Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza’s sole power plant early this morning. As flames spread to fuel tanks, plumes of smoke smothered the dawn, ending a horrific night of bombardment from land, sea and air killing at least 30 Gazans. Some may characterize it as a night of deadly revenge. For there is now an Israeli report that the civilian massacre in Shuja’iyyeh last week and subsequent sniper attacks on civilians were reprisal for the deaths of Israeli soldiers.

The last Israeli invasion, Cast Lead, lasted 22 days. We are now in Day 21 of Operation Protective Edge, and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vows a “protracted” battle. Yesterday, after ten Israeli forces were killed in combat, thousands of residents in the Gaza communities of Shuja’iyya, Zeitoun, Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun, were sent messages to evacuate their homes before Israel’s bombardment commenced. These strikes were described by teenage Gazan blogger Farah Baker as falling “like the heavy rain of January” as Gazans suffered one of deadliest days so far.

Palestinian officials say more than 110 people have been killed in the past 24 hours. Israel’s targets included refugee homes, a government complex and the El-Amin Mosque.

Baker lives opposite Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital compound. Minutes after the hospital’s outpatient clinic was hit yesterday an attack on the adjacent park at Beach (Shati) refugee camp killed at least 10 Palestinians, including 9 children. The head of Shifa Hospital’s emergency room staff, Ayman Sahabani, said at least 46 people were also wounded.

Israel denied its airstrikes were the cause of the massacre at the park. It blamed “Gaza terrorists whose rockets fell short“. B. at Moon of Alabama picked up a pre scrubbed version of an NBC News article stating that an unnamed NBC News journalist “witnessed the attack on the hospital and said it had been fired by an Israeli drone.”

The article now says:

“Early reports from the ground had said an Israeli drone appeared responsible for the attack..”

–thereby leaving out the information it was one of their own journalist who witnessed the attack.

In retaliation for the attack on the park, Hamas forces infiltrated Israel via a tunnel near the Nahal Oz kibbutz, which is about a mile from the Gaza border, and killed a number of Israeli soldiers.

Ma’an News reports: Qassam Brigades releases details of Nahal Oz operation that killed at least five soldiers:

The group said that they had managed to infiltrate “behind enemy lines” around 6:45 p.m. of Monday, and killed 10 Israeli soldiers in the operation.



The group added that they attempted to capture a soldier but they were not able to…



On Tuesday, the Israeli military said that five soldiers had been killed in the strike.



They also claimed the one al-Qassam fighter had died.

Al Jazeera reported the Nahal Oz operation raised to 10 the number of Israeli military fatalities yesterday, bringing the total of Israeli soldiers killed since the beginning of operation “Protective Edge” to 53.

The massacre at the Gaza park, where children were playing, follows the publication of a video (reported here yesterday) of Israelis in Tel Aviv engaged in chants cheering on a genocide of Palestinian children: “There’s no school tomorrow, there’s no children left there [in Gaza]! Oleh!”

Some of the Israeli attacks in Gaza have been retribution. This recent posting from Eran Efrati (once chief investigator for Breaking the Silence whose reports have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian) on his Facebook page is chilling testimony to support reports of Israeli snipers killing wounded civilians during the Shuja’iya neighborhood massacre, boldface mine: