Breaking News Bulletin

Cease-Fire Collapses, IDF Officer Missing

On July 31, Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a 72 hour humanitarian cease fire would come into effect at 8 AM local time today, though the IDF ground forces would continue to quietly uncover tunnels between Gaza and Israel.

According to the Egyptian brokered agreement, during this humanitarian cease fire, delegations from Israel, the Palestinian Authority (including Hamas) The US and Egypt were to meet in Cairo for indirect negotiations to try to work out the details of a longer cease fire.

Within 90 minutes though, Hamas and the other Gaza terrorist factions broke the ceasefire agreement and renewed rocket fire at Israel. As this continued, the IDF resumed attacks on Hamas military targets. The cease fire collapsed, and the Cairo meetings were postponed.

At 9:30 AM, An IDF unit was checking a tunnel in the Southern Gaza city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border. A suicide bomber who was hiding in the tunnel with other terrorists blew himself up, killing 2 soldiers, including an officer, and injuring several more. The other terrorists then opened fire on the soldiers, and in the following heavy firefight, apparently succeeded in dragging 23 year old second lieutenant Hadar Goldin, who may have been injured or killed, into the tunnel.

Aware of the huge value of an IDF hostage to Hamas, Israel immediately implemented the “Hannibal Protocol” – a standing order to take every action necessary, no matter how extreme, to prevent a terrorist organization from holding a live Israeli soldier hostage. Not knowing if Goldin was alive, injured or dead, massive fire power was immediately focused on the tunnel entrance, while air and artillery strikes levelled every building nearby.

As the IDF poured more troops in to try to find Goldin and his captors, large scale clashes erupted with Hamas gunmen.

As of this writing (2:00PM CST): 

1. There is no news on the fate of Lt. Goldin. 
   
2. The operation and clashes between Hamas and the IDF in Rafah are continuing. 
   
3. The IDF has just instructed all residents of Rafah to stay indoors until further notice.
4. The Hamas ministry of health is reporting 65 dead and more than 350 injured in Rafah.
5. There has been non-stop rocket and mortar fire from Gaza towards Israel since 9:30 this morning (90 minutes after the cease-fire started…). Many mortars and rockets fell in Gaza, causing casualties and damage.
6. The IDF is calling up more reservists.

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