Now Isreal

By Damien McElroy

3:59PM GMT 14 Nov 2012




Follow live updates of the Israeli strike on Gaza Strip


For a region already in turmoil, the events of the last few hours in Gaza set the stage for a new phase of the conflict.


Hamas has lost one of its most senior commanders and will be compelled to respond.


But it was Hamas that set the stage for the Israeli strikes by launching an missile offensive against the Jewish state earlier this month.


What must be feared now is that the Israeli military is ready to repeat the 22-day Cast Lead operation launched in last days of 2008.The parallels are almost exact.



Latest






Hamas military chief killed in Gaza air strike by Israeli security service



Hamas warns the assassination of Ahmed Jabari, the head of its military wing "has opened the gates of hell".

Israel has been the subject of rocket fire from Gaza every day for quite some time.

AnnaEsse wrote:Israel has been the subject of rocket fire from Gaza every day for quite some time.

Yes , but Israel has built a wall separating the Palestinians and taken a lot of land . It has been an ongoing battle ever since the State of Israel was born . I'm not taking sides but Israel has been protected by America and given a lot of aid in setting up their Country. Do you remember Tripz from 3as? He was fanatical about the Israeli/Palestinian war but was very knowledgeable about it's history.

AnnaEsse is there any part of the Middle East not involved in conflict??? Europe is in crisis, America has the "fiscal cliff", The Far East is in recession as well......what else is there to cheer us up.??

Panda wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:Israel has been the subject of rocket fire from Gaza every day for quite some time.

Yes , but Israel has built a wall separating the Palestinians and taken a lot of land . It has been an ongoing battle ever since the State of Israel was born . I'm not taking sides but Israel has been protected by America and given a lot of aid in setting up their Country. Do you remember Tripz from 3as? He was fanatical about the Israeli/Palestinian war but was very knowledgeable about it's history.

AnnaEsse is there any part of the Middle East not involved in conflict??? Europe is in crisis, America has the "fiscal cliff", The Far East is in recession as well......what else is there to cheer us up.??

JORDAN IS OK FOR NOW

Jordan has taken in a lot of refugees from Syria and may yet get caught up in the struggle.

Panda wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:Israel has been the subject of rocket fire from Gaza every day for quite some time.

Yes , but Israel has built a wall separating the Palestinians and taken a lot of land . It has been an ongoing battle ever since the State of Israel was born . I'm not taking sides but Israel has been protected by America and given a lot of aid in setting up their Country. Do you remember Tripz from 3as? He was fanatical about the Israeli/Palestinian war but was very knowledgeable about it's history.

AnnaEsse is there any part of the Middle East not involved in conflict??? Europe is in crisis, America has the "fiscal cliff", The Far East is in recession as well......what else is there to cheer us up.??

Panda, the simple fact of what's been happening is that up to 100 rockets a day have been going from Gaza into Southern Israel. Schoolchildren learn the shelter drill as soon as they start in year 1. They have 15 seconds after the siren sounds to get into the shelters. Now, the MSM hasn't made any fuss at all, even when 100 rockets have been fired. Hamas is firing those rockets from civilian areas. However much aid Israel has had from anyone, they have the right to defend themselves against the daily barrage. The residents of Gaza need to get Hamas out or at least try to stop them from hiding and firing their rockets from civilian areas.

AnnaEsse wrote:

Panda wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:Israel has been the subject of rocket fire from Gaza every day for quite some time.

Yes , but Israel has built a wall separating the Palestinians and taken a lot of land . It has been an ongoing battle ever since the State of Israel was born . I'm not taking sides but Israel has been protected by America and given a lot of aid in setting up their Country. Do you remember Tripz from 3as? He was fanatical about the Israeli/Palestinian war but was very knowledgeable about it's history.

AnnaEsse is there any part of the Middle East not involved in conflict??? Europe is in crisis, America has the "fiscal cliff", The Far East is in recession as well......what else is there to cheer us up.??

Panda, the simple fact of what's been happening is that up to 100 rockets a day have been going from Gaza into Southern Israel. Schoolchildren learn the shelter drill as soon as they start in year 1. They have 15 seconds after the siren sounds to get into the shelters. Now, the MSM hasn't made any fuss at all, even when 100 rockets have been fired. Hamas is firing those rockets from civilian areas. However much aid Israel has had from anyone, they have the right to defend themselves against the daily barrage. The residents of Gaza need to get Hamas out or at least try to stop them from hiding and firing their rockets from civilian areas.

If they had the sense they were born with the Palestinians would work with the Israelis and turn the Middle East into the paradise it could be.

malena stool wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

Panda wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:Israel has been the subject of rocket fire from Gaza every day for quite some time.

Yes , but Israel has built a wall separating the Palestinians and taken a lot of land . It has been an ongoing battle ever since the State of Israel was born . I'm not taking sides but Israel has been protected by America and given a lot of aid in setting up their Country. Do you remember Tripz from 3as? He was fanatical about the Israeli/Palestinian war but was very knowledgeable about it's history.

AnnaEsse is there any part of the Middle East not involved in conflict??? Europe is in crisis, America has the "fiscal cliff", The Far East is in recession as well......what else is there to cheer us up.??

Panda, the simple fact of what's been happening is that up to 100 rockets a day have been going from Gaza into Southern Israel. Schoolchildren learn the shelter drill as soon as they start in year 1. They have 15 seconds after the siren sounds to get into the shelters. Now, the MSM hasn't made any fuss at all, even when 100 rockets have been fired. Hamas is firing those rockets from civilian areas. However much aid Israel has had from anyone, they have the right to defend themselves against the daily barrage. The residents of Gaza need to get Hamas out or at least try to stop them from hiding and firing their rockets from civilian areas.

If they had the sense they were born with the Palestinians would work with the Israelis and turn the Middle East into the paradise it could be.

Someone on Twitter has offered to donate to charity for every Arab condemnation of the Hamas rockets into Israel with a request for Hamas to negotiate rather than fire rockets.

Hamas Must Make A Deadly Israel Calculation

Every missile fired from Gaza carries the risk of triggering a ground attack, if a single Israeli civilian fatality is caused.

Israel's dramatic escalation of the situation in Gaza was inevitable.

The rocket fire from Gaza into Israel had been steadily increasing, not just over the past two weeks, but the past three years.

In the aftermath of Israel's punitive ground and air offensive in Gaza in 2008 the rate of missiles fired into Israel, which had been increasing, fell away substantially.

In 2009, 310 missiles were fired, in 2010 there were 400, in 2011 - 850, and so far this year around 1,200.

The 2012 statistic is similar to the level in 2008 which triggered Operation Cast Lead.

On Monday, the Israeli government issued a very pointed statement saying that if rocket fire continued it would hold Hamas responsible.

The Israelis knew that most of the missiles were fired by groups such as Islamic Jihad, but they were warning Hamas that as the governing power in Gaza it would targeted if more missiles were fired.

It was no surprise when, after several more missiles fell in Israel, the IDF went after the Hamas military leader Ahmed Jibril and other Hamas targets including police stations.

Israel will continue to target Hamas as well as other groups in Gaza and there is likely to be 'collateral damage'.

The Israelis may well be using what are called 'precision weapons', but Gaza is so crowded with people, and the militant groups deliberately hide among the civilians, that it's probable there will be civilian casualties. There is no cover for the Gaza civilians in which to shelter.

On the other side of the border, about a million Israelis, within range of the rockets, will spend the next few days in bunkers.

The schools are closed and economic activity will slow dramatically.

In many ways, the next move belongs to Hamas. It has a very difficult, indeed deadly, calculation to make.

The Israeli air strikes are to tell Hamas they will be hammered, if rocket fire continues.

But for Hamas to survive it has to be seen to be 'the resistor'. If not it will cede that title to even more radical Islamist groups. So it is probable there will be return fire.

Hamas also has the very deep pockets of Qatar to help them. This flare-up comes shortly after the Emir visited Gaza promising massive support. If Gaza suffers the way it did four years ago, the Qataris will help Hamas rebuild.

The missiles fired from Gaza are indiscriminate. They do not have guidance systems and thus are not precise. They are fired towards Israeli towns with the intention of causing as many civilian casualties as possible. However, they usually fall in open ground.

The calculation Hamas has to make is how many missiles it allows to be fired. There is a number, and they don't know what it is, above which will trigger a ground operation by the IDF similar to Operation Cast Lead.

