Israeli strikes in southern, central Gaza kill more than 60 Palestinians, including in 'safe zone'
Deir-al-Balah, Jul 16: Israeli airstrikes killed more than 60 Palestinians in southern and central Gaza overnight and into Tuesday, including one that struck an Israeli-declared “safe zone” crowded with thousands of displaced people.
Airstrikes in recent days have brought a constant drumbeat of deaths of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, even as Israel has pulled back or scaled down major ground offensives in the north and south. Almost daily strikes have hit the “safe zone” covering some 60 square kilometres (23 square miles) along the Mediterranean coast, where Israel told fleeing Palestinians to take refuge to escape ground assaults. Israel has said it is pursuing Hamas who are hiding among civilians after offensives uprooted underground tunnel networks.
Tuesday's deadliest strike hit a main street lined with market stalls outside the southern city of Khan Younis in Muwasi, at the heart of the zone that is packed with tent camps. Officials at Khan Younis' Nasser Hospital said 17 people were killed.
Apparently referring to the strike, the Israeli military said in a statement that it targeted a commander in Islamic Jihad's naval unit west of Khan Younis. It said it was looking into reports that civilians were killed.
The attack hit about a kilometre (0.6 miles) from a compound that Israel struck on Saturday, saying it was targeting Hamas' top military commander, Mohammed Deif. That blast, in an area also surrounded by tents, killed more than 90 Palestinians, including children, according to Gaza health officials. It is still not known if Deif was killed in the strike.
The new airstrikes came as Israel and Hamas continued to weigh the latest cease-fire proposal. Hamas has said talks meant to wind down the nine-month-long war would continue, even after Israel targeted Deif. International mediators are working to push Israel and Hamas toward a deal that would halt the fighting and free about 120 hostages held by the Hamas group in Gaza.
Israeli forces have repeatedly had to launch new offensives to combat Hamas fighters they say have been regrouping in parts of Gaza that the military has previously invaded. Still, the military has sounded increasingly confident that it has severely damaged the Hamas organisation and infrastructure in its 9-month-old campaign.
The military said Tuesday that it has eliminated half of the leadership of Hamas' military wing and that some 14,000 Hamas members have been killed or detained. It said it killed six brigade commanders, over 20 battalion commanders, and approximately 150 company commanders from Hamas' ranks, and that over the course of the war, it has hit 37,000 targets from the air within the Gaza Strip, including more than 25,000 Hamas infrastructure and launch sites.
The figures could not be independently confirmed.
Israel's ground campaigns have focused on northern Gaza and the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, where it says it has destroyed extensive Hamas tunnel networks. The offensives have left entire neighborhoods flattened. While ground operations continue in Rafah, airstrikes now appear to be hitting heavily in the areas untouched by previous offensives in the center and the coastal “safe zone.”
Strikes late Monday and on Tuesday hit the Nuseirat and Zawaida refugee camps in central Gaza. Strikes on four houses killed at least 24 people, including 10 women and four children, according to officials at Al Aqsa hospital in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah.
Another hit a UN school in Nuseirat where families were sheltering, killing at least nine people. AP footage showed the school's yard covered in rubble and twisted metal from a structure that was hit. Workers carried bodies wrapped in blankets, as women and children watched from the classrooms where they have been living.
Israel's military said Hamas members were operating from the school to plan attacks. Its claim could not be independently confirmed.
Other strikes in Khan Younis and Rafah killed 12 people, according to medical officials and AP journalists. An AP journalist counted the bodies at the hospital before a funeral was held at its gates.
The military said air force planes struck some 40 targets in Gaza over the past day, among them observation posts, Hamas military structures and explosives-rigged buildings. Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group operate in densely populated areas.
The Israeli military said Tuesday that it would begin sending draft notices to Jewish ultra-Orthodox men next week — a step that could destabilize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and trigger more large protests in the community. Under long-standing political arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men had been exempt from the draft, which is compulsory for most Jewish men — an exemption that created resentment among the general public in Israel.
The war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, has killed more than 38,600 people, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The war has created a humanitarian catastrophe in the coastal Palestinian territory, displaced most of its 2.3 million population and triggered widespread hunger.
Hamas' October attack killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and Hamas group took about 250 hostage. About 120 remain in captivity, with about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.
Violence has also surged in the West Bank. On Tuesday a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli policeman, wounding him lightly, before another officer opened fire, killing the assailant who was identified as a 19-year-old from Gaza.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
