15 Palestinians die as Hamas, Israel continue aerial attacks

JERUSALEM —  Cross-border hostilities between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip continued for a second day Thursday as Israeli airstrikes killed 15 Palestinians, including five young boys, and a Gaza-launched rocket struck a home in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon.

The airstrikes brought the total Palestinian death toll to 29 during the two-day burst of violence. In Israel, officials said that more than 60 Kassam and Grad rockets had been launched from Gaza over the two days. A college student in southern Israel died in an attack Wednesday; there were no Israeli deaths or significant injuries reported Thursday.

The surge in hostilities has built pressure on the Israeli government to move decisively against the rocket threat and uproot the militant group Hamas, which seized full control of Gaza in June.

“We must prepare for continued escalation,” said Defense Minister Ehud Barak. “Hamas will pay the price for its actions.”

On a trip to Japan, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the rocket attacks were “testing Israel’s patience” to its limit.

But despite rising public anger, some officials and observers warned Thursday against a large-scale invasion and reoccupation of the coastal strip, which is home to an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians.

“It will not solve the problem. It must be remembered that the Kassams were flying while we were still in Gaza,” retired Gen. Danny Rothschild said Thursday in a radio interview. “You may know when you go into Gaza, but you never know when you’ll get out.”

Public Security Minister Avi Dichter also rejected the idea during a visit to Sapir Academic College in Sderot, where shrapnel killed the 47-year-old student.

“Whoever talks about entering and occupying the Gaza Strip, these are populist ideas which I don’t connect to, and in my opinion, no intelligent person does either,” Dichter said.

Another rocket struck the campus just before Dichter arrived Thursday, slightly injuring one of his bodyguards.

According to witness reports, five of the Palestinians killed Thursday were boys younger than 16 who were playing soccer when an Israeli missile struck.

Also among the dead was Hamza Haya, son of prominent Hamas leader Khalil Haya. At the morgue of Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, the elder Haya eulogized his son, a leader of a rocket-launching cell.

“I thank God for this gift,” said Haya, who last year escaped an Israeli assassination attempt that killed his brother. “This is the 10th member of my family to receive the honor of martyrdom.”

Israeli missiles also struck near the home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. But Haniyeh, like many of the Islamic militant group’s top officials, has been in hiding for weeks.

Another airstrike destroyed a medical clinic funded by Oxfam International as well as the headquarters of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society.

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ashraf.khalil@latimes.com

Special correspondent Rushdi abu Alouf in Gaza City contributed to this report.