Gaza campaign killed 179 people

29 Nov 2012, 10:00 am   -   Source: AAP
The eight-day confrontation between Israel and Gaza killed 179 people, sources on both sides say. (AAP)

The eight-day confrontation between Israel and Gaza killed 179 people, sources on both sides say. (AAP)

The eight-day confrontation between Israel and Gaza killed 173 Palestinians and six Israelis and wounded at least 1300 people.

The eight-day confrontation between Israel and Gaza militants claimed the lives of 173 Palestinians and six Israelis, two of them soldiers, sources on both sides say.

The Palestinian toll, which initially stood at 166, rose by seven in the week which followed a November 21 ceasefire deal, as people succumbed to injuries sustained during the fighting, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.

Among the seven was 15-year-old Yara al-Dallu, who died in a strike on a house in Gaza City on November 18, which also killed another nine members of her family.

The latest confirmed figures show that 173 people died in Israel's eight day bombardment of the territory, most of them civilians, officials and rights groups say.

According to figures supplied by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), the toll includes 13 women and at least 43 children.

At least 1300 people were wounded, the health ministry said.

Senior Hamas official Mahmud al-Zahar said "around 30" militants from various groups had been killed. Islamic Jihad said it alone had lost 10 men.

Militants from Hamas's Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said they fired 1573 rockets at Israel during the conflict.

In Israel, rocket fire from Gaza killed six people - four civilians and two soldiers - and another 240 were injured, the military said.

The toll was the highest from any flareup between the two sides since Israel's devastating 22-day Operation Cast Lead over New Year 2009. That claimed the lives of 1400 Palestinians - half of them civilians - and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said its strikes had killed seven senior operatives, including Ahmed Jaabari, the head of Hamas's military wing, whose death on November 14 triggered the escalation.

It also said it had killed senior operatives in charge of smuggling and anti-tank operations as well as an Islamic Jihad member who was in charge of propaganda in Gaza City, among other top targets.

The military said it struck more than 1500 targets, including 19 command centres, 26 weapons manufacturing and storage facilities and hundreds of underground rocket launchers.

"Following eight days of operations, the IDF has accomplished its pre-determined objective for Operation Pillar of Defence, and has inflicted severe damage to Hamas and its military capabilities," it said.

Under terms of the truce brokered by Egypt, Israel must "stop all hostilities... including incursions and targeting of individuals."

During the confrontation, the army said 933 Gaza rockets hit Israel, while another 421 were intercepted in mid-air by the US-funded Iron Dome air anti-missile system.

Of those that landed, 58 hit urban areas while the rest fell in open fields, causing no damage.

Israel has so far invested $US1 billion ($A962 million) in the Iron Dome system. Each time a battery is fired it reportedly costs almost $50,000.

The army said Iron Dome had an 84 per cent success rate in intercepting rockets.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube