Israeli strikes kill 13 in Gaza; Hamas official calls for revenge
Seven men from one family were reported killed Sunday in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, bringing to 13 the death toll in such attacks through the day and overnight after Israel warned it would intensify military operations in the coastal territory.
About three dozen Palestinians, both militants and civilians, have died in the last week in Israeli missile strikes ordered in response to rockets fired daily into southern Israel by the militant movement Hamas. About two dozen Israelis have been injured in those attacks.
On Sunday night, an Israeli missile struck the Gaza City home of senior Hamas lawmaker Khalil Haya, who was not there at the time, residents said. The missile slammed into a sitting room where young men from his clan had gathered, killing seven of them and also a visitor, local hospital officials said.
Capt. Noa Meir of the Israeli military said that the intended target was not Haya but a cell of five Hamas militants about whom there was “specific information,” a phrase implying that they were preparing to mount an assault of some kind. Security sources said the cell included a man who had participated in rocket, mortar and shooting attacks on Israel and its forces.
Reaction to the Israeli strike was swift. Hamas denied that any of the victims were its members, and accused Israel of moving beyond militants to target political figures. A Hamas spokesman called for retaliatory attacks.
The airstrike came after the Israeli Cabinet met to discuss an escalation in retaliation against Hamas for the Kassam rockets raining down on the Israeli town of Sderot. More rockets landed in the town Sunday, but no major injuries were reported.
“If the measured steps we are taking, in the political and military sphere, do not bring about the desired calm, we will be forced to intensify our response,” Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said. “Hamas people are paying, and will pay, a very heavy personal price for these attacks on the residents of Sderot and nearby communities.”
Olmert has come under criticism in recent days from political opponents who have pushed for a stronger Israeli response.
“It’s time for hard action,” said Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, a hard-liner who did not participate in the Cabinet meeting.
Israeli armored vehicles and troops have taken positions inside the northern border of the Gaza Strip, but a ground incursion is not expected.
In addition to the attack on Haya’s home, Israel launched three airstrikes before dawn Sunday, destroying what the military said were weapons manufacturing and storage facilities belonging to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militia. One more strike blew up a car, killing a Hamas fighter and two civilian passengers, Palestinian sources said. Hospital officials said a 15-year-old boy was killed by an Israeli tank shell near the Jabaliya refugee camp.
Early today, two more airstrikes were reported in Gaza. One hit a factory, killing a Hamas fighter, the militant group’s radio station reported. The Israeli military said it was targeting militants who were loading a truck with rockets.
The second airstrike struck a home in a refugee camp, but there was no immediate word of casualties.
*
Special correspondent Rushdi abu Alouf in Gaza contributed to this report.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
