JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said it downed a
drone launched by Gaza militants on Monday, the first time it
encountered an unmanned aircraft since the start of its offensive last
week, as new Israeli airstrikes pushed the death toll from Israeli
airstrikes to at least 175.
Israel began its campaign against
militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza last Tuesday, saying it was
responding to heavy rocket fire from the densely populated territory.
The military says it has launched more than 1,300 airstrikes since then,
while Palestinian militants have launched nearly 1,000 rockets at
Israel.
The outbreak of violence followed the kidnappings and
killings of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank last month, as well
as the subsequent kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager in
an apparent revenge attack, along with Israeli raids against Hamas
militants and infrastructure in the West Bank.
Israel’s Shin Bet
security service on Monday released the findings of its investigation
into the killing of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir, whose death set off
days of violent protests in Arab areas of Jerusalem and northern
Israel. The detention of the three main suspects in the case, a
29-year-old man and a pair of 17-year-olds, was extended until Friday as
they appeared before a court, officials said.
Shin Bet said the
suspects, whose names were not released, were motivated by revenge
following the killing of the Israeli teenagers. During the
investigation, the three admitted to abducting Abu Khdeir and setting
him on fire, according to the security agency and police spokesman
Mickey Rosenfeld. They also re-enacted the murder. Four others were
being investigated and remained under house arrest for their involvement
in the killing.
Abu Khdeir was taken on July 2 near his home in
east Jerusalem and his charred body was later found in a forest. An
autopsy found that he was burned to death.
Israeli leaders widely
condemned the killing and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed those
responsible would be brought to justice.
Israel has yet to capture
the killers of the three Israel teenagers. It accuses Hamas and cracked
down on the Islamic militants in the West Bank after the teens’
abduction, contributing to an increase in rocket fire from Gaza that
ultimately led to the current round of fighting.
Fighting
continued Monday as two Israeli airstrikes struck the southern Gaza city
of Khan Younis, killing four Palestinians, according to officials from
the city’s European Hospital.
The officials said Saddam Moamar,
his wife Hanadai, and his father Mousa were killed by an airstrike that
hit their house. Their neighbor, Maher Abu Mor, was killed in another
airstrike while standing on the rooftop of his home, the officials said,
speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to
talk to media.
It was not immediately clear why their homes were targeted.
In
all, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has said that at least 175
people have been killed in Israeli air attacks, including dozens of
civilians.
No Israelis have been killed as a result of Hamas
rocket launches, in large part thanks to the success of Israeli
military’s ‘Iron Dome’ air defense system in intercepting the missiles.
Several people have been wounded, however, including a teenage boy who
was seriously injured by rocket shrapnel on Sunday.
The Israeli
military said the drone, launched from Gaza on Monday, was shot down in
mid-flight by a Patriot surface-to-air missile along the southern
Israeli coastline, near the city of Ashdod. In a statement to media,
Hamas claimed it launched three drones at Israel on Monday, though the
military insisted there was only one.
Hamas said it has developed
two types of drones — one for intelligence gathering, and one for
delivering munitions. It also said it lost contact with one of the
drones and that the targets included the Israeli Defense Ministry
compound in Tel Aviv.
It was the first time the militant group publicly acknowledged it has drones in its arsenal.
The
use of drones with an offensive capacity could inflict significant
casualties — something the rockets from Gaza have failed to do, largely
because of the success of the Israeli military’s ‘Iron Dome’ air defense
system in shooting them down.
"Hamas is trying everything it can
to produce some kind of achievement and it is crucial that we maintain
our high state of readiness," Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon
said. "The shooting down of a drone this morning by our air defense
system is an example of their efforts to strike at us in any way
possible."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday
that the current Israeli operation could last for "a long time" and that
the military was prepared "for all possibilities." That includes a Gaza
ground operation, which would likely cause heavy casualties in the
coastal strip.
But Netanyahu is coming under increasing
international pressure to end the operation soon. On Sunday, U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate cease-fire while
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced American "readiness" to help
restore calm. Egypt, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, continued
to work behind the scenes to stop the conflict.
Hamas has sent
signals it may be ready to consider a cease-fire and has demanded that
hundreds of recently arrested activists be freed as part of any
prospective truce.
For his part, Netanyahu is likely seeking to
show the Israeli public that he has succeeded in significantly degrading
Hamas’s ability to strike at Israeli targets before moving ahead
diplomatically.
Also Monday, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed
during confrontations with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank village of
Samoa, near Hebron, Palestinian health officials said. Residents of the
village said soldiers opened fire at a group of Palestinians who were
throwing stones at them. The officials and the villagers spoke on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to
media.
The Israeli army confirmed the death and said it was looking into the incident.
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Associated Press writer Ibrahim Barzak in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.