Times of Israel’s military correspondent:
“Clarification: there are currently no IDF ground troops inside the Gaza strip. IDF air and ground forces are carrying out strikes on targets in the Gaza strip.”
Updated
This video from Palestinian journalist Aya Isleem shows the moment of attack by Israeli aircraft in Gaza (the Guardian has not verified this independently):
Huge Israeli aircraft attack on Gaza#Gaza_under_attack_now pic.twitter.com/eCHeXyErLv
— Aya Isleem 🇵🇸 #Gaza (@AyaIsleemEn) May 13, 2021
She has also posted these videos that capture the sound in Gaza at the moment (again, we have not verified these independently):
Very very strong bombing now#Gaza_Under_Attack pic.twitter.com/zGiJ8Eh9iM
— Aya Isleem 🇵🇸 #Gaza (@AyaIsleemEn) May 13, 2021
Israeli bombing everywhere#Gaza_under_attack_now pic.twitter.com/37OwxRKHd9
— Aya Isleem 🇵🇸 #Gaza (@AyaIsleemEn) May 13, 2021
Here is our full report on what we know so far:
US state department advises citizens not to travel to Israel and Palestinian territories
More on the US advising citizens not to travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories:
In a notice issued on Thursday, the US state department raised its travel advisory for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza to level 3 – “reconsider travel”. It had previously been at level 2, which recommends travelers “exercise increased caution”.
The revised alert cited continuing rocket fire from Gaza into areas across southern and central Israel, including Jerusalem, Israel’s military response to the attacks, and a “marked increase” in violence and protests throughout Israel.
“Protests and violence may continue to occur, some with little or no warning,” it said.
Updated
Israeli army says it has not entered the Gaza strip – report
AFP reports that the Israeli army now says it has not entered the Gaza strip:
#BREAKING Israeli army says has not entered Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/xyMSmLpYC5
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 13, 2021
Journalist Anshel Pfeffer, who reports for Haaretz and the Economist, has tweeted: “The Israeli army’s line now, after a series of contradicting briefings over the last couple of hours, is that there are no Israeli troops actually inside the Gaza strip right now. Make of it what you will.”
The Israeli army’s line now, after a series of contradicting briefings over the last couple of hours, is that there are no Israeli troops actually inside the Gaza Strip right now. Make of it what you will.
— Anshel Pfeffer אנשיל פפר (@AnshelPfeffer) May 13, 2021
Updated
The Al Quds newspaper reports, citing the public broadcaster KAN, that the US has “warned its citizens not to travel to Israel and is considering halting flights to Tel Aviv”:
عاجل: ريشت كان: الولايات المتحدة تحذر مواطنيها بعدم السفر إلى إسرائيل وتدرس وقف الرحلات الجوية إلى تل أبيب#فلسطين #جريدة_القدس #عاجل #متابعة #الأقصى #غزة #غزة_تحت_القصف #الاحتلال #المقاومة #تل_أبيب #لبنان
— جريدة القدس (@alqudsnewspaper) May 13, 2021
Updated
According to Israeli media (Amichai Stein is a correspondent for KAN, Israel’s public broadcaster), an IDF spokesperson told his colleague that ground troops did not enter the Gaza strip:
IDF spokesperson tells @roysharon11: Ground troops DID NOT enter the Gaza strip
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) May 13, 2021
What the IDF said in their tweet was that “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip”.
Updated
Again, there is still confusion over whether this escalation signals the launch of a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza by Israel.
Journalist Anshel Pfeffer, who reports for Haaretz and the Economist, tweeted:
Some kind of Israeli ground offensive has began in the last hour in the Gaza Strip. It’s unclear at present what scale of forces, whether it’s the four brigades that were in staging-areas or a smaller force.
No confirmed details yet but this doesn’t like a large-scale incursion in to Gaza quite yet but something smaller.
Conflicting reports from different sources right now over whether the “ground attack” is actual boots on the ground or just ground forces (tanks, artillery) firing in to the Gaza Strip. We should know soon enough
This week’s violence between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers has killed 103 Palestinians, including 27 children, and wounded 530 people in the impoverished territory. Israeli airstrikes have pounded apartments, blown up cars and toppled buildings, the Associated Press reports.
And Gaza’s hospitals were already struggling:
“Before the military attacks, we had major shortages and could barely manage with the second (virus) wave,” said Gaza Health Ministry official Abdelatif al-Hajj by phone as bombs thundered in the background. “Now casualties are coming from all directions, really critical casualties. I fear a total collapse.”
