US cautions Israel on civilian casualties as ground invasion continues.

US cautions Israel on civilian casualties as ground invasion continues

White House calls on Israel to restrict itself to 'precise operation' in Gaza while stressing its right to defend itself

Israeli troops and tanks are engaged in fierce fighting in Gaza following the launch of a military ground operation on Thursday night with the initial aim of eliminating Hamas tunnels that could be used to launch attacks on Israel.

Hamas warned Israel of the "dreadful consequences" of the conflict's escalation, while the US urged its close ally to restrict itself to a "precise" operation.

In a night of sustained bombardment as well ground fighting, Israel suffered its first military casualty of the 11-day war. The dead soldier – named as Eitan Barak, 20 – was possibly killed by so-called friendly fire in the north of Gaza. Two others were injured.

The Palestinian death toll since the start of the conflict exceeded 250, including at least 11 who were killed overnight. Israel launched air strikes against more than 100 targets overnight.

The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the defence minister, Moshe Ya'alon, instructed the army to be prepared to expand the ground operation. The mobilisation of a further 18,000 reservists was authorised overnight, bringing the total on standby to about 60,000 in addition to those in service.

Netanyahu was due to make a statement on the escalation of the military operation on Friday morning, and his inner security cabinet was convening.

"In light of Hamas's incessant criminal aggression and dangerous infiltration into Israeli territory, Israel must act to protect its citizens," a statement from the prime minister's office said.

"Operation Protective Edge will continue until it has achieved its purpose – restoring quiet to the citizens of Israel for an extended period, with significant damage to the infrastructure of Hamas and other terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip."

IDF spokesman Brig Gen Moti Almoz said: "We are now entering the second part of the operation. We delivered a hard blow to Hamas: We attacked thousands of targets, destroyed infrastructure, hurt operatives. Large ground troops are taking over targets in the Gaza Strip, operating against tunnels and infrastructure."

The US called on Israel to restrict itself to a "precise operation" on the ground in Gaza while stressing its right to defend itself against rocket attacks.

In a statement late on Thursday, the state department said Netanyahu had telephoned the US secretary of state, John Kerry, to explain his decision "to launch an operation to target the threat of further terrorist infiltration through tunnels into Israel".

It continued: "The secretary reaffirmed our strong support for Israel's right to defend itself against terrorist threats emanating from tunnels into Israel and expressed our view that this should be a precise operation to target tunnels, as described in a statement from the Israel Defence Forces."

It said Kerry emphasised the need to "avoid further escalation and to restore the 2012 ceasefire as soon as possible".

Hamas responded to the invasion with characteristic rhetoric. "We warn Netanyahu of the dreadful consequences of such a foolish act," Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

A statement issued by Hamas warned Israel: "We're with you in the field, and we aren't afraid of the ground assault."

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, accused Israel of ignoring calls for restraint. "I regret that despite my repeated urgings, and those of many regional and world leaders together, an already dangerous conflict has now escalated even further," he said.

Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip at 10.30pm local time on Thursday, under massive supporting fire from air, sea and land.

According to military analyst Alex Fishman, writing in Yedioth Ahronoth: "The tanks, which serve as the heart of the assault force, received an order to open fire at anything that moved. The area and the targets are due to be seized by the morning hours. From here on, [the army] will start to clear the ground, in what could last for several days, depending on political developments."

The initial aim is to destroy tunnels dug by Hamas from Gaza into Israel for the purpose of launching attacks, and to secure and expand the 'buffer zone'' inside Gaza's perimeter in order to prevent short-range rocket launches into Israel.

However, Hamas is likely to attempt to suck Israeli troops deeper into Gaza, increasing the risk of military casualties.

The escalation of the conflict came on the 10th day of military action, a point at which military leaders may have calculated that a limit on what could be achieved by aerial bombardment could be achieved.

The decision to launch a ground invasion was reportedly taken by the security cabinet on Tuesday night, following Hamas' rejection of a ceasefire proposal tabled by Egypt.

But the discovery of a tunnel on Thursday morning, through which a dozen militants were attempting to reach a kibbutz in southern Israel, is thought to have been a deciding factor to go in.

Israel halted bombardment for five hours on Thursday to allow people in Gaza to restock with food and cash and visit relatives.

U.S. official: Missile shot down Malaysia Airlines plane.

U.S. official: Missile shot down Malaysia Airlines plane

A Malaysia Airlines passenger jet crashed in a rebel-controlled part of eastern Ukraine on Thursday, spurring swift accusations from Ukrainian officials that "terrorists" shot down the aircraft.

The United States has concluded a missile shot down the plane, but hasn't pinpointed who was responsible, a senior U.S. official told CNN's Barbara Starr.

The Boeing 777 with 298 people aboard fell from the sky near the town of Torez in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, officials said. A top Ukrainian official said the plane, which was on the way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was flying at about 10,000 meters (nearly 33,000 feet) when the missile hit.

Nationalities aboard MH17
154 Dutch
43 Malaysian (including 15 crew)
27 Australian
12 Indonesian
9 British
4 German
4 Belgian
3 Filipino
1 Canadian
41 Unverified

A radar system saw a surface-to-air missile system turn on and track an aircraft right before the plane went down, the senior U.S. official said. A second system saw a heat signature at the time the airliner was hit, the official said. The United States is analyzing the trajectory of the missile to try to learn where the attack came from, the official said.

The Obama administration believes Ukraine did not have the capability in the region -- let alone the motivation -- to shoot down the plane, a U.S. official told CNN's Jake Tapper.

What we know about the MH17 crash

Flight attendant loses friends on MH17

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the plane never made a distress call.

He called for an international team to have full access to the crash site.

Malaysia Airlines jet crashes in Ukraine

Deadly airline disasters

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Biden: MH17 apparently shot down

Video reportedly shows MH17 crash

"We must and we will find out precisely what happened to this flight. No stone will be left unturned," he said.

"If it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice," Najib said.

Ukrainian officials maintained that pro-Russian separatists were behind the crash.

The timeline before MH17 crashed

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine's military campaign against the separatists was to blame.

"This tragedy would not have happened, if there had been peace on that land, or in any case, if military operations in southeastern Ukraine had not been renewed," Putin said in televised remarks. "And without a doubt the government of the territory on which it happened bears responsibility for this frightening tragedy."

Ukraine's state security chief accused two Russian military intelligence officers of involvement and said they must be punished.

Valentyn Nalyvaichenko said he based his allegation on intercepts of phone conversations between the two officers. "Now you know who carried out this crime. We will do everything for the Russian military who carried out this crime to be punished," he told reporters.

The jet plunged toward the ground in a fireball, leaving a trail of black smoke behind in the sky.

Emergency crews scrambled to what witnesses described as a staggering scene of death and utter destruction.

"People said the plane kind of exploded in the air, and that everything rained down in bits and pieces, the plane itself, the people inside," said Noah Sneider, an American freelance journalist who interviewed witnesses at the scene.

Charred wreckage stretched for kilometers, he said. Stunned rescue workers and rebel fighters combed the area, Sneider said, planting sticks with white cotton ribbons where they found bodies in the fields.

"As you walk through the fields, you see a man with his cracked iPhone sticking out of his pocket. You see sort of people's clothing everywhere. Most of it's kind of ripped off by the air. There's some suitcases and stuff in a pile by the road," Sneider said.

There were many bodies left to be found as night fell, he said, and people were trying to figure out what to do next.

Locals in the rural area trying to help were overwhelmed, he said. Firemen who rushed to put out the flames found they had a hose with holes in it, spraying water everywhere, he said.

"One man said to me, 'Nothing's happened in this village for 30 years, and now this,'" Sneider said.

As details emerge, accusations fly

Details -- and accusations -- quickly poured in about Thursday's crash, which came the same week that Ukrainian officials said a Russian fighter shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane while the aircraft was in Ukrainian airspace.

Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, said in a Facebook post that "terrorists" fired on the plane operating a Buk surface-to-air missile system.

Report: Malaysia plane crashes in Ukraine

First images of Malaysia Airlines debris

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko described the crash as a "terrorist action."

"We do not exclude that the plane was shot down and confirm that the Ukraine Armed Forces did not fire at any targets in the sky," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said, according to his website.

