JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said it downed a drone launched by Gaza militants on Monday, the first time it encountered an unmanned aircraft since the start of its offensive last week, as new Israeli airstrikes killed four more Palestinians in the coastal strip.

Israel began its campaign against militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza last Tuesday, saying it was responding to heavy rocket fire from the densely populated territory. The military says it has launched more than 1,300 airstrikes since then, while Palestinian militants have launched nearly 1,000 rockets at Israel.

The outbreak of violence followed the kidnappings and killings of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank last month, as well as the subsequent kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager in an apparent revenge attack, along with Israeli raids against Hamas militants and infrastructure in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has said that 172 people died in Israeli air attacks, including dozens of civilians. That's without counting Monday's fatalities.

There have been no Israeli deaths as a result of Hamas rocket launches, though several people have been wounded, including a teenage boy who was seriously injured by rocket shrapnel on Sunday.

The Israeli military said the drone, launched from Gaza on Monday, was shot down in mid-flight by a Patriot surface-to-air missile along the southern Israeli coastline, near the city of Ashdod. In a statement to media, Hamas claimed it launched three drones at Israel on Monday, though the military insisted there was only one.

Hamas said it has developed two types of drones — one for intelligence gathering, and one for delivering munitions. It also said it lost contact with one of the drones and that the targets included the Israeli Defense Ministry compound in Tel Aviv.

It was the first time the militant group publicly acknowledged it has drones in its arsenal.

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A Palestinian man gestures as he walks at a mosque which police said was targeted in an Israeli air …

The use of drones with an offensive capacity could inflict significant casualties — something the rockets from Gaza have failed to do, largely because of the success of the Israeli military's 'Iron Dome' air defense system in shooting them down.

"Hamas is trying everything it can to produce some kind of achievement and it is crucial that we maintain our high state of readiness," Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said. "The shooting down of a drone this morning by our air defense system is an example of their efforts to strike at us in any way possible."

Meanwhile, Israel continued its aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip, with four Palestinians reported killed in two Israeli airstrikes on the southern city of Khan Younis on Monday, according to officials from the city's European Hospital.

The officials said Saddam Moamar, his wife Hanadai, and his father Mousa were killed by an airstrike that hit their house. Their neighbor, Maher Abu Mor, was killed in another airstrike while standing on the rooftop of his home, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

It was not immediately clear why their homes were targeted.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the current Israeli operation could last for "a long time" and that the military was prepared "for all possibilities." That includes a Gaza ground operation, which would likely cause heavy casualties in the coastal strip.

But Netanyahu is coming under increasing international pressure to end the operation soon. On Sunday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate cease-fire while U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced American "readiness" to help restore calm. Egypt, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, continued to work behind the scenes to stop the conflict.

Hamas has sent signals it may be ready to consider a cease-fire and has demanded that hundreds of recently arrested activists be freed as part of any prospective truce.

For his part, Netanyahu is likely seeking to show the Israeli public that he has succeeded in significantly degrading Hamas's ability to strike at Israeli targets before moving ahead diplomatically.

Also Monday, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed during confrontations with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank village of Samoa, near Hebron, Palestinian health officials said. Residents of the village said soldiers opened fire at a group of Palestinians who were throwing stones at them. The officials and the villagers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

The Israeli army confirmed the death and said it was looking into the incident.

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Associated Press writer Ibrahim Barzak in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel is to indict three Jewish extremists with murder over the brutal killing of a Palestinian teenager, officials said Monday, as it emerged their initial target was an eight-year-old child.

According to a statement given to Petah Tikvah magistrates court near Tel Aviv, a 29-year-old man and two minors aged 17 are to be charged on counts of murder, kidnapping with intent to murder, arson and attempted arson, all committed "on racist-nationalistic grounds," police said.

Mohammed Abu Khder, 16, was kidnapped from east Jerusalem on July 2 and burned to death by Jewish extremists in a suspected revenge attack for the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers.

The brutal murder triggered days of violent protests in east Jerusalem that quickly spread to Arab towns across Israel, with stone-throwers fighting pitched battles with riot police.

A police statement, issued after a court lifted the gag order on the case, said all three suspects had confessed to the killing and carried out a reenactment for investigators.

