The military launched Operation Protective Edge, conducting airstrikes on over 150 targets in Gaza. Hamas’ Al Qassem Brigades claimed to have fired rockets at Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. At least 17 Palestinians are reported to have been killed and over 100 wounded. Top Islamic Jihad militant Hafez Hamad, his two brothers, and his parents were killed by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip. Hamas gunmen landed on the shore near a military base in Zikim; four gunmen were killed. The government is calling up 40,000 reserves due to the potential for escalation. The US Embassy in Tel Aviv is cutting staff to a minimum.
