Operation Protective Edge – Update August 3

Since the start of Operation Protective Edge, at least 3,127 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza.

Lt. Hadar Goldin

August 2

At 11:30 pm, a special committee led by the IDF Chief Rabbi announced the death of Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, an infantry officer in the Givati Brigade who was killed in battle in the Gaza Strip on Friday.

Over the past 24 hours, the IDF struck 200 terror targets in the Gaza Strip, including tunnels, weapon manufacturing and storage facilities, and command and control centers. Among the targets was a Hamas military wing facility that was used for research and development of weapon manufacturing located within the Islamic University. In addition, weapon caches and Hamas command and training facilities concealed within five Gazan mosques were targeted. IAF aircraft targeted the launcher used to fire at the Tel Aviv area earlier this morning.

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Statement by PM Netanyahu

At the start of the operation we promised that we would restore quiet for the citizens of Israel and we will continue to act until this goal is achieved. We are enlisting the international community to support this goal of linking the rehabilitation and development of Gaza to its demilitarization.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Copyright: GPO/Haim Zach

„Operation Protective Edge is continuing. The IDF is continuing to operate with full strength in order to complete the goals of the operation: The restoration of quiet and the restoration of security for a lengthy period for the citizens of Israel while inflicting significant damage on the terrorist infrastructures.

At the same time, our forces are now completing the work of striking at and neutralizing the terrorist tunnels in the Gaza Strip. Dozens of tunnels have been neutralized so far. We are striking at the strategic network that Hamas has invested such great effort in over the years. These tunnels would have enabled Hamas to kidnap and murder civilians and IDF soldiers by launching simultaneous attacks from the many tunnels that penetrate our territory.

So far the IDF has very significant achievements in the fighting. At the onset of the operation, our forces attacked and destroyed thousands of terrorist targets: Command centers, rocket arsenals and production facilities, launching areas, many hundreds of terrorists, etc…

At the start of the operation we promised that we would restore quiet for the citizens of Israel and we will continue to act until this goal is achieved. This will take as much time as may be necessary; forces will be used accordingly.

US and European support of the need to demilitarize the terrorist organizations is an important achievement for the State of Israel. It will strengthen our demand to link the rehabilitation and development of the Gaza Strip with its demilitarization from rockets, tunnels, etc. We regret every civilian who is hit inadvertently.

We are enlisting the international community to support this goal of linking the rehabilitation and development of Gaza to its demilitarization but no less important – this may surprise many, but not us – is the unique link which has been forged with the states of the region. This as well is a very important asset for the State of Israel. With the cessation of the fighting and the conclusion of the campaign, this will open new possibilities for us.

At this time it is clear what is happening here. Hamas wants the residents of Gaza to suffer and be hurt and thinks that the world will blame Israel for their suffering. There are many people in the world who understand exactly what Hamas is, the same organization that, together with Qatar, assured US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon regarding a ceasefire. It misled both of them.

I welcome the clear and sharp statements by US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Kerry, who placed the direct responsibility for violating the ceasefire on Hamas, and for President Obama’s remarks last night regarding Israel’s right to defend itself against rockets and tunnels. Similar voices have been heard from other important leaders around the world.

But, unfortunately, there are other voices and to them I say: Terrorism has no borders. Today, it threatens the State of Israel. Tomorrow, it will threaten your countries. We are doing what we are doing in the face of this criminal aggression by the terrorist organizations against our citizens and soldiers, but what would you do? Will you stand alongside Israel, a democratic and moral state which is acting to defend its citizens or will you continue to stand opposed and take a forgiving stand in the face of a murderous terrorist organization that attacks our people and is brutal toward its own? …

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Hamas uses holy places in Gaza as terrorist facilities

Hamas uses mosques as command centers and to store weapons and hide infiltration tunnels.

IDF Spokesperson

Throughout Operation Protective Edge, IDF forces have discovered Hamas terrorists using mosques as terrorist facilities. Hamas exploits the IDF’s sensitivity towards protecting civilian structures, particularly holy sites, by hiding command centers, weapons caches and tunnel entrances in mosques.

On July 29, IDF special forces engaged and eliminated an armed terror cell guarding a mosque being used as a Hamas military compound. When searching the basement of the mosque after the battle, the soldiers uncovered a stockpile of weapons including sniper rifles, RPGs and machine guns. They also found two concealed tunnel entrances, one of which ran 14 meters deep underground.

The following day, a joint IDF task force tracked down the entrance to a tunnel that had been used by Hamas terrorists to attack Israeli soldiers. The tunnel entrance was in the basement of a mosque. There, the IDF soldiers found the opening to another tunnel serving as a Hamas terrorist bunker.

Israeli humanitarian aid to Gaza

At 10 am on August 1, despite the UN/US-backed humanitarian ceasefire which began at 8 am, rockets were fired at the Gaza periphery, including the Kerem Shalom Crossing for humanitarian aid to Gaza, which was closed due to rocket fire.

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