Seven arrests were made in connection with the case, although four people were released after police and the Shin Bet internal security agency determined they were not directly involved.

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An undated family handout picture obtained on July 2, 2014 shows 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khder, a P …

In a separate statement, Shin Bet said the three suspects confessed to killing Abu Khder in revenge for last month's kidnap and murder of the three Israeli teens by Palestinian militants.

The three had decided to kill an Arab, and equipped themselves with cable ties, petrol and other materials, and had randomly chosen Abu Khder as their victim, it said.

Shin Bet said the suspects were all related.

On July 1, the suspects had tried to kidnap an eight-year-old child elsewhere in east Jerusalem, but were thwarted by the child's mother.

- Defence of insanity? -

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Relatives and friends of Mohammed Abu Khder, 16, carry his body to the mosque during his funeral in …

Police said the three had searched several east Jerusalem neighbourhoods in search of a victim before happening on Abu Khder.

After forcing him into the car, they struck him on the head and drove to a forest in west Jerusalem, where they poured flammable liquid on him and set him alight.

An initial forensic report showed smoke in his lungs, indicating he was alive when set alight. A lawyer for the family told AFP his body had been burnt beyond recognition.

Israeli media said the defence strategy of the 29-year-old prime suspect would be mental instability, with reports saying he had previously been in psychiatric treatment after trying to strangle his infant daughter.

A spokesman for Honenu, a legal organisation which defends right-wing Jewish extremists, said the indictment would be filed on Friday.

A spokeswoman for the state attorney's office told AFP the indictment could be earlier, noting the exact clauses of the charge sheet could still change.

Murder charges coming for trio in death of teen

Israel will indict three Jewish extremists for murder over the brutal killing of a Palestinian.
Their initial target

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian military transport plane was shot down Monday along the country's eastern border with Russia but all eight people aboard managed to bail out safely, the defense ministry said.

Separatist rebels in conflict-wracked eastern Ukraine claimed responsibility for downing the Antonov-26, but Ukrainian officials swiftly ruled that out and blamed Russia instead.

There was no immediate comment from Russia on the plane.

In the last two weeks, the government has halved the territory in eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russia separatists, who have been forced back into the cities of Luhansk and Donetsk. Many in the armed insurgency are known to be Russian nationals, but Moscow says they are simply citizens who went to fight in Ukraine on their own.

Defense Minister Valeriy Heletey said the plane was flying at an altitude of about 6,500 meters (21,300 feet), which he said was too high to be reached with the weapons used by the separatists. Rebels are known to have Igla portable surface-to-air missiles, which work up to about 3,500 meters.

Ukraine's Security Council spokesman Andrei Lysenko said data from the plane's surviving crew suggested the rocket was either a surface-to-air Pantsir missile or a missile fired by a plane from Russia's Millerovo Air Force base.

In London, Charles Heyman, a defense analyst who edits a book called "Armed Forces of the European Union," said the missile was more likely fired by the Ukrainian rebels.

"I doubt the transport plane was flying at 6,500 meters. That doesn't make sense. The higher you fly, the more it costs, and the plane would have had to be pressurized," Heyman said. "It was probably shot down using SAM-6 missiles owned by the rebels, which they have quite a few of."

Fighting intensified around Luhansk, meanwhile, as government forces stepped up efforts to disrupt rebel lines and reclaim more territory.

Fierce Fighting Near Rebel-held City In UkrainePlay Video

The Defense Ministry said Monday that government troops had retaken several villages around Luhansk —including Metalist, Oleksandrivsk, Bile and Rozkishne — and had reopened a corridor to its civilian airport. Those areas are north, west and south of the city, suggesting the government's plan to form a security cordon around Luhansk is yielding results.

One Luhansk resident named Sergei told The Associated Press that panic had gripped the city Monday over reports that Ukrainian paratroopers were slipping in and detaining rebel fighters. Exit points from the city have been blocked and militiamen were confiscating cars and belongings from residents attempting to flee, he said, declining to give his last name due to fears of reprisal.

A spokeswoman for the separatist Luhansk People's Republic told the AP that they destroyed a Ukrainian armed convoy in the village of Heorhiivka, killing at least three Ukrainian soldiers.

It was not possible to immediately verify the claim.

Ukraine's authorities insisted again that Russia was directly supporting the separatist insurgency now dragging into its fourth month.