CNN's Richard Quest, an aviation expert, said that it would be "extremely unusual" for an airliner at nearly 33,000 feet to be shot down.

From the ground, one could simply look up and tell whether a plane was a commercial aircraft, he said. "So something is absolutely appalling that's gone on here."

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said that Ukraine's president had accepted an offer of U.S. experts to help investigate the crash.

"They will be on their way rapidly to see if we can get to the bottom of this," he said.

Biden said the plane was apparently shot down, adding "not an accident, blown out of the sky."

Who was on the plane?

The 15 crew members on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were all Malaysian nationals, officials said.

Malaysia Airlines also gave a breakdown of the known nationalities of the 283 passengers: 154 were Dutch, 27 were Australians, 28 were Malaysians, 12 were Indonesian, nine were from the United Kingdom, four were from Germany; four were from Belgium, three were from the Philippines and one was Canadian. Authorities were still trying to determine the nationalities of the other passengers.

The International AIDS Society said in a statement that "a number of colleagues and friends" were on the plane, on the way to attend the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia.

"At this incredibly sad and sensitive time the IAS stands with our international family and sends condolences to the loved ones of those who have been lost to this tragedy," the statement said.

Russia-Ukraine dispute

The route the Malaysian plane was on, between Kuala Lumpur and the Netherlands, is a common one, CNN aviation safety consultant Mary Schiavo said Thursday. She said that the plane was flying over a troubled area and that close communication with air traffic controllers would be a key necessity.

Torez is in a rebel-held area.

In hostile or disputed areas, "any alteration from your course, and you can have a problem," Schiavo said.

Map: Approximate route of MH17

Tensions have been high between Ukraine and Russia since street protests forced former pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych from power in February. Russia subsequently annexed Ukraine's southeastern Crimea region, and a pro-Russian separatist rebellion has been raging in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Ukrainian forces have been struggling to quell the separatist unrest. Ukraine's government has accused Russia of allowing weapons and military equipment, including tanks, to cross the border illegally into the hands of pro-Russian separatists.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that Russia now has 12,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, as well as some heavy weapons. The troop numbers had fallen to about 1,000 previously from a high of an estimated 40,000 forces earlier this year.

READ: Obama imposes new sanctions on Russia over Ukraine

On Thursday, CNN reported that Ukrainian officials said a Russian fighter shot down a Ukrainian jet Wednesday as the jet flew in Ukrainian airspace.

Tensions are high over that incident, separate from the breaking news of the Malaysian flight Thursday.

Three months ago, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration prohibited U.S. airlines from flying in areas not far from where Flight 17 reportedly crashed Thursday. "Due to the potential for conflicting air traffic control instructions from Ukrainian and Russian authorities and for the related potential misidentification of civil aircraft, United States flight operations are prohibited until further notice in the airspace over Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov," the FAA said in April. Thursday's plane crash reportedly was in eastern Ukraine, scores of miles north-northeast of the Sea of Azov.

On Thursday, French transportation official Frederic Cuvillier ordered that French airlines avoid Ukrainian airspace until the cause of Thursday's Malaysia Airlines crash is known, the French Transportation Ministry said in a news release.

People inspect wreckage thought to be from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine. This image was posted to Twitter.

Airline's troubles

Thursday's crash marks the second time this year that Malaysia Airlines has faced an incident involving a downed plane.

On March 8, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared. That Boeing 777 had 239 people on board. Searchers have found no trace of 370 or its passengers, despite extensive search efforts.

Flight 370 probably flew into the southern Indian Ocean on autopilot with an unresponsive crew, Australian authorities said last month.

During the early phase of the search for Flight 370, aircraft and ships scoured vast stretches of the surface of the southern Indian Ocean but found no debris.

Pings initially thought to be from the missing plane's flight recorders led to a concentrated underwater search that turned up nothing.

A new underwater search, farther south, will be broadly in an area where planes and vessels had already looked for debris on the surface of the water. It is expected to begin in August.

The first Boeing 777 entered service in June 1995, and the airplane has flown almost five million flights, accumulating more than 18 million flight hours, according to Boeing's web site. The plane is capable to flying up to 43,100 feet.

