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Daybreak: Attack in Southern Israel Kills 5

Plus, U.S. prepares to call for Assad to step down, and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
August 18, 2011
A roadblock in southern Israel following the attack this morning.(AP)
A roadblock in southern Israel following the attack this morning.(AP)

• This morning, a coordinated group of assailants who almost certainly infiltrated Israel from Egypt’s Sinai peninsula attacked a bus, a military vehicle, and a car, killing at least five and causing more casualties. (Egyptian border guards did manage to kill a couple
African migrants trying to get into Israel.) This incident will draw renewed focus to post-Mubarak Egypt’s failure to maintain security. Update: The talk on Twitter is that the terrorists may have come from Gaza and been Hamas. Among the dead, reportedly, are Israeli soldiers and two little children. [Google/AP]

• Finally: Sources say President Obama and the European Union will, as soon as today, call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. [Reuters/Haaretz]

• A U.N. probe found that Syria’s regime committed “a pattern of human rights violations … which may amount to crimes against humanity,” and recommended referral to the International Criminal Court. Included is the reported execution of 26 blindfolded men at a stadium in Daraa in May and the deaths of nearly 2,000 by mid-July. [AP/WP]

• After a burst of activity, the Gilad Shalit talks are reportedly stalled yet again. [Haaretz]

• Both the Israelis and the Palestinians are preparing for massive, hopefully peaceful pro-Palestinian demonstrations next month, when the U.N. statehood battle happens. [LAT]

• A report from the besieged Syrian city of Homs. [NYT]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.