Israeli troops advance deeper into Gaza

Israel’s top general said there was still “work ahead” in the 18-day offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, and Israeli tanks and troops edged closer to the heart of the city of Gaza.

The Palestinian death toll rose to 971, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said, counting some 400 women and children among those killed. Israel says 10 Israeli soldiers and three civilians hit by Hamas rockets have died.

The top U.N. aid official for Gaza appealed to the international community to protect Gaza’s civilians, saying nowhere in the territory of 1.5 million people was safe any longer with the conflict becoming “a test of our humanity.”

“All the people, the first thing they say to me and the last thing they say to me is ‘Please, we need protection, nowhere is safe,” John Ging, director of operations for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, told reporters in Geneva by videolink.

Explosions and heavy machinegun fire echoed across Gaza, a city of 500,000, after Israeli tanks moved nearer to its densely populated downtown area but did not enter, residents said. The tanks appeared to be testing how the militants reacted.

Talat Jad, a 30-year-old resident of the Gaza suburb of Tel al-Hawa, where tanks advanced overnight, said he and 15 members of his family had gathered in one room of their house, too frightened to look out of the window.

“We even silenced our mobile phones because we were afraid the soldiers in the tanks could hear them,” Jad said.

Medical workers said 23 Palestinian gunmen, most of them members of the Islamist Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip, and seven civilians were killed in the latest fighting.

In Cairo, a Hamas delegation resumed talks with Egypt on a ceasefire plan proposed by the Arab country, which borders the Gaza Strip and Israel and has made peace with the Jewish state.

Israeli aircraft attacked 60 targets, including tunnels used by militants to smuggle arms across the border from Egypt. Two rockets hit Beersheba in southern Israel, causing no casualties.

“We have achieved a lot in hitting Hamas and its infrastructure, its rule and its armed wing, but there is still work ahead,” Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of staff of Israel’s armed forces, told a parliamentary committee.

Ashkenazi said Israeli aircraft had carried out more than 2,300 strikes since the offensive — Israel’s deadliest against Palestinians in decades — was launched on December 27.

Source: Reuters

Filed under: MidEast, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

Hamas militants posing as Israeli troops in Gaza

Hamas militants have been dressing up as Israel Defense Forces soldiers in uniform in an attempt to carry out suicide bombings against Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Tuesday.

Ashkenazi told the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee in Tel Aviv that the militants have tried to penetrate IDF battle lines and detonate their explosives next to Israeli troops.

The IDF Chief also revealed that the army had uncovered a number of tunnels dug with the intent of being used to abduct IDF soldiers.
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Ashkenazi said that the Israel Air Force had managed to strike the majority of its targets in the Strip within the first four minutes of the air campaign which began Operation Cast Lead 18 days ago.

Twenty minutes after the IAF’s first bombing, it also carried out raids on Gaza sites used by militants to launch Grad rockets, Qassam rockets, and mortar shells.

He added that the government had approved the operation, days before it began and before the IDF had even determined when it was going to launch the campaign. This gave the IDF the ability to begin the operation the moment they decided the conditions were right.

Source: Haaretz

Filed under: MidEast, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

Israel’s use of white phosphorus not illegal – Red Cross

The international Red Cross said Tuesday that Israel has fired white phosphorus shells in its offensive in the Gaza Strip, but has no evidence to suggest it is being used improperly or illegally.

The comments came after a human rights organization accused the Jewish state of using the incendiary agent, which ignites when it strikes the skin and burns straight through or until it is cut off from oxygen. It can cause horrific injuries.

The International Committee of the Red Cross urged Israel to exercise “extreme caution” in using the incendiary agent, which is used to illuminate targets at night or create a smoke screen for day attacks, said Peter Herby, the head of the organization’s mines-arms unit.

“In some of the strikes in Gaza it’s pretty clear that phosphorus was used,” Herby told The Associated Press. “But it’s not very unusual to use phosphorus to create smoke or illuminate a target. We have no evidence to suggest it’s being used in any other way.”

In response, the IDF said Tuesday that it “wishes to reiterate that it uses weapons in compliance with international law, while strictly observing that they be used in accordance with the type of combat and its characteristics.”

Herby said that using phosphorus to illuminate a target or create smoke is legitimate under international law, and that there was no evidence the Jewish state was intentionally using phosphorus in a questionable way, such as burning down buildings or consciously putting civilians at risk.

However, Herby said evidence is still limited because of the difficulties of gaining access to Gaza, where Palestinian health officials say more than 900 people have been killed and 4,250 wounded since Israel launched its offensive late last month. Israel says the operation aims to halt years of Palestinian rocket attacks over the border.

Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of firing phosphorous shells and warned of the possibilities of extreme fire and civilian injuries. The chemical is suspected in the cases of 10 burn victims who had skin peeling off their faces and bodies. White phosphorus is not considered a chemical weapon.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Filed under: MidEast, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

Why Hamas didn’t sign the ceasefire?

While our warriors are on the battlefield fighting, it’s difficult to express criticism of any kind. But it is of the utmost importance to know and internalize that the present warfare is not only about rockets pounding our southern cities. Of course, any sovereign nation cannot allow its citizens to be attacked day after day, week after week, year after year, without responding.