Every missile fired carries the risk of triggering the ground attack because if there is a single Israeli civilian fatality caused by rocket fire, the IDF will probably go in.


http://news.sky.com/story/1011517/hamas-must-make-a-deadly-israel-calculation

1. 
   
2. 
   

1. 
   Gaza toll rises as UN calls for end to the bloodshed
   

An Israeli air strike killed three Palestinians on Thursday, bringing the toll from Israeli new operation against Gaza militants to 11 dead and at least 100 wounded, medical officials said.








A Palestinian carries a wounded woman into a hospital after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City November 14, 2012. Photo: REUTERS/Saleh Sale





5:43AM GMT 15 Nov 2012




The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said that the three men were all members and were hit as they travelled in a motorcyle-taxi.


The fresh bloodshed came as the United Nations Security Council called for the violence to stop after an emergency session on Wednesday night.


The Israeli military launched its operation on Wednesday with the killing of a top Hamas commander followed by what Palestinians said were at least 60 Israeli air strikes.


Ahmed Jaabari, the operational commander of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, was killed along with his bodyguard, Mohammed al-Hams, in an initial Israeli strike on a car in Gaza City, the Islamist movement said.


Shortly afterwards, Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with more strikes, killing five more people, two of them children, Hamas health minister Mufid Mukhalalati said in a televised press conference at Gaza City's Shifa hospital.



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Hamas vowed vengeance, saying that Israel had "opened the gates of hell" with the attacks.

Late Wednesday medics reported another fatality in the wave of strikes on targets across the territory.

Hospitals and medical centres across Gaza were put on high alert after the initial strikes as Israel warned the hit on Jaabari was only "the beginning" and said "a significant number" of arms dumps were within civilian and residential areas.

Hamas's Al-Aqsa television showed ambulances racing through the streets on Wednesday, transporting casualties to crowded emergency rooms, including at the Shifa hospital.

A man wearing blue pyjamas was seen carrying his son and two men supported an elderly man as he struggled to move away from the site of one explosion.

The attacks came after a flare-up in violence between Israel and Gaza-based groups, which saw more than 120 rockets fired from the Palestinian territory into the Jewish state, and Israeli air strikes and shelling that killed seven people.

Last night the UN Security Council agreed to issue a communique stating that a meeting took place. Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, president of the 15-nation Security Council this month, told reporters: "The message that must be taken from this meeting is the violence must stop."

The Palestinians Authority had asked the council to issue a statement urging Israel to halt its offensive, but no such declaration was agreed.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's press office said earlier in two separate statements that he spoke on the telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mohamed Mursi of Egypt.

"(Ban) expressed his concern (to Netanyahu) about the deteriorating situation in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip, which includes an alarming escalation of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza into Israel and the targeted killing by Israel of a Hamas military operative in Gaza," the United Nations said.

Ban also voiced his expectation that "Israeli reactions are measured so as not to provoke a new cycle of bloodshed."

He also discussed with Mursi "the need to prevent any further deterioration," the United Nations said.

US President Barack Obama also spoke with Netanyahu and Mursi and reiterated US support for Israel's right to self-defence in light of rocket attacks from Gaza, the White House said.

"The president urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties. The two agreed that Hamas needs to stop its attacks on Israel to allow the situation to de-escalate," the White House statement said.

The emergency Security Council meeting came at the request of Egypt, Morocco and the Palestinians.

"Once again the international community is witness to Israel's malicious onslaught," the Palestinian Authority's UN envoy, Riyad Mansour, told the Security Council.

"The Israeli occupying forces are now mobilizing on the ground as we speak," Mr Mansour said. "Fear and panic are spreading among the Palestinian civilian population."

The militant group Hamas, not the Palestinian Authority, controls Gaza.

US Ambassador Susan Rice told the council there was "no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel," according to the written text of her statement. "We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately."

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters as he left the council that "we need to see how the situation develops."

Speaking to reporters, Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor urged the international community to condemn "indiscriminate rocket fire against Israeli citizens - children, women." He was referring to escalating Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza.

A group of Arab ambassadors appeared before reporters ahead of the council meeting. Speaking on their behalf, Sudanese Ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman urged the council to condemn Israel's "barbaric heinous attack."

In a letter to the Security Council, Mansour also called for an end to "extrajudicial killing."