"In the last three days, Ukraine's armed forces have been attacked with Russian multiple-rocket launchers," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Monday at a meeting with top security officials.

Moscow in turn accuses Ukraine of spreading the unrest to its own territory. Russian media reported Sunday that a Ukrainian shell had hit a building in a Russian border town, killing one person and seriously injuring two others.

Ukraine denied that it had fired shells onto foreign soil but President Vladimir Putin expressed "grave concern" over the incident and Russia's foreign ministry warned there could be "irreversible consequences."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sent a letter Monday requesting that observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe visit Russian border towns affected by the fighting. Speaking with Swiss President Didier Burkhalter, chairman of the OSCE, Lavrov called for the resumption of talks to negotiate a cease-fire.

Ukraine's president had a unilateral 10-day cease-fire but abandoned it when rebels would not lay down their arms and return captured border posts.

After a four-way telephone call with the French, Ukrainian, Russian and German foreign ministers late Monday, Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier said all parties agreed to keep working toward a sustainable, bilateral cease-fire.

He said Russia had reiterated assertions it would use its influence on the rebels and has agreed to allow the Ukrainian embassy access to a detained female Ukrainian pilot. The OSCE mission is also preparing to use drones to effectively monitor "the border control activities" to prevent the flow of fighters and weapons into Ukraine, he said.

The parties are aiming to hold a video conference with representatives of the rebels by Tuesday at the latest and hope to agree on a place for a direct meeting shortly.

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Associated Press reporters Greg Katz in London, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Laura Mills in Moscow contributed to this report.

Ukraine: Military plane shot down by rocket

Kiev levels new charges of Russian involvement as conflict intensifies around Luhansk.
Resident: Panic grips city

Exclusive: Iran nuclear negotiators under pressure after leader's speech

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks live on television after casting his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran June 12, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz

By Louis Charbonneau and Parisa Hafezi

VIENNA (Reuters) - A major speech by Iran's Supreme Leader has limited the ability of the Iranian delegation at high-level nuclear talks to make concessions with six world powers and this could scuttle chances for Tehran to reach an accord to end sanctions, diplomats said.

In a public address filled with technical detail, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last week Iran needs to significantly increase its uranium enrichment capacity, clashing with the powers' push for it to be reduced to minimise the risk of nuclear bombmaking, as July 20 deadline for a deal nears.

The talks with the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China are aimed at a long-term accord on Iran curbing its nuclear energy programme in exchange for a gradual end of sanctions that have crippled the OPEC member's economy.

In his speech, which analysts compared in importance to a State of the Union address by a U.S. president, Khamenei said he had faith in his negotiating team led by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his deputy, Abbas Araqchi.

Several diplomats close to the talks said the speech, which included many details about the nuclear programme and Iranian demands on it, came as a surprise to the Iranian delegation.

One Western diplomat said the delegation appeared "taken aback" by Khamenei's remarks at such a sensitive time in the nuclear negotiations - just ahead of the July 20 deadline for a deal. Two Iranian sources confirmed that assessment.

"In ostensibly expressing support for the Iranian negotiating team, close scrutiny of Khamenei's speech shows that in reality his remarks were aimed at severely curtailing his team's room for manoeuvre, making it effectively impossible to bridge gaps with the stance of the (six powers)," according to a Western intelligence analysis of the speech seen by Reuters.

Khamenei's message was a reminder of the tensions within Iran's complex power elite between conservative hardliners - like him - wary of any detente with the West they fear would imperil the Islamic Revolution - and moderates who see a nuclear deal as Iran's ticket out of economically crippling isolation.

Pragmatist Hassan Rouhani's landslide 2013 election as Iranian president on a platform of improving Iran's foreign relations to revive the economy opened the door to nuclear diplomacy and a possible improvement of ties with the West. Resolving the decade-long nuclear standoff with Iran is seen as vital to allaying fears of a new war in the Middle East.

Iran and the six resumed talks in Vienna on July 2 and their negotiators continued meetings in the Austrian capital on Monday, though there was no immediate sign of any substantive progress. Western and Iranian officials have complained publicly that the sides remain far apart on all key issues in the talks.

Iran's capacity to refine uranium lies at the center of the nuclear stalemate and is seen as the hardest issue to resolve in the Vienna talks, which began in February. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Vienna to help break the deadlock. He met Zarif for a second day in a row on Monday.

