The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

62 dead in Israeli attack on Gaza suburb
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemns massacre | Death toll from conflict tops 400

Gaza/Jerusalem, July 20
At least 62 Palestinians were killed on Sunday in Israeli shelling of a Gaza neighbourhood that left bodies strewn in the streets and thousands fleeing for shelter to a hospital packed with wounded, Palestinian witnesses and officials said.

The Israeli military said militants from Gaza's dominant Hamas group responded with anti-tank missiles and heavy weapon fire in some of the bloodiest fighting since Israel launched its Gaza offensive 13 days ago.

A two-hour "humanitarian ceasefire" in the area, agreed by both sides at the request of the International Committee of the Red Cross, broke down in minutes with each side blaming the other.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of carrying out a massacre and declared three days of mourning.

The Israeli military said Hamas had fired rockets and built tunnels and command centres in Sheja and that it had warned locals to evacuate two days earlier. Its ground forces were backed up by air strikes and artillery, the army added.

Anguished cries of "Did you see Ahmed?" "Did you see my wife?" echoed through the courtyard of Gaza's Shifa hospital, where panicked residents of Shejaia gathered in family groups. Inside, bodies and wounded lay on blood-stained floors.

Elderly men there said the Israeli attack was the fiercest they had seen since the 1967 Middle East war, when Israel captured Gaza.

Shifa hospital's director, Naser Tattar, said 17 children, 14 women and four elderly were among the 62 dead, and about 400 people were wounded in the Israeli assault.

Gaza's Health Ministry officials said at least 403 Palestinians, many of them civilians, have been killed and about 2,600 wounded in the 13-day offensive, that Israel says it launched to halt mounting cross-border rocket fire by militants.

On Israel's side, two civilians have been killed by cross-border fire and five soldiers have died in fighting. More than 50 Israeli troops have been wounded, hospital officials said.

An air strike on the Shejaia home of Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, killed his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, hospital officials said.

Egypt, Qatar, France and the United Nations, among others, have all been pushing for a permanent ceasefire, with little sign of progress.

Qatar was due to host a meeting between Abbas and UN. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday, a senior Qatari source told Reuters. Ban was due to travel to Kuwait, Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan during the week, a UN statement said. — Reuters

13 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza fighting

Israel's military said 13 soldiers were killed in a series of attacks in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the heaviest Israeli death toll in a single day of battle in years. Earlier, Hamas militants said they had ambushed Israeli troops and detonated explosives around their vehicle in the Palestinian territory. Other Islamist militants said they had attacked soldiers in a Gaza house.

decoding Hamas

Palestinian rescuers evacuate a body following an Israeli offensive on the Shejaiya neighbourhood on Sunday. AFP

What is Hamas?
Hamas is a militant fundamentalist Islamic organization operating in the West Bank and Gaza. The name Hamas is an acronym for "Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia," or Islamic Resistance Movement in English. The word "hamas" means zeal, or enthusiasm, in Arabic. Hamas has sections dedicated to religious, military, political and security activities. It runs a social welfare programme, and operates a number of schools, hospitals and religious institutions.
What are its aims?
The goal of Hamas is an Islamic fundamentalist Palestinian state. Its manifesto advocates the destruction of the state of Israel, and calls for the raising of "the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine." Hamas members insist that Israel is an occupying power, and that the group is simply trying to liberate the Palestinian territories.
What are Hamas’ origins?
Hamas was established in 1987 — during the First Intifada, or uprising — by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Yassin and other activists linked to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement had set up a network of charities, schools and clinics in the West Bank and Gaza in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Initially, their activities were encouraged by some Israeli politicians, who saw the group as an alternative to the PLO.
What are the Izzedine al Qassam Brigades?
The Izzedine al Qassam Brigades are the armed wing of Hamas, responsible for carrying out attacks on Israel. Like the wider Hamas organisation, the aim of the Brigades is the creation of a Palestinian state.
Where does its support stem from?
Hamas has an annual budget of $70 million, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Much of its financial backing comes from expatriate Palestinians, private donors in the Middle East, and Muslim charities. Since its election win in 2006, it has also had public funding.

Missile system used to down MH17 came from Russia, says Kerry

Washington, July 20
The sophisticated missile system used to shoot down a Malaysian jet was given to pro-Russian Ukraine rebels by Russia, Secretary of State John Kerry said today, citing "extraordinary circumstantial evidence" the US had on the tragic incident that killed 298 people.

