GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The uncle of four Palestinian boys who were killed in an Israeli naval strike today is calling it a “cold-blooded massacre.”
The four — ages 9 to 11 — were killed during the bombardment of a coastal area in the Gaza Strip. Israel says it’s investigating what happened.
The boys’ uncle says “with all of the advanced technology they claim they’re using,” Israel should have been able to identify them as kids. A Palestinian doctor says the four boys were killed while playing on a beach off a coastal road west of Gaza City. Seven others were wounded in the strike. A Palestinian activist says it came from an Israeli naval vessel operating offshore.
Israeli warplanes also intensified attacks across the Gaza Strip today, targeting senior Hamas leaders. The airstrikes targeted 30 houses — including those of some senior Hamas leaders.
Hamas, meanwhile, fired dozens of additional rockets into Israel. A Hamas official says the militant group feels “alone in the field” with little support from the Arab world. He wants Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to support the Hamas rejection of a cease-fire proposed by Egypt.
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201-a-14-(Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, at news conference)-“soon as possible”-White House press secretary Josh Earnest says the U.S. is alarmed by the rising death toll in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. (16 Jul 2014)
< 175-a-10-(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at news conference with the visiting Italian foreign minister)-“of the violence”-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blames Hamas for all deaths an injuries from rocket fire. (16 Jul 2014) < 179-r-15-(Sound of mourners, at a funeral rally for five Palestinians killed overnight Tuesday)–Sound of hundreds of Palestinians marching through the streets in one of the many funeral processions in Gaza since the exchange of rocket-fire between Gaza and Israel began more than a week ago. (16 Jul 2014) < APPHOTO AXLP156: Palestinians flee their homes in the Shajaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City, after Israel had airdropped leaflets warning people to leave the area, Wednesday, July 16, 2014. Alongside the air strikes, Israel also ordered tens of thousands of residents of the northern town of Beit Lahiya and the Zeitoun and Shijaiyah neighborhoods of Gaza City, all near the border with Israel, to evacuate their homes by 8 a.m. Wednesday. The warnings were delivered in automated phone calls, text messages and leaflets. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) (16 Jul 2014) < Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