However, this is just what consecutive governments did not do, beginning not with the Oslo war, otherwise known as the second intifada. Rather in the late 1980s, during the first intifada, when Israelis were stoned, firebombed and shot at, the government’s reactions were lukewarm at best.

With the outbreak of the second intifada on the eve of Rosh Hashana 2000, the government effectively ignored the attacks on its citizens, most particularly those living in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. In Hebron, Arabs shot at Jews from the surrounding Abu Sneineh and Harat a-Shech Hills for more than two years, with the only response being “virtual.”

The IDF was under strict orders not to retake the hills, which would have stopped the shooting.

In Gush Katif, thousands upon thousands of mortars shells were fired into Jewish communities. The response to these attacks was not even lukewarm; it was nil.

So it came as no surprise when the country’s leaders didn’t blink an eye when Hamas terrorists, utilizing the very land given to them by the State of Israel, began shelling Sderot.

Nor were we shocked when rockets started falling on Ashkelon and Ashdod; such attacks had been predicted prior to the abandonment of Gush Katif.

Those of us who envisioned such shellings were at best ignored or called “black prophets”; at worst we were “enemies of peace.”

Source: Jerusalem Post

Filed under: Analysis, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Iran, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

UNHRC votes to condemn Israel for Gaza

The top UN rights body has approved a resolution condemning Israel’s military offensive in Gaza saying it has “resulted in massive violations of human rights of the Palestinian people.”

On Monday, the Human Rights Council’s 47 members voted 33 in favor and 1 against the resolution that also accuses Israel of systematically destroying Palestinian infrastructure and of targeting civilians and medical facilities.

European Union countries abstained and Canada voted against the resolution.

The resolution approved in Geneva Monday urges an end to the rocket attacks but mentions neither Hamas nor violations of Israeli civilians’ rights.

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert referred to the international public opinion and to growing demands that Israel cease its military operation in Gaza.

During a visit at the Mikve Yisrael School in Holon, Olmert said that “They have no right to reproach us and to try and tell us how to defend our citizens.”

“I don’t think our demands are exaggerated. We share the right of every state in the world to protect its citizens. We’re not asking any other country’s permission or approval in order to protect our residents,” the prime minister said.

Source: Associated Press/Jerusalem Post

Filed under: MidEast, Aid, Gaza, Gaza raids, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Iran, Israel, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, U.N, War

Israel tightens grip on Gaza City

Israeli forces tightened their hold on the outskirts of the city of Gaza on Tuesday as United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon pressed for a ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants.

In clashes on the edges of the city, Israeli forces killed 12 gunmen, some of them Hamas members, medical workers said.

“We are tightening the encirclement of the city,” Brigadier General Eyal Eisenberg told reporters touring Israeli positions.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban was heading to the region for a week of talks with leaders in Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria aimed at ending the bloodshed.

“My message is simple, direct, and to the point: the fighting must stop. To both sides, I say: Just stop now,” Ban told reporters before his departure.

Hamas said its forces detonated explosives beneath Israeli armor and fought with Israeli forces backed by helicopter gunships and naval fire in what seemed the most ferocious fighting since Israel sent in ground troops 10 days ago.

Israel says it attacked more than 60 targets overnight in Gaza as its offensive against Hamas entered its 18th day.

The air assault came as Israeli troops advanced in the southern and eastern suburbs of Gaza City.

The Israeli military also announced another three-hour ceasefire, starting at 0900 local time (0700 GMT), to allow aid lorries into Gaza.

The truce coincides with visits by UN and Red Cross officials to Gaza.

On Tuesday, the western areas of Gaza City also came under shellfire from Israeli gunboats.

The Israeli military has denied a Hamas claim that it had destroyed two Israeli tanks.

The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool, on the Israeli-Gaza border, said Israeli shelling had continued despite the three-hour humanitarian ceasefire.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has implored Israel and Palestinian militants to halt the fighting in Gaza immediately.

Source: CNN/BBC News

Filed under: MidEast, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Iran, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

We’ll deal positively with any cease-fire initiative – Haniyeh

As diplomats scrambled across the Middle East trying to put together a Gaza cease-fire, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh indicated Monday night that he was willing to discuss a truce.

In a televised speech from his hideout, the Hamas leader said, “we will deal positively with any initiative which stops the aggression against our people” and leads to Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Nevertheless, he stressed that while efforts continue toward a cease-fire agreement, Hamas would continue to fight.

Haniyeh said most of those killed in the IDF’s Operation Cast Lead had been women and children, but stressed that “despite this, we knew that victory is the lot of the believers and those who perform Allah’s commandments.”

In the speech, during which Haniyeh recited various passages from the Koran, he said, “we trust in Allah and we know that he is with us and despite everything, and attempts to break or spirit, I declare that the dawn of victory is near.”

The Egyptians expect an Israeli delegation to return to Cairo sometime after the meeting with Hamas, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told BBC.

He said Israel and Hamas “are progressing slowly but surely, because each party wants to score some points and this is obviously the political game that comes at the end of confrontation like that.”