"It's pretty clear that this is a system that was transferred from Russia in the hands of separatists," Kerry told CNN, saying that the Buk M-1 anti-aircraft missile system had been used to hit MH17 over eastern Ukraine on Thursday.

"We know with confidence, with confidence that the Ukrainians did not have such a system anywhere near the vicinity at that point in time. So it obviously points a very clear finger at the separatists."

Kerry said the US had "extraordinary circumstantial evidence" of the incident that killed all 298 people on board the Malaysia Airlines plane from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

"We picked up the imagery of this launch. We know the trajectory," he told NBC's Meet the Press. "We know where it came from. We know the timing."

"And it was exactly at the time that this aircraft disappeared from the radar. We also know, from voice identification, that the separatists were bragging about shooting it down afterwards," he said.

Earlier, the Washington Post, quoting a US official said Russia gave at least three Buk missile launchers to Ukrainian rebels and attempts were made to move the sophisticated systems back into the country after the downing of MH17.

US intelligence was "starting to get indications ..... a little more than a week ago," that the Russian launchers had been moved into Ukraine, the official said as the blame game continued with Russia accusing the US and the West of pointing fingers at it to push their agenda on Ukraine.

US President Barack Obama on Friday said that Russia likely bears some of the responsibility, noting rebel fighters could not have operated the missile "without sophisticated equipment and sophisticated training, and that is coming from Russia." The rebels have denied possessing the launchers. — PTI

Rebels to give black boxe to aviation group

Hrabove (Ukraine): A separatist leader in eastern Ukraine says rebels have recovered the black box for the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Alexander Borodai said on Sunday that the devices would be handed over to the International Civil Aviation Organisation. He also said the bodies recovered from the crash site in eastern Ukraine would remain in refrigerated containers at a train station in the town of Torez until the arrival of an international aviation delegation.

Clashes erupt over Tripoli airport, 4 dead

Tripoli, July 20
Heavy fighting erupted on Sunday around Tripoli International Airport, where rival militias have been battling for control, killing at least four people and forcing thousands from their homes, local residents and witnesses said.

The airport standoff is the most serious violence in Tripoli since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi, with Libya's fragile government unable to assert authority over rival brigades of former rebels fighting for political and economic power.

Militias used heavy anti-aircraft cannons, Grad missiles and rockets in exchanges around the Qasr Ben Ghashir neighbourhood, trapping some families while several thousand others fled the fighting around their homes, community leaders said.

One Reuters witness said gunmen were set up on roofs of homes facing each other with residents caught in between. "The shells are landing on us from all warring militias," said Mohammed Abdulrahman, a spokesman for the district. "We couldn't reach some families until now."

A doctor from a local hospital said they had received nine wounded from the area. — Reuters

Report: Rebels mistook MH17 for Ukranian military plane

London, July 20
In a catastrophic error, pro-Russian rebels shot down the Malaysian jet carrying 298 people, mistaking it for a Ukrainian military transport aircraft, a media report said today.

A surface-to-air missile launcher secretly crossed over from the Russian border and into war-torn eastern Ukraine early morning, The Sunday Times reported.

The radar-controlled missile system - known by the Russians as the Buk-M1 and by NATO forces as the SA-11 Gadfly - is bristled with four missiles capable of shooting down enemy aircraft flying at up to 72,000ft.

But 15 hours after slipping across the Russian border, the weapon is believed instead to have destroyed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 as it flew at about 33,000 ft above the war zone, the report said.

All 298 people on board - more than 80 of them children - were killed. — PTI

22 Egyptian soldiers killed in attack

Cairo, July 20
In a brazen attack, at least 22 Egyptian soldiers were killed when militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked a military checkpoint in southern Egypt, bordering Libya and Sudan.

Militants yesterday attacked the checkpoint in Al-Wadi Al-Gedid governorate, more than 500 km from here, killing 21 border guards on the spot, said army spokesman Mohamed Samir. One of the wounded troops died today at a hospital.

The border guards were killed during an exchange of fire with the unknown gunmen which lead to an explosion in the checkpoint's ammunition storage, Samir said, adding forces later seized and defused two car bombs before they exploded.

Al-Wadi Al-Gedid is a large governorate that borders both Libya and Sudan. Samir also said that some "terrorists" were killed during the exchange of fire.

The Egyptian government today declared three days of mourning in memory of the fallen soldiers. — PTI