Israel kills 3 Hamas leaders
Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets to bury three senior leaders of Hamas that were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Reuters says the three Hamas leaders were Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al-Attar, and Mohammed Barhoum. Sources in the Israeli military and intelligence communities told Reuters that two of the men were the targets of the airstrike.
They were killed in a house in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt. The men had been leading and organizing operations against Israel for 20 years.
They are the highest-ranking Hamas members to be killed since the outbreak of violence in early summer 2014. Their death comes after the resumption of hostilities after a 10-day ceasefire collapsed. Negotiators from both Hamas and Israel have been unable to reach any kind of agreement that could end the violence.
The major sticking points in the negotiations are Israel's demand Hamas completely disarm itself, while Hamas wants the lifting of an Israeli blockade and border controls to enable the free movement of people and goods. Both groups view the other's demand as completely unreasonable.
The successful killing of these Hamas leaders comes just days after an Israeli airstrike killed the wife and children of a senior Hamas member named Mohammed Deif. Deif is the highest-ranking military official in Hamas.
Reuters says Aug. 21 saw more than 30 Israeli airstrikes and 45 rockets launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
In remarks to the media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip would go on indefinitely.
One of the major goals of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in July was to destroy a network of tunnels used by Hamas to move weapons and fighters. They were also used to shelter high-ranking officials such as those killed.
The ability for Israel to target so many high-ranking Hamas members in such a short period of time suggests that Israel's tunnel eradication effort was successful.
