4 rockets from Gaza hit Ashdod, Israel; 3 out of 4 actually hit targets: house, car & the 3d landed near a kindergarten http://on.rt.com/1d6yjw
Israel-Hamas 'Open War': LIVE UPDATES — RT
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Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City November 17, 2012 (Reuters / Suhaib Salem)
View more photos from the Israel-Hamas conflict in RT's gallery.
Nov. 17, 12:13 GMT: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is holding a consultation meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and army officials in Tel Aviv, Haaretz reports.
Nov. 17, 11:52 GMT: Hamas is preventing foreign nationals – including 22 journalists – from leaving the Gaza Strip, DPA reports.
Nov. 17, 11:41 GMT: Four rockets from Gaza hit Ashdod, Israel; three out of four actually hit targets: a house, car and the third landed near a kindergarten, IDF reported.
Nov 17, 11:03 GMT: Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem during his visit to Gaza tells Israel to halt aggression as it is unacceptable.
Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem (L) meets with senior Palestinian Hamas member Bassem Naim upon arrival in Rafah through the border crossing between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip on November 17, 2012 (AFP Photo / Said Khatib)
Nov 17, 10:39 GMT: Chief of Staff Benny Gantz has ordered the IDF to increase the pace of strikes on Gaza, following an assessment meeting in Tel Aviv’s headquarters, YNet reported.
Nov 17, 10:13 GMT: Unconfirmed reports that the IDF has begun artillery strikes on Gaza from tanks positioned on the border.
Israeli soldiers stand atop a tank on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip on November 17, 2012 (AFP Photo / Jack Guez)
Nov 17, 09:54 GMT: The Tunisian Foreign Minister during his visit to Gaza reassured that Tunisia will work together in Arab League, which meets later on Saturday, and UN to stop Israel’s aggression.
Nov. 17, 08:52 GMT: Islamic University in Gaza is targeted by Israeli air attack, Al Arabiya reported.
Nov. 17, 08:05 GMT: One Israeli soldier has been injured after a rocket hit the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, AlJazeera reported.
Nov. 17, 08:03 GMT: Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem has arrived in Gaza along with 10 other ministers.
Nov. 17, 05:01 GMT: An Israeli airstrike has hit Hamas’ cabinet headquarters in Gaza as the Israeli assault enters its fourth day, IDF reported. Reportedly, three Palestinians died in the strike, the HQ was completely destroyed and neighboring houses damaged.
Overnight Israel’s military targeted 85 more “terror sites in Gaza”, the IDF reported.
Nov. 17, 00:20 GMT: US President Barack Obama has reiterated “US support for Israel’s right to self-defense.” Obama discussed the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. He also expressed regret over the loss of Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives.
Nov. 16, 23:54 GMT: Senior Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk has told Maan news agency that he does not expect a ceasefire soon. "There are many calls for a truce but it will not be soon," he said.
Mousa Abu Marzouk (Reuters / Khaled Al Hariri)
Nov. 16, 23:40 GMT: The hacktivist group, Anonymous, has claimed it has attacked the website of the Israeli government, www.tel-aviv.gov.il. The website was unavailable as of Saturday morning. The group also claimed it deleted a database at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The cyber attacks come as a part of the so called #OpIsrael launched by Anonymous to rally support for the Palestinians.
Nov. 16, 22:35 GMT: Five more Palestinians killed by IDF, bringing the Gaza death toll from Israeli attacks to 29 – Palestinian medical sources.
Nov. 16, 22:30 GMT: The United Nations has voiced concern about the number of child casualties resulting from Israel’s bombing of Gaza. At least 4 Palestinian children have been killed and over 60 injured since Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes according to the UN. The organization also believes that 50 Israeli civilians including children have been injured by Hamas rockets fired into Israel.
Nov. 16, 22:10 GMT: IDF confirms it targeted two senior Hamas operatives: Muhammad Abu-Jalal, Company Commander in central Gaza and Khaled Shah'yer, chief missile operator.