The Islamic Republic denies Western allegations that its declared programme to enrich fuel for civilian nuclear energy is a front for pursuing the capability to produce atomic weapons.

DISPUTE OVER CENTRIFUGES

A relative of Khamenei's explained to Reuters the motivation for the speech. "The leader is above all the factions. He felt that it was essential to state his red lines publicly to avoid any misunderstanding by either side involved in the talks.

"His speech contained clear technical points," the relative added. "Now everyone, whether Iranian or non-Iranian, clearly understands what is negotiable and what is not."

Unusually, Khamenei's July 7 speech included details on what he described as Iran's enrichment "needs", defending it against what he indicated was the West's dismissive attitude towards the Islamic Republic. Western officials say that enrichment on home soil is not a "need" for Iran and that it can obtain cheaper and better fuel for civilian reactors from Russia and elsewhere.

Khamenei suggested that Iran needed 190,000 centrifuge machines in the long term - a 19-fold increase in its current operational capacity to refine uranium.

U.S. and European negotiators want Iran to have a figure in the low thousands to ensure it cannot quickly amass enough for atomic bomb fuel, should it someday choose to do so.

Some analysts have suggested that Khamenei's speech actually indicated a level of flexibility because he was talking about long-term Iranian plans. Others disagree.

"(Khamenei's) statement served both as a directive upon his negotiating team and as an apparent effort to shift the framework of the debate away from Western demands, essentially grounding the talks," the intelligence analysis said.

Earlier this month, Iranian and Western officials close to the talks said Iran was reducing its demands for centrifuges well below the figure Khamenei used. But in the wake of Khamenei's speech, diplomats said, far-reaching compromises by the Iranians will be more difficult.

"In our assessment, Khamenei's remarks were not coordinated with the Iranian negotiating team in Vienna at present, and were intended to cut off their ability to negotiate effectively," the intelligence analysis said.

"Furthermore, they were aimed at sending a clear message to the international community that the negotiating team does not have the mandate to compromise on the most critical issues under discussion - above all, Iran's uranium enrichment capacity."

Iran expert Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group said of Khamenei's speech that "drawing public red lines won't help the negotiators to narrow the gaps" in positions.

Western and Iranian diplomats said that after Khamenei's speech it would be more difficult for Zarif and Araqchi to sell concessions back in Tehran on centrifuges and other issues, such as Western demands that Iran shut the Fordow enrichment site. Khamenei said that demand was "laughable."

President Rouhani's brother Hossein Fereydoun arrived in Vienna to join the talks and send details of the negotiations back to the president, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday. It was not immediately clear if that was linked to concerns on Rouhani's part in the wake of Khamenei's speech.

While Rouhani and Zarif may sincerely want to reach a deal that would dismantle the sanctions that have devastated Iran's economy, diplomats and analysts say that Khamenei is wary of reaching a swift accord with the West, above all with the United States - the "Great Satan" and Iran's arch-enemy since 1979.

"Obviously Khamenei does not want to share his power and authority with Rouhani or anyone else," said a diplomat in Tehran. "For him an extension is an ideal situation. If he feels that his power might be challenged by a nuclear deal, Khamenei will ignore its economic benefits by rejecting it."

The talks on a long-term nuclear deal can theoretically be prolonged for up to six months if all sides agree. Some analysts and diplomats say an extension might be necessary but U.S. officials say there needs to be further progress on key issues in the coming days if an extension is to be approved.

(Additional reporting by Michelle Moghtader in Dubai and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Iran's leader complicates nuke talks: Diplomats

Goals cited in a major speech last week by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei give Iran less room to negotiate, sources say.
Taken by surprise

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Deep in the forests of southern Guinea, the first victims fell ill with high fevers. People assumed it was the perennial killer malaria and had no reason to fear touching the bodies, as is the custom in traditional funerals.

Some desperate relatives brought their loved ones to the distant capital in search of better medical care, unknowingly spreading what ultimately was discovered to be Ebola, one of the world's most deadly diseases.

Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever that can cause its victims to bleed from the ears and nose, had never before been seen in this part of West Africa where medical clinics are few and far between. The disease has turned up in at least two other countries — Liberia and Sierra Leone — and 539 deaths have been attributed to the outbreak that is now the largest on record.

