Israel’s vaunted Iron Dome defense system blew a Hamas missile out of the sky over Sderot on Monday, as Jerusalem pressed its assault on Gaza militants.
It was one of two lethal missiles intercepted by the Iron Dome — the other was over Ashdod — among 50 that were fired. Citizens of Sderot stood defiantly as their city was targeted.
Meanwhile Monday, Israeli forces killed at least 31 Palestinians — including 10 infiltrators disguised as Israeli soldiers who sneaked in through a secret tunnel to attack residents of a kibbutz, officials said.
Despite demands from President Obama and the United Nations for a ceasefire, Israel declined to slow its Operation Protective Edge offensive, which has left at least 566 Palestinians and 27 Israelis dead, including 25 soldiers and two civilians killed by Hamas rockets.
The escalating violence prompted the State Department to warn Americans against traveling to Israel and the West Bank.
Seven Israeli soldiers died Monday, including four killed by Hamas fighters who emerged from a tunnel dug from Gaza into Israel near Kibbutz Nir Am.
The terrorists waited for an approaching Israel Defense Forces jeep before opening fire, killing an officer and three soldiers. The infiltrators were later blown to bits in a precision airstrike.
Israel’s defense minister vowed to keep fighting Hamas “as long as necessary.”
A dozen Israeli tank shells struck the al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza, killing five and wounding 60, an attack that Israel said it would investigate. At the same time, it highlighted examples of Hamas abuses as the military released declassified photos showing how the group uses hospitals, mosques and playgrounds as launch sites, along with a video of three launchers found in a school.
Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, hoping to get support for a ceasefire.
“We will work to see if there is some way to not only arrive at a ceasefire of some kind, but to get to a discussion about the underlying issues,” Kerry said.
With Post wires