Israel pounds northern Gaza Strip after warning residents to flee

[bemildred]

This gives a whole new depth of meaning to "pounding sand".

Prompting thousands to flee, Israel warned some residents of the crowded Gaza Strip to leave their homes Sunday and then unleashed an aerial bombardment of sites it says are used by Islamic militants to launch rockets at major Israeli population centers.

About 17,000 people from the Beit Lahiya area in the northern Gaza Strip streamed for protection into United Nations-run facilities. Israeli warplanes hammered the vacated area Sunday afternoon and evening, hitting alleged launch sites and homes of members of extremist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The assault was carried out mostly by air, but the Israeli navy also reportedly fired shells from the sea.

Despite the concentrated attack, militants continued to fire rockets at a broad swath of Israel, setting off warning sirens in Tel Aviv and the coastal city of Haifa. A teenager became the second Israeli civilian to be severely wounded in six days of fighting when two rockets landed in the city of Ashkelon. No Israelis have been killed by the rocket strikes.

In Gaza, the death toll rose to at least 167, fueling international alarm over the lopsided casualty count. The U.N. says the majority of the victims have been civilians. Seventeen members of one extended family were killed late Saturday when a home and nearby mosque were hit. More than 1,000 people have been injured.

http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-israel-ground-raid-gaza-20140713-story.html