Mr Prosor described the Hamas military commander killed by Israel, Ahmed Al-Jaabari, as a "mass murderer" who had been planning fresh attacks against Israeli citizens.

The council's failure to take any action was not a surprise. It is generally deadlocked on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which envoys say is due to the US determination to protect Israel.

A new Gaza war has loomed for months as waves of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli strikes have grown more intense and frequent.

Mr Mansour said the Israeli action was intended to draw attention away from the Palestinians' plan to seek an upgrade of its observer status at the United Nations from that of an "entity" to a "non-member state," implicitly recognizing Palestinian statehood.

Israel and the United States have made clear they would oppose the Palestinian upgrade, which would give it the right to join international bodies like the International Criminal Court, where it could file legal complaints against Israel.

UN diplomats said a vote on the Palestinian request was tentatively scheduled for Nov 29. A senior Western diplomat said the Palestinians would easily secure 120 to 130 votes out of the 193-nation General Assembly, which would ensure the success of their upgraded status at the United Nations.

Mr Prosor told the council that the Palestinian push for a status upgrade was "march of folly."

"The Palestinian leadership is marching down a road that can only lead to more conflict, instability and violence," he said.

Source: agencies

The Palestinians seriously cannot expect to fire 100 rockets a day at Israeli civilians, without eliciting some sort of response.

It's also interesting that some of the media describes them as "home made rockets". They aren't home made. They are Russian-made Katushkas and capable of doing serious damage.

I have a cousin in Haifa and even her two small cats know to get into the secure room when the alarms go off.

Iris wrote:The Palestinians seriously cannot expect to fire 100 rockets a day at Israeli civilians, without eliciting some sort of response.

It's also interesting that some of the media describes them as "home made rockets". They aren't home made. They are Russian-made Katushkas and capable of doing serious damage.

I have a cousin in Haifa and even her two small cats know to get into the secure room when the alarms go off.

I agree Iris. The MSM has been conspicuously quiet while rockets have been fired on a daily basis into Israel. I read that for children starting school this year one of their first lessons was how to respond to sirens and get into the shelters. Hamas don't care about the ordinary people of Gaza. otherwise they wouldn't be firing from those civilian areas. They're playing a dangerous game with the people of the region.

On the way to work this morning I heard someone on Radio 4 state that THIS all started with the Hamas leader being killed! I was gobsmacked. Sitting in my car, I was shouting at the radio...no it didn't! It started a long time ago with daily rockets from bloody Gaza and Hamas hiding amongst civilians you pr*t!

I remember Tripz being outraged that the Israelis dropped some kind device, not an ordinary Bomb, meant to cause the most harm onto the Gaza Strip. I have no partisan view either way but will say that when the land was granted to the Israelis it was bound to cause controversy and always will.

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza: latest


Latest updates as the renewed conflict enters a second day, with three Israelis killed by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.








A rocket launched by Palestinian militants towards Israel makes its way from the northern Gaza Strip, seen from the Israel Gaza Border, southern Israel Photo: AP Photo/Ariel Schalit





By Daniel Fisher

4:12PM GMT 15 Nov 2012



runUpdate = true;



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2012-11-15 17:00:18.0
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/9679883/Israeli-airstrikes-on-Gaza-live.html?service=artBody
This page will automatically update every 90 secondsOn Off


• Netanyahu: Israel will take 'whatever action necessary'
• William Hague: Hamas 'bears principal responsibility' for crisis
• Gaza rockets kill three Israelis
• Gaza toll rises as UN calls for end to the bloodshed
• Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari killed by Israeli air strike
• Hamas says assassination "has opened the gates of hell"



Latest





16.50 The White House has released a statement blaming Hamas for the explosion of violence in Gaza, mirroring comments made by William Hague earlier today.


Expressing regret for the victims on both sides of the conflict, White House spokesman Jay Carney said there was "no justification" for the violence on the part of Hamas, saying it "does nothing to help the Palestinians."


Carney's statement, given to reporters aboard Air Force One as it carried the president to New York, built on the US account of a telephone conversation the night before between Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


Obama called on his counterpart in Israel to "make every effort to avoid civilian casualties," while stressing Israel's right to defend itself from Hamas' attacks, the White House said.

