Israel vows lasting Gaza campaign

[totalgenius]

The scenes of destruction in Gaza City

Israel says it is ready for "long weeks of action" as it continues its fiercest air assault on Gaza for decades to stamp out militant rocket attacks.

Palestinian officials say 10 people died in the latest attacks, taking the death toll to over 360 since Saturday. Four Israelis have died in rocket fire.

Israeli Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit rejected any ceasefire until the threat of rockets was removed completely.

A UN human rights monitor accused Israel of "shocking atrocities".

Richard Falk - the special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories - said the international community must put more pressure on Israel to end its attacks on Gaza.

"Israel is committing a shocking series of atrocities by using modern weaponry against a defenceless population - attacking a population that has been enduring a severe blockade for many months," Mr Falk said in a BBC interview.

The UN says at least 62 of the Palestinians killed so far have been women and children, and it is calling for an investigation into attacks which causing heavy civilian casualties.

Coastal clash

Israeli jets attacked targets linked to the Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, for a fourth day, hitting a number of government buildings and security installations.

1. Ashdod: First attack so far north, Sunday
2. Ashkelon: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Monday
3. Sderot: rocket attacks
4. Nevitot: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Saturday
5. Civilian family reported killed in attack on Yabna refugee camp, Sunday
6. Israeli warplanes strike tunnels under Gaza/Egypt border, Sunday
7. Three young brothers reported killed in attack on Rafah, Sunday
8. Khan Younis: Four members of Islamic Jihad and a child reported killed, Sunday
9. Deir al-Balah: Palestinians injured, houses and buildings destroyed, Sunday
10. Interior ministry and Islamic University badly damaged, Monday
11. Gaza City port: naval vessels targeted, Sunday
12. Shati refugee camp: Home of Hamas leader Ismail Hanniyeh targeted, Monday
13. Intelligence building attacked, Sunday
14. Jebaliya refugee camp: several people killed in attack on mosque, Sunday
​

Forty people were said to have been wounded in Tuesday's raids.

"The Israeli army must not stop the operation before breaking the will of the Palestinians, of Hamas, to continue to fire at Israel," Mr Sheetrit told Israel Radio.

The Israeli military "has made preparations for long weeks of action," added Matan Vilnai, a deputy defence minister, in another interview.

One air strike on Tuesday killed two sisters, the oldest aged 11, riding in a donkey cart in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said.

Separately, Israeli naval vessels confronted pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break the Gaza blockade by boat about 45 miles (70 kilometres) off the Israeli coast in international waters.

The activists said one vessel had rammed them after they ignored warnings to turn back. Their boat, carrying 3.5 tonnes of medical aid, is now trying to reach Lebanon.

Israel has massed forces along the boundary with Gaza and political leaders have not ruled out ground operations.

The Egyptian-Gaza border was sealed on Tuesday morning after trucks carrying aid and some wounded Palestinians were allowed to cross on Monday.

European Union foreign ministers are scheduled to to meet in Paris later (1730 GMT) to discuss the escalating crisis.

The meeting, hosted by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, is expected to consider the idea of an humanitarian aid corridor, and how to bring additional aid to Gaza's beleaguered 1.5m population.

Angry protests

Dozens of centres of Hamas strength, including security compounds, government offices and tunnels into Egypt, have been hit since Israel started its massive bombing campaign on Saturday morning.

​

Israel says its aim is to end the rocket attacks by Hamas-linked militants - of which there have more than 60 since Monday morning.

There have been angry protests against the offensive in many cities across the Arab world and in several European capitals.

The strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007.

Analysts say Israeli political leaders were under pressure to act against rocket fire with a general election looming in early February.

Israel dismantled its strategic settlements and military bases in Gaza in 2005 but has kept tight control over access in and out of the narrow coastal strip and its airspace.





BBC NEWS | Middle East | Israel vows lasting Gaza campaign

 

[beany_123456]

forking appalling...

 

[mwflivpak]

terrorist act - the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.


The sooner this ends the better, hopefully The un will come to the right conclusion today.

 

[karym6]

I think the UN has come to a number of conclusions already, they just havent helped much.

I am starting to think that the only way this can be resolved is if the Palestinians are given their o wn country again. I dont think Israel would be so keen to formally declare ware on them then...

 

[emarald]

the Palestinians are given their o wn country again. QUOTE]

PMSL What do you mean again?
They have never had one to start with so, your statement is just plain dumb

 

[nozzer]

You can hardly blame Israel alone for this problem. As long as terrorists are lobbing rockets across the border at Israeli citizens then their government is duty bound to act !

Fairly simple really. If the Palestinians want a peacful relationship then they need to kick the terrorists out and make sure they are not perceived as a threat !

 

[emarald]

You can hardly blame Israel alone for this problem. As long as terrorists are lobbing rockets across the border at Israeli citizens then their government is duty bound to act !

Fairly simple really. If the Palestinians want a peacful relationship then they need to kick the terrorists out and make sure they are not perceived as a threat !

Correct just as Jordan kicked out the PLO terrorists, all the terrorists should be kicked back to Iran where they belong

 

[mwflivpak]

You can hardly blame Israel alone for this problem. As long as terrorists are lobbing rockets across the border at Israeli citizens then their government is duty bound to act !