The key to halting Ebola is isolating the sick, but fear and panic have sent some patients into hiding, complicating efforts to stop its spread. Ebola has reached the capitals of all three countries, and the World Health Organization reported 44 new cases including 21 deaths on Friday.

There has been "a gross misjudgment across the board in gauging the severity and scale of damage the current Ebola outbreak can unleash," the aid group Plan International warned earlier this month.

"There are no cases from outside Africa to date. The threat of it spreading though is very much there," said Dr. Unni Krishnan, head of disaster preparedness and response for the aid group.

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In this photo taken on July 8, 2014, Ebola advocacy group Crusaders for Peace, spokesperson Juli End …

Preachers are calling for divine intervention, and panicked residents in remote areas have on multiple occasions attacked the very health workers sent to help them. In one town in Sierra Leone, residents partially burned down a treatment center over fears that the drugs given to victims were actually causing the disease.

Activists are trying to spread awareness in the countryside where literacy is low, even through a song penned about Ebola.

"It has no cure, but it can be prevented; let us fight it together. Let's protect ourselves, our families and our nation," sings the chorus.

"Do not touch people with the signs of Ebola," sings musician and activist Juli Endee. "Don't eat bush meat. Don't play with monkey and baboons. Plums that bats have bitten or half-eaten, don't eat them."

Guinea first notified WHO about the emergence of Ebola in March and soon after cases were reported in neighboring Liberia. Two months later there were hopes that the outbreak was waning, but then people began falling ill in Sierra Leone.

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In this photo taken on July 8, 2014, a woman eat food that was prepared by a Ebola advocacy group Cr …

Doctors Without Borders says it fears the number of patients now being treated in Sierra Leone could be "just the tip of the iceberg." Nearly 40 were reported in a single village in the country's east.

"We're under massive time pressure: The longer it takes to find and follow up with people who have come in contact with sick people, the more difficult it will be to control the outbreak," said Anja Wolz, emergency coordinator for the group, also referred to by its French name Medecins Sans Frontieres.

This Ebola virus is a new strain and did not spread to West Africa from previous outbreaks in Uganda and Congo, researchers say. Many believe it is linked to the human consumption of bats carrying the virus. Many of those who have fallen ill in the current outbreak are family members of victims and the health workers who treated them.

There is no cure and no vaccine for Ebola, and those who have survived managed to do so only by receiving rehydration and other supportive treatment. Ebola's high fatality rate means many of those brought to health clinics have been merely kept as comfortable as possible in quarantine as they await death. As a result, some families have been afraid to take sick loved ones to the clinics.

"Let this warning go out: Anyone found or reported to be holding suspected Ebola cases in homes or prayer houses can be prosecuted under the law of Liberia," President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf stated recently.

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In this photo taken on July 8, 2014, a woman eat food that was prepared by a Ebola advocacy group Cr …

Her comments came just days after Sierra Leone issued a similar warning, saying some patients had discharged themselves from the hospital and had gone into hiding.

At the airport in Guinea's capital, departing passengers must undergo temperature screening, and those with a fever are pulled aside for further evaluation. Still, the stigma of Ebola follows Guineans well outside the region.

"The police treated us like we were aliens. They said they didn't want us in their country because of the disease affecting Guinea," says Tafsir Sow, a businessman who was briefly detained at the airport in Casablanca, Morocco before continuing on to Paris. "I had tears in my eyes."

Still, WHO health officials are hopeful they will be able to get the situation under control in the next several weeks. A recent conference in the capital of Ghana brought together health authorities from across the affected areas, and the countries agreed on a common approach to fight Ebola.

"When you have it spread, of course it's moving in the wrong direction," said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO's assistant director-general for health security and environment. "You want to see the number of infections going down. So we really have to redouble our efforts. But saying that it's out of control makes it sound like there are no solutions. This is a virus for which there are very clear solutions."

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Associated Press writers John Heilprin in Geneva; Boubacar Diallo in Conakry, Guinea; Clarence Roy-Macaulay in Freetown, Sierra Leone; Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Monrovia, Liberia and Francis Kokutse in Accra, Ghana contributed to this report.

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Follow Krista Larson at https://www.twitter.com/klarsonafrica