The two leaders agreed that Hamas needed to stop attacks on Israel to "allow the situation to de-escalate," the statement continued, putting the blame for the outbreak of violence squarely in the hands of the Islamist movement.



16.11 Resident's in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi, where three people died in a rocket attack earlier today, say they are fully behind the operation underway in Gaza.

Gaby Peretz, who worked with one of the three people killed in attack, told AFP: " Even if the rocket fire continues, the military operation should continue until there is quiet here."

"The Palestinians must pay a heavy price," he added.

Michael Ben-Ari, an extreme right-wing Israeli lawmaker, said: "Israel must stop using tweezers. Gaza should run red with the blood of terrorists."





16.03 Meanwhile in Tunisia, hundreds have gathered for a demonstration against Israel's attacks on Gaza.

Several hundred protesters gathered on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in the centre of Tunis shouting slogans such as "No to reconciliation," and "The people want to criminalise normalised relations with the (Zionist) entity."

Youth supporters of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party Ennahda also called for a demonstration on Friday, "after the odious crimes committed by the Zionist entity, which has violated the land and places that are sacred."

16.01 Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil will visit the Gaza Strip tomorrow, Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu told AFP:

The Egyptian leadership informed us that Prime Minister Hisham Qandil will visit Gaza tomorrow, accompanied by a number of ministers. We welcome this visit and appreciate this courageous stand.

15.39 Alistair Lyon has written an analysis for Reuters on how this latest flare-up in the conflict will affect the situation in the Middle East, arguing that it is unlikely to ignite a wider war or destroy the Jewish state's 1979 peace treaty with Egypt.

Hamas, an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, had become newly assertive in recent weeks, buoyed by a visit to Gaza by the emir of Qatar and by an apparent belief that Israel would not risk strong military action with Islamists ruling Egypt.

Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, who has demanded that Washington rein in Israel's "unacceptable" attacks, faces popular pressure to act tough, but jettisoning the peace treaty would incur grave risks for a nation still in turmoil after last year's revolt against Hosni Mubarak, who upheld it for 30 years.

However, U.S. President Barack Obama, in telephone calls with Mursi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, merely emphasised Israel's right to self-defence and gave no hint that he was considering any new push for peace with the Palestinians.

Cairo receives $1.3 billion a year in U.S. military aid and looks to Washington for help with its ailing economy, constraining Mursi despite his need to show Egyptians that his policies differ from those of his U.S.-backed predecessor.

"Mursi cannot do anything beyond reaching out to the international community because the balance of power in the region is tilted towards Israel," said Nabil Abdel Fattah, at Cairo's Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

"Arab countries also remain too weak militarily and diplomatically for any serious push against such aggression."

Obama has other Middle East headaches for his second term, from the nuclear dispute with Iran to instability in Iraq and a conflict in Syria that has caused sometimes violent tensions on borders with Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Israel.



15.26 A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in a city just nine miles southeast of Tel Aviv, by far the farthest strike by Gaza militants in two days of fighting, according to the Israeli army.

"There was a rocket that hit in an open field in the Rishon LeTzion area. There were no injuries or damage," a spokeswoman said.



^{A smoke trail is seen as a rocket is launched from the northern Gaza Strip (REUTERS/Nir Elias)}

15.19 The Shadow foreign secretary, Labour's Douglas Alexander, has spoken about the crisis:

The priority must be an immediate end to the violence to avoid a spiral downwards to even greater suffering. Escalating tension serves no one's interest.

Citizens in both Israel and Gaza deserve to live in peace and security.

The recent rocket attacks into southern Israel that have led to this latest response deserve our categorical condemnation but Israel must at all times act in accordance with international law.

This latest escalation of violence only emphasises why it is vital that negotiations to achieve a political solution to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict must resume with urgency.

14.54 A few more details are coming in on the Hamas spokesman's comments regarding a truce with Israel.

Sami Abu Zuhri told a press conference:

We will not be exposed to further tricks by the occupation. We consider talk of a truce at this time an attempt to provide more cover for the continuation of the escalation on Gaza

14.40 Breaking on the AFP newswire: Hamas has rejected talk of a truce with Israel at this time, according to a spokesman. More on that when it comes in.

14.20 Speaking earlier today, Israeli Army Spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich said that "all the options are on the table, including the possibility of a ground operation" into Gaza:



14.00 Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has given a press conference in Tel Aviv in which he has warned Israel will take "whatever action necessary" to defend its citizens from Palestinian rocket attacks.

