Israel levels mosque in Gaza

Officials claim the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) targeted the mosque because militants had stored rockets there. Since Israel launched "Operation Protective Edge" Tuesday, militants have launched 700 rockets into the country, killing no one so far, perhaps thanks in part to the Iron Dome missile-defense system, which has intercepted 140 such attacks so far.

"We have accumulated achievements as far as the price Hamas is paying and we are continuing to destroy significant targets of it and other terror organizations," Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said after a meeting with top security officials on Saturday. "We will continue to punish it until quiet and security returns to southern Israel and the rest of the country."

Air raid sirens have sounded as far north as Haifa, 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Gaza, previously thought out of missile range. A rocket struck a gas station Friday in the southern city of Ashdod, leaving eight people injured, one man seriously. In another incident, a rocket launched from Gaza made a direct hit on a house in Beersheba, though the family living there was out.

The UN, which say some three-quarters of the Palestinians killed in Gaza are civilians, said the campaign may violate international law. On Saturday, the organization called for a ceasefire, saying it was worried about the possibility of escalating casualties on both sides.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has asked Hamas to tell militants to hold their fire. "I don't like it when Palestinian blood is being traded," Abbas told Lebanese television. He said the IDF had superior firepower and that, "with great sorrow, Israel does not treat us as humans or people."

Relations between Israeli and Palestinian officials were at a low even before "Operation Protective Edge" began.

'Deeply disturbing reports'

In Israel's last major Gaza assault, 2012‘s weeklong "Operation Pillar of Defense," airstrikes killed 100 Palestinians and the IDF earned accusations of war crimes for bombing civilians and media. In "Protective Edge," Israel has killed 120 people, as many as two-thirds of them civilians, including the two women killed Saturday at the center for people with disabilities, and more than 20 of those children.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would press the campaign until militants ceased fire. IDF troops have massed along the border ahead of a possible ground invasion, creating worry of a repeat of "Operation Cast Lead," in which more than 900 Palestinian civilians were killed in a three-week period at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009.

By Saturday, the IDF had struck more than 1,100 targets, including rocket launchers, command centers and weapons facilities. Gaza officials say the strikes have also hit places of worship, health care centers and homes. Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said on Saturday that, in addition to the 120 Palestinians killed, more than 920 had been wounded in the attacks by Israel.

mkg/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)