ISRAEL THREATENS TO EXPAND ATTACKS AS HAMAS KILLS 15 ZIONIST TROOPERS

Israeli Markava tanks head toward the Gaza border. (Photo:Press TV)

Tel Aviv, 22 Ramadan 1435/20 July 2014 (MINA) – Israel has warned it could broaden a ground assault on the Gaza Strip as the death toll from Tel Aviv regime’s land, sea and air onslaught against the besieged Palestinian coastal enclave has exceeded 350.

On Friday, Israel approved the call-up of another 18,000 reservists, taking the total number approved to 65,000, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Sunday.

The measure came a day after thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks launched amphibious, air and ground incursions into the narrow Gaza Strip.

The ground operation followed a brief truce earlier on Thursday. The UN-brokered five-hour lull in fighting gave the residents of the Gaza Strip time to crowd into stores and vegetable markets after more than a week of being mostly holed up at home for fear of airstrikes.

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But the streets emptied out quickly after fierce fighting between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas resumed.

An Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian children feeding pigeons on the roof of their home.

Hamas has vowed that Tel Aviv will “pay a high price” for its “foolish” actions after Israeli military began the ground invasion of Gaza.

Israel has now intensified its shelling by tanks and artillery in the northern and eastern Gaza.

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Thousands of Israeli soldiers have gathered on the border with Gaza in recent days, waiting for the order to go in.

A total of 357 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli regime and nearly 2,700 have been wounded.

Hamas forces kill at least 15 Israeli troopers in & out of Gaza

Palestinian resistance forces, members of the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, parade through Gaza in a show of military might. (file photo)

Palestinian resistance forces have killed several Israeli occupation troopers in multiple operations carried out around Gaza in the past two days, Press TV reported from Gaza.

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The Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, launched a counterattack on the Zionist army’s ground troops “totally destroying” the military unit in eastern Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources told Press TV.

According to the sources, more than a dozen Israeli troopers were killed after Palestinian resistance forces infiltrated the armed-to-the-teeth military unit of commandos in the southern Israeli region of Eshkol through underground tunnels.

At least 15 Israeli troopers were killed and three military vehicles were destroyed in the battles, the Brigades said in a statement.

The resistance forces disguised themselves in uniforms belonging to the occupation troops, according to the statement.

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In another infiltration, a dozen resistance forces penetrated an Israeli army base known as Abu Mutibq and ambushed a convoy of Israeli troops just outside Gaza, killing six troopers, the statement added. Several more occupation troops were wounded in the attack.

“Our fighters could have at any given time raided the settlements in the area, but we in the al-Qassam Brigades started the clash with the enemy soldiers to teach them a practical lesson from direct contact,” the statement went on to say.

In that attack, three Israeli military jeeps were destroyed, and two Israeli M-16s were seized, said the al-Qassam Brigades.

Seven Israelis were also killed during two other infiltration operations.

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Palestinian forces also killed an Israeli major after blowing up his army vehicle. However, the Israeli army puts the death toll from Hamas operations at two.

According to Qassam Brigades, all but one of its men have safely returned to Gaza.

With fighting reported all along the coastal enclave, casualties poured into Gaza City’s Shifaa Hospital, including children, after Israeli artillery shelled east of the city, physicians told Al-Aqsa TV.

The death toll increased to more than 350 as the Zionist army’s invasion entered its 13th day on Sunday.

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The Dead Israelis according to Al Jazeera report includes:

1. Dror Khenin, 37, killed near Erez crossing.

2. Eitan Barak, 20, killed inside Gaza – Israeli soldier.

3. Unnamed civilian, Bedouin community near Dimona.

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4. Bar Rahav, 21, killed inside Gaza – Israeli soldier.

5. Bnaya Rubel. 20, killed inside Gaza – Israeli soldier.

6. Adar Barsano, 20, killed inside Gaza – Israeli soldier

7. Amotz Greenberg, 45, killed inside Gaza – Israeli soldier

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