Mideast envoy Tony Blair said Monday during a visit to Cairo that the elements for a cease-fire are in place and expressed hope he would see one “in the coming days.” The former British prime minister met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak while in Cairo following meetings with Israel’s leaders Sunday.

“It is going to have to be worked on very hard, and it has got to be credible,” said Blair about an agreement, which he said must stop supplies of weapons to Gaza and open the crossings to the besieged territory.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Filed under: MidEast, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Iran, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

Hamas raids aid trucks, sells supplies

Hamas on Monday raided some 100 aid trucks that Israel had allowed into Gaza, stole their contents and sold them to the highest bidders.

The IDF said that since terminal activity is coordinated with UNRWA and the Red Cross, Israel could do nothing to prevent such raids, Israel Radio reported.

Between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the army had ceased all military activity in Gaza and once again established a “humanitarian corridor” to help facilitate the transfer of the supplies.

Security officials at Kerem Shalom thwarted an attempt to smuggle electrical goods, disguised as humanitarian supplies, into Gaza. The electrical goods included computers, infra-red cameras, ovens, microwaves and other electronic equipment.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has forbidden the entry of electronics to Gaza since the goods do not fall under the category of humanitarian aid. Some electronic equipment has been let in as per an official Palestinian request, such as equipment used to repair the damaged electrical grid in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel is considering establishing a field hospital in the Gaza Strip to treat Palestinian civilians wounded in fighting between the IDF and Hamas.

The plan would be to establish the field hospital outside the Gaza Strip, but the IDF is also considering the possibility of erecting the hospital inside the Palestinian territory so it will be more accessible to the Palestinian population. It would be run by the IDF Medical Corps.

Also Monday, in an effort to promote Israeli humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip, the Defense Ministry launched a new Web site that provides a live video feed of the Kerem Shalom cargo crossing, through which international organizations have been transferring basic foods and medical supplies to Gaza.

The footage can be viewed at: http://www.mod.gov.il/pages/general/Maavar-Kerem-Shalom.asp. Since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, the IDF has facilitated the transfer of close to 900 trucks into the Gaza Strip with over 20,000 tons of basic foods and medical supplies.

According to an army estimate on Monday, slightly over 900 Palestinians have been killed since Operation Cast Lead began in December 2008. Based on intelligence and information obtained by the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration, the IDF has determined that at least 400 of those killed are known Hamas operatives. The IDF further believes that among the remaining 500, a significant number are also Hamas operatives.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Filed under: MidEast, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Iran, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

Gaza war won’t end until rockets and smuggling stop – Olmert

Olmert told students at the French school in Mikveh Israel that Israel had “not declared war on Gaza residents,” but that the fight against “the murderers of Gaza” often results in innocent civilians being caught in the crossfire.

“Every child and adult not involved with terror who has been caught as a casualty of our military efforts is a victim for which we apologize, which we want to prevent.”

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said earlier Monday that there was no reason to negotiate with Hamas over restoring calm to the Gaza Strip as the group’s words were “meaningless.”

“I am not going to negotiate with Hamas and don’t need them to sign anything for me. What they said is meaningless. This is what is called deterrence: they know that the next time they attack us, they will be harmed,” the foreign minister told Israeli radio stations.

Livni said that additional military operations in the Gaza Strip could also be in the cards should “Hamas dare raise its head and strike Israel again. The war on terror will be long and difficult and we will use military force because that is how one fights terror ? with military force and no alternatives. When they fire [rockets], I’ve said before, we must return the fire.”

Livni said that the current operation in Gaza has proven to Hamas that Israel will always respond to provocation. “Israel is a country that reacts vigorously when its citizens are fired up, which is a good thing,” she said. “That is something that Hamas now understands and that is how we are going to react in the future.”

The so-called troika met Sunday evening to discuss the subject, and both Barak and Livni reportedly argued for ending Operation Cast Lead as soon as possible. This is apparently the reason Olmert wants to present the issue to the security cabinet, where the majority supports his view.

Olmert told the full cabinet Sunday: “The pressure we are exerting [on Hamas] must not be reduced. Anyone who broadcasts weakness will earn the good will of the global community for 12 seconds, but will not change anything essential.”

Source: Haaretz

Filed under: MidEast, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Iran, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War

IDF reservist refuses to fight in Gaza

An Israel Defense Forces reserves soldier, taking part in Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip which entered its 17th day on Monday, has refused to enter the Hamas-ruled territory along with his unit in protest of the killing of Palestinian civilians.

On Monday it emerged that the soldier has been jailed for 14 days in a military facility. He was the first soldier to be tried for refusing orders since the beginning of the operation.

Attorney Michael Sfard, the legal adviser of Omets ? a non profit organization for judicial and social justice ? said that since the beginning of the Israeli offensive on December 27, eight reservists have sought his advice upon being drafted in the emergency reserves call-up.

Of the eight reservists, three have refused to enter the Strip so far. Two of them arrived at agreements with their commanders exempting them from fighting with their units.

Source: Haaretz

Filed under: MidEast, Gaza, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, Iran, Israel, Kassam Rockets, Middle East, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Qassam Rockets, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War