He said he has spoken to US President Barack Obama who has offered "unequivocal" support for Israel's right to defend itself from attack.





13.51 The Israeli operation has drawn fresh condemnation from Turkey and Iran, both Muslim countries that both have good relations with Hamas.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul "strongly" condemned Israel and criticized Washington for supporting Israel. Turkey's once close ties with Israel have collapsed over an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship in 2010.

Iran, a major backer of Hamas, called the Israeli operation "organized terrorism." Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast urged the world to cut ties with Israel.

13.43 Khaled Meshaal, the exiled chief of the Hamas movement has given a defiant speech in Sudan, declaring that "Israel will never defeat Gaza". Addressing a conference of Sudanese Islamists, he said:

This enemy is weak and cannot vanquish Gaza

I call on my brothers who have their fingers on the trigger to run the battle wisely and with a brave heart. The war against the enemy will go on even after Jaabari departed us. Women and men are queuing for jihad and martyrdom



13.38 The Telegraph's Chief Foreign Correspondent David Blair writes this analysis of the Israel/Gaza crisis: now the bloodshed will mount:

The clouds of smoke billowing across the white tower blocks of Gaza City and the towns of southern Israel are achingly familiar. Once again, the Arab-Israeli conflict has flared up into another confrontation. Over the next few days it will become clear whether Israel’s operation is a limited strike or one that will escalate into another war, comparable to the 22-day conflict of 2008-09.

In particular, Israel’s leaders will have to decide whether to follow up their air strikes with an incursion by troops on the ground. That is a far riskier proposition. Israel would have to weigh the probability of casualties against the likelihood of achieving its goals. And what objectives could be achieved from the ground and not from the air? If the aim is to destroy caches of weapons and kill Hamas operatives, that could all be done from the air. I could be proven wrong very quickly, but on balance I’d venture to suggest that a ground attack is unlikely.



13.12 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is cutting short his European tour and flying home after talks with Swiss officials as the situation in Gaza deteriorates, according to Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian negotiator. He told reporters:

We have a very grave situation in Gaza, we have situation deteriorating on the hour every hour and President Abbas now is in touch with His Excellency President Mursi of Egypt, Dr. Nabil Elaraby of the Arab League, Ban Ki-moon ... and others in Europe and the United States, hoping to begin a process of de-escalation of the conflict.



^{Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (EPA)}



12.31 The Associated Press has filed a new wrap of the day's events so far, as the Israeli military presses forward with a second day of intense air raids and naval attacks on militant targets.

With Israel threatening to invade the Palestinian territory, the heaviest fighting between Israel and Hamas in four years shows no signs of letting up:

Militants fired salvoes of rockets into Israel on Thursday killing three while seven Palestinians died in waves of air strikes, as Israel pressed a vast offensive in Gaza into a second day.

The military said it had carried out more than 150 air strikes since it launched Operation Pillar of Defence on Wednesday with the targeted killing of Hamas military chief Ahmed Jaabari, as militants fired some 250 rockets at southern Israel.

The Israeli assault on the Palestinian territory is its toughest in nearly four years and comes as the Jewish state heads towards general elections.

It has prompted fury from Palestinians and calls for restraint from world leaders.

In Gaza, thousands joined a procession carrying Jaabari's body from Shifa hospital to his home in Shejaiya, east of Gaza City

We are led to believe that the Palestinian civilians are short of all commodities from water to educational needs... The missiles being fired into Israel are not cheap yet the Palestinians have a seemingly inexhaustible supply... Who supplies them and where does the money to buy them come from?

Israel launches fresh air strikes on Gaza


Israeli war planes carried out multiple new air strikes as dawn broke Friday after a sleepless night punctuated by rocket fire on the Gaza Strip.








Flames after an Israeli air strike in the centre of Gaza City on the morning of Nov 16, 2012. Photo: EPA/MOHAMMED SABER





5:37AM GMT 16 Nov 2012




The strikes included several direct hits on Gaza City.


"There have been 130 strikes overnight until now," Hamas interior ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan said, citing "tens of strikes" across Gaza on Friday morning, as international journalists in Gaza City reported multiple raids.


In response, Palestinians fired 11 rockets back at Israel overnight.


