Israel knocks out Gaza power

plant, digs in for long fight

An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires towards the Gaza Strip July 28, 2!"#
BY NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI AND MAAYAN LUBELL-Tue Jul 29, 2014
$%euters& ' Israel knocked out Gaza(s only power plant, flattened the home of its Islamist )amas
political leader and pounded dozens of other high'profile targets in the encla*e on +uesday, with no
end in sight to more than three weeks of conflict#
)ealth officials said at least ,- .alestinians were killed in some of hea*iest bombardments from air, sea and
land since the Israeli offensi*e began in response to )amas rocket fire#
+he Israeli assault intensified following the deaths of ! Israeli soldiers in cross'border attacks on /onday,
with .rime /inister 0en1amin 2etanyahu warning of a long conflict ahead#
+hick black smoke rose from blazing fuel tanks at the power station that supplies up to two'thirds of Gaza(s
energy needs# +he local energy authority said initial damage assessments suggested the plant could be out
of action for a year#
3lectricity was cut to the city of Gaza and many other parts of the )amas'dominated territory after what
officials said was Israeli tank shelling of the tanks containing some 4 million cubic litres of diesel fuel#
5+he power plant is finished,5 said its director, /ohammed al'Sharif# An Israeli military spokeswoman had
no immediate comment and said she was checking the report#
Gaza 6ity municipality said damage to the station could halt many of the area(s water pumps, and it urged
residents to ration water consumption# Gazans who ha*e had a few hours electricity a day since the conflict
began now face months without power#
A number of rockets were fired from Gaza toward southern and central Israel, including the +el A*i* area#
At least one was intercepted by Israel(s Iron 7ome anti'missile system# 2o casualties or damage were
reported# 8utside pressure has been building on 2etanyahu to rein in his forces# 0oth 9#S# .resident
0arack 8bama and the 9#2# Security 6ouncil ha*e called for an immediate ceasefire to allow relief to reach
Gaza(s !#8 million .alestinians, followed by negotiations on a more durable end to hostilities#
3fforts led by 9#S# Secretary of State John :erry last week failed to achie*e a breakthrough, and the
e;plosion of *iolence appeared to dash international hopes of turning a brief lull for the /uslim 3id al'<itr
festi*al into a longer'term ceasefire#
+he =est 0ank'based .alestinian leadership, saying it was also speaking for )amas and Islamic Jihad in
the Gaza Strip, *oiced support on +uesday for a 2"',2 hour ceasefire#
0ut )amas spokesman Sami Abu >uhri told %euters the statement by senior .alestine ?iberation
8rganization official @asser Abed %abbo did not reflect )amas(s position# 5)amas ga*e no appro*al to
anything Abed %abbo said,5 Abu >uhri added#
2etanyahu said on /onday the military would not end its offensi*e until it destroys a network of )amas
tunnels, which Israel says ser*e as the group(s bunkers, weapon caches and cross'border infiltration routes
to attack Israelis#
+he Israeli military said soldiers killed fi*e gunmen who opened fire after emerging from a tunnel inside the
Gaza Strip and that !! targets were struck in the encla*e on +uesday# +hey included four weapons caches,
which the military said were hidden in mosAues, and a rocket launcher near another mosAue# %esidents
said 2 houses were destroyed and two mosAues hit#
?ocal hospital officials said Israeli tank shells and air strikes killed ! people in and around Jabalya refugee
camp in the northern Gaza Strip, raising the number of .alestinian dead, most of them ci*ilians, to !,!4- in
the current conflict# 8n the Israeli side, B4 soldiers ha*e been killed and three ci*ilians#
)A/AS ?3A73%(S )8/3 73S+%8@37
+he main 9#2# agency in Gaza, 92%=A, said more than !82, displaced .alestinians had taken shelter
in its schools and buildings, following calls by Israel for ci*ilians to e*acuate whole neighbourhoods ahead
of military operations# +housands more ha*e been taken in by friends or family#
0efore dawn, Israeli aircraft fired a missile at the house of )amas Gaza leader Ismail )aniyeh, a former
.alestinian prime minister, destroying the structure but causing no casualties, Gaza(s Interior /inistry
said#
5/y house is not dearer than any of the houses of our people,5 )aniyeh was Auoted as saying on a )amas
website# 5+he destruction of stones will not break our will and we will continue our resistance until we gain
freedom#5
)amas, whose internal political leadership is in hiding, said its broadcast outlets Al'AAsa +C and Al'AAsa
%adio were also targeted# +he tele*ision station continued to broadcast but the radio station went silent#
+he military said the stations were used to 5transit orders and messages to )amas operati*es and to
instruct Gaza residents to ignore I7< $Israel 7efence <orces& warnings regarding upcoming military acti*ity
in specific areas#5
In a tele*ised address on /onday, 2etanyahu said Israel 5must be prepared for a lengthy campaign5# +he
military warned thousands of .alestinians to flee their homes around Gaza 6ity ' usually the prelude to
ma1or army strikes#
Israel launched its offensi*e on July 8 saying it wanted to halt rocket attacks by )amas and its allies# It later
ordered a land in*asion to find and destroy a warren of )amas tunnels that criss'crosses the border area#
)amas and Israel ha*e set conditions for a ceasefire that appear irreconcilable#
Israel wants Gaza(s armed groups stripped of weapons# )amas and its allies want an Israeli'3gyptian
blockade lifted#
+ension between 2etanyahu(s go*ernment and =ashington has flared o*er 9#S# mediation efforts, adding
another chapter to the prickly relations between the Israeli leader and 8bama#
In 2ew @ork, 9#2# Secretary'General 0an :i'moon deplored what he said was a lack of resol*e among all
parties#
5It(s a matter of their political will# +hey ha*e to show their humanity as leaders, both Israeli and
.alestinian,5 he told reporters#
$Additional reporting by /ichelle 2ichols in 2ew @ork, =riting by /aayan ?ubellD 3diting by
Jeffrey )eller and .aul +aylor&
.osted by +ha*am