Gutted by years of conflict, the impoverished health care system in the territory of more than 2 million people has always been vulnerable. Bitter division between Hamas and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority and a nearly 14-year blockade imposed by Israel with Egypt’s help also has strangled the infrastructure. There are shortages of equipment and supplies such as blood bags, surgical lamps, anaesthesia and antibiotics.
Personal protection gear, breathing machines and oxygen tanks remain even scarcer. Last month, Gaza’s daily coronavirus cases and deaths hit record highs, fuelled by the spread of a variant that first appeared in Britain, relaxation of movement restrictions during Ramadan, and deepening public apathy and intransigence.
Updated
On Thursday, the US Defence Department flew about 120 personnel out of Israel as a precaution in light of the ongoing violence there, AP reported, citing Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, who said the American personnel departed on Thursday on a US Air Force C-17 transport plane.
They had been in Israel to plan for a future bilateral exercise. Kirby said the conference was scheduled to end this week but the exit was accelerated by a few days.
The response to that decision to meet in three days’ time (if you are in New York, where the UN Security Council is located, and where it is currently Thursday), rather than immediately – from the Guardian’s world affairs editor, Julian Borger:
UNSC to meet on Israel and Gaza...on Sunday. https://t.co/sHyJu2LnYa
— Julian Borger (@julianborger) May 13, 2021
Updated
UN Security Council to meet on Sunday
US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has just tweeted that the UN Security Council will meet on Sunday to “to discuss the situation in Israel and Gaza”.
She added: “The US will continue to actively engage in diplomacy at the highest levels to try to de-escalate tensions.”
The UN Security Council will meet to discuss the situation in Israel and Gaza on Sunday. The U.S. will continue to actively engage in diplomacy at the highest levels to try to de-escalate tensions.
— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) May 13, 2021
Here is what it is like in Gaza at the moment, per a report from the Associated Press:
“Masses of red flames illuminated the skies as the deafening blasts from the outskirts of Gaza City jolted people awake. The strikes were so strong that people inside the city, several kilometres away, could be heard screaming in fear.”
Army spokesman Jonathan Conricus confirmed that Israeli soldiers had entered the Palestinian enclave, without giving any numbers, AFP reports.
But Reuters are far more circumspect, reporting:
Although the statement gave no further details, Israeli military affairs correspondents who are briefed regularly by the armed forces said it was not a ground invasion, and that troops were firing artillery from Israel’s side of the border.
Residents of northern Gaza, near the Israeli frontier, said they had seen no sign of ground troops inside the enclave but reported heavy artillery fire and dozens of air strikes.
Updated
It is not yet clear whether the operation is a full-scale invasion of Gaza by Israel, or is at this stage a targeted attack on military group strongholds.
It is currently just after 1am in Gaza on Friday, 14 May.
What we know so far is that an hour ago, as we saw in that earlier post, the Israeli Defence Force tweeted, “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip”.
IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 13, 2021
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew a few minutes later:
I said that we would charge a very heavy price from Hamas. We do it and we will continue to do it with great intensity. The last word was not said and this operation will continue as long as necessary.
We give one hundred percent backing to the police, the Border Police and the rest of the security forces to restore law and order to the cities of Israel - we will not tolerate anarchy.
אמרתי שאנחנו נגבה מחיר כבד מאוד מהחמאס. אנחנו עושים זאת ואנחנו נמשיך לעשות זאת בעוצמה רבה. המילה האחרונה לא נאמרה והמבצע הזה יימשך ככל שיידרש.
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 13, 2021
אנחנו נותנים מאה אחוז גיבוי לשוטרים, לחיילי מג״ב ולשאר כוחות הביטחון כדי להשיב את החוק והסדר לערי ישראל - לא נסבול אנרכיה.
Updated
This is just in from the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, Oliver Holmes:
Israel appears to have launched its most intense attack on Gaza so far.
Hazem Balousha, a journalist in Gaza city, said residents heard intense bombardments and attacks to the north of the strip since just after midnight.
“It lasted half an hour,” he said. “Very loud; buildings were shaking. My building was really shaking.”
Updated
Hi, Helen Sullivan joining you now.
I will be bringing you developments in this story as they happen. Please do send any news you think we may have missed to helen.sullivan@theguardian.com or to me on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
Israel’s military has said “ground troops” have begun attacking in the Gaza strip, following days of airstrikes and prompting fears of a ground invasion.
“[Israel Defense Forces] air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement just after midnight local time, without providing further details.
Shortly after, in an apparent reference to the operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: “The last word was not said and this operation will continue as long as necessary.”
IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 13, 2021
Updated