Mr Shahwan said the strikes destroyed a building belonging to the interior ministry and used for administrative issues like passport renewals in the Gaza City neighbourhood of Tel al-Hawa.


Eyewitnesses said training positions used by various Palestinian militant groups had also been hit in the latest round of strikes.



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Hamas emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya said the toll now stood at 19 Palestinians, several of them children, with a further 235 people injured.

The Israeli army said it had carried out 466 air strikes since it launched "Operation Pillar of Defence" on Wednesday afternoon with the targeted killing of Hamas commander Ahmed Jaabari.

The army confirmed that "strikes are continuing," adding that 11 Palestinian rockets had been fired from Gaza at Israel overnight.

A total of 280 rockets have been fired at the Jewish state from Gaza since Wednesday afternoon, the military added. Three Israelis were killed on Thursday.

The Israeli air defence system Iron Dome intercepted 131 of those, a military spokesperson said.

malena stool wrote:We are led to believe that the Palestinian civilians are short of all commodities from water to educational needs... The missiles being fired into Israel are not cheap yet the Palestinians have a seemingly inexhaustible supply... Who supplies them and where does the money to buy them come from?

Israel has many enemies in the Middle Easy malena so I think Palestine is being helped by other Middle East Countries sympathetic to their cause. It was a dreadful error of judgement to give away to Israel so much Palestinian land and of course the help from America , the Israelis taking yet more land, building walls dividing familes etc has not endeared them. It's like David and Goliath in terms of military power and I think when Israel dropped those bombs in the last battle many were horrified. I can't remember what they were called, something like cluster bombs designed to do the most damage. Trouble is, the UN has no teeth these days so what happens next is anyone's guess.

Have you ever known such uprising in the Middle East ?????

Israel has fired rockets from Northern Gaza despite a temporary ceasefire starting as the Egyptian Prime Minster visits the enclave.

Israel had earlier agreed to halt its campaign against militants in the Hamas-run territory during his brief visit.

But Sky's Middle East Producer Tom Rayner said: "We've seen at least 4 rockets launched from Northern Gaza in the last 10 minutes - ceasefire may be over before it has even really begun."

The temporary ceasefire came after the Palestinian territory suffered a second night of heavy bombardment, with Israeli warplanes hitting targets in and around Gaza City.

"There have been 130 strikes overnight until now," Hamas interior ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan said.

He said the strikes destroyed a building belonging to the interior ministry, while there were also reports that training positions used by various Palestinian militant groups had also been hit.
An interior ministry building in Gaza City comes under fire from Israel
Meanwhile, 16,000 Israeli army reservists have been called up as the rocket attacks and retaliatory airstrikes continue.

The Israeli army said 11 Palestinian rockets had been fired from Gaza at Israel overnight.

Gazans also continued to be concerned that a ground assault remains a possibility as troops, tanks and armoured personnel carriers massed near Israel's southern border with the Palestinian territory.

It has given the green light to the call-up of up to 30,000 army reservists - another strong indication that Israeli troops are preparing to enter the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian prime minister, Hisham Kandil, is leading a delegation to Gaza to explore the possibility of brokering a ceasefire.
An Israeli armoured vehicle moves towards the border with the Gaza Strip
His Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu said all offensive actions would be called off during the visit, as long as Palestinian groups refrain from firing rockets across the border.

A senior Israeli official said: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to an Egyptian request to cease all offensive operations in Gaza during the visit of the Egyptian prime minister there this morning, which is supposed to last for about three hours.

"In the answer that has been forwarded to Egyptians, we've said that the Israel Defence Forces will cease fire on the condition that there won't be fire from Gaza into Israel during that period."

Two days of Israeli air strikes have killed 19 Palestinians, including seven militants and 12 civilians - among them six children and a pregnant woman. A Palestinian rocket killed three Israelis in the town of Kiryat Malachi on Thursday.

Two more rockets from Gaza landed near Tel Aviv in the first such attack on Israel's commercial capital in 20 years. One fell into the Mediterranean Sea and the other in an uninhabited part of one of the suburbs south of the city.

