Today’s Top Stories
1. The IDF’s Operation Protective Edge began as the IDF hit Gaza rocket launchers, Hamas command and control facilities and other terror infrastructure. See all the details at the Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel and i24 live-blogs.
Among the more notable developments, the IDF wants to call up another 40,000 reservists, and two Arabs were arrested for allegedly trying to kidnap a 15-year-old Jewish girl near Abu Ghosh. As this roundup went to press, 130 rockets were fired at Israel since midnight, and the Israeli Air Force struck 150 targets.
2. A number of Palestinians were killed in a contentious airstrike described by YNet:
At least six Palestinians were killed and about 25 wounded in an IAF attack on Tuesday on a house in the Gaza Strip, Gaza media and the Palestinian Interior Ministry said.
Local residents said the home in Khan Yunis in the northern strip belonged to the Kawara family, at least one of which was a Hamas member, and that the casualties occurred when it came under attack for the second time on Tuesday.
After the first strike, people had gathered on its roof as “human shields”, hoping their presence would deter a second strike, the residents said.
3. I’m impressed: Whoda thought the BBC would denounce lots of #GazaUnderAttack images on Twitter as bogus? I’d like to think that HonestReporting’s watchdogging with the Beeb’s Jon Donnison and his poor photo tweeting taught them a lesson.
Indeed, Sunday Times reporter Hala Jaber already apologized after being called out for photo flubbery.
4. Operation Protective Edge: A Primer: Everything you need to know about Israel’s military operation to end Gaza rocket fire.
5. War in Gaza: 5 Tips For Sorting Through the News and Sharing Responsibly on Social Media: How do we sort through the info overload? And what’s our responsibility for what we choose to share?
6. Video: Israel on the Verge of Major Conflict: There is no cycle of violence or moral equivalence.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Jerusalem Post: A mob of 150-200 Bedouin youths threw firebombs and stones at Israeli cars in the Negev town of Omer.
• If you’re wondering about the latest Home Front Command guidelines and the precautions Israelis in rocket range are taking, see YNet and the Home Front Command.
• I wonder if an opportunistic PLO expects to ride back into Gaza on the back of an Israeli tank. Khaled Abu Toameh reports that Mahmoud Abbas swore in a new Fatah-affiliated governor of Gaza.
• Memo to Sky News: Israel’s not attacking Gaza to “avenge” rocket fire, we’re attacking to end it. What a dumb headline.
• Jewish, Arab and Bedouin mayors called for restraint in the face of rising anger, exposing a political rift.
• Haaretz is going all out with a conference on peace, dovetailing with VIP op-eds written by US President Barack Obama, Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal, and PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Given the fighting in Gaza, the timing of these op-eds couldn’t be more unfortunate.
• For more commentary/analysis, see Mitch Ginsburg (How war with Hamas may play out), Ruth Wisse (The Abyss Between Two Heinous Episodes — Wall St. Journal via Google News), Avi Issacharoff (New causes for Israeli concern), Max Schindler (Can Israelis and Palestinians coexist?), Ari Shavit (Israeli-Hamas escalation), Con Coughlin (Gaza escalation could play into Syrian jihadi hands), Alan Dershowitz (prosecuting Mohammed Khdeir’s killers), Wes Pruden (When atrocity invites atrocity), Clifford May (One city, four murders), Benny Avni (Palestinians play to the referees) and Elliott Abrams (Israel: BDS in the West, integration in the East),
Staff-eds abound too. Best of the bunch was Christian Science Monitor. See also The Scotsman, Times of London, Baltimore Sun, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, New York Post, New York Daily News, and New York Times.
Rest O’ the Roundup
• Cash-strapped Hezbollah accused of trafficking organs from Syrian refugees to finance its fight for the Assad regime.
• Israel: The ultimate guarantor of Jordan’s security.
Image: CC BY-NC flickr/Israel Defense Forces
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