Fairly simple really. If the Palestinians want a peacful relationship then they need to kick the terrorists out and make sure they are not perceived as a threat !

getting rid of terrorist aint as easy as it sounds, firstly who is and who isnt?

no one would want terrorists in their homes..

as far as the rockets are concerned, although wrong i dont see how it merited such a retalliation that along with the "terrorist" soo many civillians are dying.

 

[karym6]

You can hardly blame Israel alone for this problem. As long as terrorists are lobbing rockets across the border at Israeli citizens then their government is duty bound to act !

Fairly simple really. If the Palestinians want a peacful relationship then they need to kick the terrorists out and make sure they are not perceived as a threat !

I was thinking about this the other day, how much did they vote Hamas in out of desperation? Or were they coerced into doing so?

And even if/when they get their own country back, can the international community have links with a country that has a government with its roots in terrorism?

 

[nozzer]

I am starting to think that the only way this can be resolved is if the Palestinians are given their o wn country again. I dont think Israel would be so keen to formally declare ware on them then...

Historically, Israel will act in their own defence regardless of whether its against an individual or against another sovereign state.

A Palestinian state would certainly not protect them if they continued to use it as a base of operations against Israel

 

[karym6]

Historically, Israel will act in their own defence regardless of whether its against an individual or against another sovereign state.

A Palestinian state would certainly not protect them if they continued to use it as a base of operations against Israel

No, in fact it would be worse. Israel is a NATO country I think, if Palestine, once it is a country again, allowed terrorist attacks to continue unchecked then Israel can ask the rest of NATO for help.

Just like the US did with Afghanistan.

 

[nozzer]

getting rid of terrorist aint as easy as it sounds, firstly who is and who isnt?

no one would want terrorists in their homes..

Unfortunately, thats very true BUT the first step is probably not to elect a government that has its roots and its stated aims based in terrorism

as far as the rockets are concerned, although wrong i dont see how it merited such a retalliation that along with the "terrorist" soo many civillians are dying.

You say that but in any war or conflict the aim is to do as much damage to the enemy as you can whilst minimising your own losses. As far as Israel are concerned that is precisely what they are doing.

If they can "awe" the other side into submission without casualties of there own then they will of achieved their objectives. Wars are ugly, they always have been and they always will be !

 

[nozzer]

No, in fact it would be worse. Israel is a NATO country I think, if Palestine, once it is a country again, allowed terrorist attacks to continue unchecked then Israel can ask the rest of NATO for help.

Just like the US did with Afghanistan.

I doubt Israel would do that. They would simply handle the problem themselves because they know that the UN are effectively worse than useless as peacekeepers.

The US would of much preferred to handle Afghanistan themselves but dont like adverse publicity. Thats why they seek UN mandates for everything they do. It gives things the appearence of respectibility.

Israel has no such qualms about this kind of thing. They care little about what the UN does or doesn't approve of when it comes to there own security.

 

[countryboy]

god help these people. israel is nothing more than a terrorist nation . . over use of force killing by blocking medicals supplies . sound like another well know figure the jews knew about . guess he taught them evil is good .

 

[karym6]

I doubt Israel would do that. They would simply handle the problem themselves because they know that the UN are effectively worse than useless as peacekeepers.

The US would of much preferred to handle Afghanistan themselves but dont like adverse publicity. Thats why they seek UN mandates for everything they do. It gives things the appearence of respectibility.

Israel has no such qualms about this kind of thing. They care little about what the UN does or doesn't approve of when it comes to there own security.

The UN and NATO are seperate. The UN is all about working together.

NATO though, is a military alliance and is designed for just this thing. To be honest, Israel could ask for help now if it had any firm evidence that terror attacks were coming from other countries.

 

[emarald]

No, in fact it would be worse. Israel is a NATO country I think, if Palestine, once it is a country again, .

NATO has 26 members
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Rep
Denmark
Estonia
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
And for someone who thinks thay are smart why not try a google the fact about Palestine being a country again, you will find that it has never been a country or a state, GOOGLE IT as you do most of you posts.

 

[countryboy]

NATO has 26 members
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Rep
Denmark
Estonia
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
And for someone who thinks thay are smart why not try a google the fact about Palestine being a country again, you will find that it has never been a country or a state, GOOGLE IT as you do most of you posts.

m8 are you just out to wind people up . Palestine is a state now and was a country before . it has its own pm its own goverment . . im guessing your just out to have a fight .

 

[karym6]

NATO has 26 members
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Rep
Denmark
Estonia
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
And for someone who thinks thay are smart why not try a google the fact about Palestine being a country again, you will find that it has never been a country or a state, GOOGLE IT as you do most of you posts.

Hmmm, I wonder if thats why I said "I think Israel is a NATO country".

 

[karym6]

m8 are you just out to wind people up . Palestine is a state now and was a country before . it has its own pm its own goverment . . im guessing your just out to have a fight .

He is, just leave him to it and he will get bored.

As it stands right now, Palestine isnt a country in its own right. But this doesnt mean it hasnt been its own country in the past.

 

[nozzer]

god help these people. israel is nothing more than a terrorist nation . . over use of force killing by blocking medicals supplies . sound like another well know figure the jews knew about . guess he taught them evil is good .

They are certainly tough on others who threaten them but I dont think you could class them as terrorists. I dont think they've done anything I wouldn't expect our own government to do in a similar situation.