Prime Minister David Cameron has blamed Hamas militants for the escalation of violence in a phone call to Mr Netanyahu

malena stool wrote:We are led to believe that the Palestinian civilians are short of all commodities from water to educational needs... The missiles being fired into Israel are not cheap yet the Palestinians have a seemingly inexhaustible supply... Who supplies them and where does the money to buy them come from?

Palestine is the most bankrolled territory on the face of the planet. If all that money was spent appropriately, the place would look like Dubai. But they'd rather spend it on Russian-made missiles and propaganda. Oh, and Swiss bank accounts, such as the Arafat family stash.

And just incase anybody doubts the propaganda, here's a wonderful Pallywood production - watch the bearded guy in the camel coat from 2:12 onwards.

Iris wrote:

malena stool wrote:We are led to believe that the Palestinian civilians are short of all commodities from water to educational needs... The missiles being fired into Israel are not cheap yet the Palestinians have a seemingly inexhaustible supply... Who supplies them and where does the money to buy them come from?

Palestine is the most bankrolled territory on the face of the planet. If all that money was spent appropriately, the place would look like Dubai. But they'd rather spend it on Russian-made missiles and propaganda. Oh, and Swiss bank accounts, such as the Arafat family stash.

And just incase anybody doubts the propaganda, here's a wonderful Pallywood production - watch the bearded guy in the camel coat from 2:12 onwards.

Just after the guy in the camel coat there's a man in a high-vis tabard being carried on the shoulders of another man. When he gets put down, he stands up easily and then looks like he's giving orders to others.

WOW! Miracles before our eyes!!

wjk wrote:WOW! Miracles before our eyes!!

Amazing, eh? Man recovers and takes charge just from having that little carry! I've seen on Twitter that some of the film from Gaza is actually footage from 2006.

AnnaEsse wrote:

wjk wrote:WOW! Miracles before our eyes!!

Amazing, eh? Man recovers and takes charge just from having that little carry! I've seen on Twitter that some of the film from Gaza is actually footage from 2006.

Anna....do you really mean that Hamas are.... gulp.... cheating?

malena stool wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

wjk wrote:WOW! Miracles before our eyes!!

Amazing, eh? Man recovers and takes charge just from having that little carry! I've seen on Twitter that some of the film from Gaza is actually footage from 2006.

Anna....do you really mean that Hamas are.... gulp.... cheating?

What? Just because they are so warmly welcomed by the people of Gaza and allowed to store their home-made weapons in back yards and teeny-weeny cellars? Lying? Cheating? Scumbags? Terrorists? What next?

Fight Twitter War




Gaza Crisis Explodes Into War On Twitter


Updated: 2:02pm UK, Friday 16 November 2012

Israel and Hamas are waging a vicious war on Twitter - posting gloating tweets each time they land a fatal blow.

Israel has posted a string of live-tweets charting dozens of military hits on Gaza. One, after the death of a senior Hamas leader, declared: "Eliminated."

Hamas has responded by claiming a succession of damaging strikes against Israel. One tweet, accompanied by a "downed" Israeli plane, read: "Enjoy this losers."

Hamas's armed wing, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, even seems to be tweeting about missiles it is firing before they land in Israel.

In one instance, shortly before media reports of a strike, Hamas tweeted: "Al Qassam Brigades shelling Tel Aviv-Tel El Rabee with M75 homemade projectile."

The propoganda war has also extended to other social media sites including Facebook, Tumblr and Flickr.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) began live-tweeting on Wednesday about its military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"The IDF has begun a widespread campaign on terror sites & operatives in the #Gaza Strip, chief among them #Hamas & Islamic Jihas targets," it said.

Another tweet read: "The IDF has embarked on an operation against Hamas, an Iranian proxy responsible for terror attacks on Israel. #Iran #Gaza."

Later the IDF tweeted it had targeted Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari, head of Hamas's military.

It accompanied the tweet with a YouTube video of the attack and a poster of the dead man with the footnote "Eliminated".

It followed this with a warning: "We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead."

Hamas responded by tweeting: "Our blessed hands will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are (You Opened Hell Gates on Yourselves)."

Since then the two sides have been engaged in a running commentary of strikes against each other.

On Thursday the IDF tweeted: "The 135 rockets have been fired at #Israel from #Gaza in the last 11 hours alone. What would you do if your country was under attack?"

Hamas responded: "Within an hour, Al Qassam hit Israeli military bases and sites with 121 projectiles."

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