Israel Hits Mosque Said to Have Rockets

Back-and-forth shelling shows no sign of abating
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 12, 2014 9:05 AM CDT
Israel Hits Mosque Said to Have Rockets
Israeli soldiers on a mobile artillery unit fire a shell toward Gaza.   (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Israel widened its air assault against the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers today, hitting a mosque it said was hiding rockets. Palestinians, meanwhile, said their death toll from the five-day offensive rose to over 125. The central Gaza mosque was being used to conceal rockets like those militants have fired nearly 700 times toward Israel over the past five days, the military said. Given that it occurred during Ramadan, the mosque attack was likely to inflame Palestinian outrage, reports the New York Times.

The military said it has struck more than 1,100 targets, including Hamas rocket launchers, command centers, and weapon manufacturing and storage facilities, in a bid to stop relentless rocket fire coming Gaza. While there have been no fatalities in Israel from the continued rocket fire, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said overnight Israeli strikes raised the death toll there to over 125, with more than 920 wounded. The offensive showed no signs of slowing down today as Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said his country should ready itself for several more days of fighting. (More Israel and Palestinians stories.)

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