* Israel says Navy commandos raid Gaza rocket launch site * Hamas says prevented commandos from landing * Foreign pressure mounts for ceasefire * Rockets from Lebanon fired into northern Israel GAZA/JERUSALEM, July 13 - Israeli navy commandos clashed with Hamas gunmen during a raid on the coast of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the first such gunfight of a six-day Israeli offensive on the territory aimed at stopping Palestinian rocket fire. The Israeli force was attacking a site in northern Gaza used to launch long-range rockets when it came under fire, a military statement said. The commandos returned fire and managed to hit the launch site, the statement said, adding that four soldiers were lightly wounded in the clash. Hamas said its fighters had fired at the Israeli force offshore, preventing them from landing. Israel says a ground invasion of Gaza remains an option, and it has already mobilized about 20,000 reservists to do so, but most attacks have so far been from the air, hitting some 1,200 targets in the territory. The Islamist group Hamas, which dominates Gaza, has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, striking deeper in the country than ever before. The cross-border violence shows no signs of abating despite mounting international pressure on both sides to end the violence. The U.N. Security Council called for a cessation of hostilities and Western Foreign Ministers were due to meet on Sunday to discuss the need for a ceasefire. Still sirens went off throughout the night in Israel, sending residents running for safe rooms and bomb shelters. Israeli aircraft carried out a series of attacks in Gaza, including against a police headquarters and a security compound, Palestinian officials said. A woman and a three-year-old girl were killed in the air strikes, officials said, bringing the six-day Palestinian death toll to 149, many of them civilians. Israel says Hamas puts innocent Gazans in harm's way by placing weaponry and gunmen in residential areas. A senior Israeli military officer said aircraft had aborted "hundreds" of strikes to avoid collateral damage and that targets bombed were meant to impact Hamas fire capacity. No Israeli has been killed by the cascade of Hamas rockets, many of which were shot down above Israeli towns by Iron Dome, a partly U.S.-funded interceptor system. Israel rushed an eighth Iron Dome into service on Saturday to counter stronger-than-expected rocket fire from Gaza. Fire was also exchanged across Israel's northern border. Rockets fired late on Saturday from Lebanon hit Israel, and the military said it responded with artillery fire at the source of the launch. Southern Lebanon is a stronghold of Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim group that battled Israel seven years ago and is engaged in Syria's civil war in support of President Bashar al-Assad; but there are also Palestinian groups in the same area. Hamas claimed responsibility for the rocket fire from Lebanon, though it was unclear what kind of influence or presence the Islamist group had there.
More

Ho Chi Minh City airport authority denies rumor of T3 terminal opening on May 5
Rumors that the T3 terminal would officially open on May 5 have sparked public interest
Read more

COVID-19 shut us down five years ago. Here's how its economic impact continues
Though the immediate shock has passed, COVID-19's legacy continues to reshape global economies and markets
1 day ago
Mark Carney wins race to replace Trudeau as Canada's prime minister
Former central banker Mark Carney will succeed Justin Trudeau as prime minister
11 hours ago
Kantar owners eye break-up of group, $6.5 billion Worldpanel sale, reports say
Kantar's owners Bain Capital and advertising group WPP declined to comment on the reports, while Kantar did not immediately respond to requests for comment
20 hours ago
Foxconn unveils first large language model
The model was trained using 120 of Nvidia’s H100 GPUs and completed in about four weeks
10 hours ago
Floods hit eastern Australia, 190,000 properties blacked out
Torrential rain from the remnants of Cyclone Alfred flooded swathes of Australia's east coast on Monday, as workers battled to restore power to more than 190,000 homes and businesses
12 hours agoHighlights

1,000km journey to bring light: Heartfelt gift of cornea donation in Vietnam
His family members expected to extend their father’s light to those who are visually impaired
Latest news

1,000km journey to bring light: Heartfelt gift of cornea donation in Vietnam
His family members expected to extend their father’s light to those who are visually impaired

Foxconn unveils first large language model
The model was trained using 120 of Nvidia’s H100 GPUs and completed in about four weeks

Ho Chi Minh City airport authority denies rumor of T3 terminal opening on May 5
Rumors that the T3 terminal would officially open on May 5 have sparked public interest

Mark Carney wins race to replace Trudeau as Canada's prime minister
Former central banker Mark Carney will succeed Justin Trudeau as prime minister

The end of cheap palm oil? Output stalls as biodiesel demand surges
Palm oil makes up more than half of global vegetable oil shipments

Miss Global apologizes as Vietnamese audience oppose China’s illegal ‘9-dash line’ in pageant clip
Many Vietnamese viewers strongly protested when they saw the clip displaying the illicit ‘nine-dash line' during the contest’s final round on Sunday

Vietnam, Indonesia forge stronger economic ties at Jakarta business dialogue
The event marked the 70th anniversary of Vietnam-Indonesia diplomatic ties

Floods hit eastern Australia, 190,000 properties blacked out
Torrential rain from the remnants of Cyclone Alfred flooded swathes of Australia's east coast on Monday, as workers battled to restore power to more than 190,000 homes and businesses

Argentina declares national mourning as flood death toll hits 16
Argentina announced three days of national mourning late Sunday after authorities raised the death toll from recent flash flooding to 16, with more still missing

Global art market slumps as Chinese auction sales plummet: data
The value of art sold in 2024 slumped to $9.9 billion (9.1 billion euros), the lowest level since 2009