Great Scots: Meet The Scottish Fashion Awards Nominees

 Meet The Scottish Fashion Awards Nominees

 

MODEL JeanCampbell, who shot her first ever editorial - for Vogue's October 2013 issue - less than a year ago, and has since become a Burberry campaign face, has been nominated in the Scottish Model of the Year category at the forthcoming Scottish Fashion Awards. Mary Charteris, who won the prize last year, is also nominated. 

"2014 is a hugely important year for Scotland from a political, cultural and sporting perspective so it's important that we use whatever means to shine the spotlight on our incredible wealth of fashion talent emanating from Scotland and Britain," SFA founder Tessa Hartmann told us today. "The fashion sector is often overlooked and under estimated in the Scottish business community and this definitive list highlights that that view needs to change. Our job is to highlight them to global audiences - regardless of borders."

Last year's Scottish Designer of the Year, Christopher Kane, will face his old friends Jonathan Saunders and Holly Fulton for the prize again this year, while up-and-coming brands including Harvey Nichols-favourite Deetz and 2012's winner Hayley Scanlan will battle it out for the Young Designer crown.

See a full list of nominees below:  

SCOTTISH YOUNG DESIGNER OF THE YEAR

• Deetz
• Mairi McDonald
• Hayley Scanlan
• Saunt & Sinner
• Rachel McMillan

 SCOTTISH TEXTILE DESIGNER / BRAND OF THE YEAR

•  Dhu
• ten30
• Begg & Co
• Brora
• Queene and Belle

SCOTTISH RETAILER OF THE YEAR

• Abandon Ship Apparel
• Jane Davidson
• Maggie's Farm Boutique
• Fat Buddah Store

SCOTTISH COMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR

• Soki Mak, Freelance Creative Director & Fashion Stylist
• Lindsay MacPherson, Fashion Features Editor, Harrods Magazine
• Avril Mair, Fashion Director, Harper's Bazaar UK and Town & Country
• Sara McCorquodale, Editor, MyDaily
• Ann Russell, Freelance Writer and Fashion Stylist, Frocktrade
• Howard McLaren, Hair Stylist / Founder R+Co, (former Senior Artistic Director at Bumble & Bumble). 

SCOTTISH ACCESSORY DESIGNER OF THE YEAR

• Christian MacLeod (Accessory designer)
• Jane Gowans (Jeweller)
• William Chambers Millinery
• Tens (Sunglasses)
• Karen Morrison (Jeweller)
• Karen Mabon (Accessory designer)

SCOTTISH FASHION GRADUATE OF THE YEAR

• Barbra Kolasinski, London College of Fashion (University of the Arts London)
• Dan W J Prasad, Royal College of Art
• Letty Bishop, Grays School of Art
• Rebecca Peattie, Nottingham Trent University
• Kirsty Frew, Edinburgh College of Art
• Colleen Leitch, Edinburgh College of Art

INTERNATIONAL DESIGNER OF THE YEAR (Scottish inspired/influenced or textiles sourced from Scotland)

• Simone Rocha
• Vivienne Westwood
• Marc by Marc Jacobs
• Maison Martin Margiela
• Mulberry

SCOTTISH MODEL OF THE YEAR

• Helena McKelvie, TESS Management London
• Christopher Millington, The Model Team/RED Models New York
• Terri McGlone, Storm
• Paul Carrigan, The Model Team/Storm
• Jean Campbell, Viva London
• Mary Charteris, Premier Model Management

SCOTTISH EXPORTER OF THE YEAR

• Common People
• Mackintosh
• ERIBÉ
• Barrie Knitwear

LUXURY RETAILER (International brands operating in Scotland)

• Tommy Hilfiger, Edinburgh
• Harvey Nichols Edinburgh
• Burberry, Edinburgh
• Emporio Armani, Glasgow
• Louis Vuitton, Edinburgh

SCOTTISH DESIGNER OF THE YEAR

• Holly Fulton
• Christopher Kane
• Jonathan Saunders

A series of special awards - including the Hall of Fame, Fashion Ambassador, Fashion Icon and Founders Award - will be revealed in September at the ceremony in London.