Nov. 16, 21:16 GMT: Israeli Cabinet approves mobilization of 75,000 reserve soldiers as assault on Gaza is intensifying, Haaretz reports.
Nov. 16, 20:48 GMT: Hamas field commander Ahmed Abu Jalal has been killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza, AFP reports citing security sources.
Nov. 16, 19:34 GMT: Israel's Channel 10 claims that senior Defense official Amos Gilad is in contact with Egyptian officials in a bid to reach a ceasefire that might be achieved within 24 hours.
Nov. 16, 18:22 GMT: Israeli army announces it's closing three major roads around the Gaza Strip and declaring them closed military zones.
Nov 16, 18:03 GMT: Hamas health ministry says 3 people have been killed this evening, bringing the total number of casualties in Gaza to since at least 27, including 7 children.
Nov. 16, 17:47 GMT: Israeli Defense Minister approves expansion of draft to more than 75,000 army reservists; request was transferred to the approval of the government, reports Channel 2.
Nov. 16, 17:11 GMT: Palestinian President Abbas says Israeli aggression is aimed at preventing an independent Palestinian state.
Nov. 16, 16:49 GMT: Hospitals in Israel have reportedly been given emergency protocols. All who are not in need of urgent care are being sent home.
Nov. 16, 16:17 GMT: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has expanded on the call-up of over 30,000 reserve soldiers.
"The defense minister has this evening ordered the mobilization of new reserve forces," a spokesperson told AFP.
Nov. 16, 14:59 GMT: RT's Tom Barton says local media reports hearing three rocket explosions over Jerusalem.
Nov. 16, 14:57 GMT: Air raid sirens sound over Jerusalem.
Nov 16., 13:42 GMT: IDF resumes Gaza strikes after halting attacks over Egyptian PM's visit.
Nov. 16, 12:56 GMT: In a telephone conversation with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he supports Egypt’s efforts aimed at normalizing the situation in the Gaza Strip, the Kremlin press service said. The Russian president called on opposing sides of the conflict to stop the use of force which claims the lives of innocent civilians and show restraint. It was agreed between the presidents that Morsi will visit Russia.
Nov. 16, 12:38 GMT: Al-Qassam Brigades says one Palestinian has been killed, another seriously injured in an Israeli air strike on the Al Zaytoon neighborhood east of Gaza City.
Nov. 16, 12:22 GMT: IDF says 500 targets in Gaza have been attacked since 'Operation Pillar of Defense' began.
Nov. 16, 12:17 GMT: British Foreign Secretary William Hague told a BBC radio show, "Israel does have to bear in mind that it is when ground invasions have taken place in previous conflicts that they have lost international support and a great deal of sympathy around the world."
Earlier, Hague stated that Hamas "bears principal responsibility" for the conflict between Gaza and Israel, and should move to cease attacks on Israeli territory. He appealed to Israel to do its utmost to “avoid the risk of a spiral of violence."
Nov. 16, 12:13 GMT: Al-Qassam brigades say they are shelling occupied Al Majdal with two Grad missiles.
Nov. 16, 12:10 GMT: Al-Qassam brigades say they are bombing occupied Ashdod with seven Grad missiles.
Nov. 16, 12:06 GMT: An IDF spokesperson says a new rocket has not hit Tel Aviv, but that 340 rockets have hit Israel since ‘Operation Pillar of Defense’ began.
Nov. 16, 12:04 GMT: AFP reports that the power is out in its Gaza office, and that it is running on a backup generator. Employees say they feel the pressure of displaced air pushing through the open windows in the office.
Nov. 16, 11:57 GMT: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will speak on the phone with US President Barak Obama to discuss the ongoing strikes on Gaza by Israel, the Daily Hurriyet reports.
“We stand by our Gazan friends here as the Turkish government,” Erdoğan said. He added that Israel had started striking Gaza and killing innocent people using fictional excuses ahead of elections, as had happened prior to the 2008 election. “I will have a phone conversation with Obama. I will share these thoughts with him,” he said.
