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  • Massive Israeli air raids on Gaza

    Over the past few days, the Israeli military has been carrying out massive airstrikes in Gaza in reaction to an upsurge in rocket attacks originating from there. Do you think the level of Israel's reaction is justified?

    Do you think the Israeli airstrikes will erode or rally support for Hamas, the Palestinian faction that governs the Gaza Strip? Which side will gain the most, Israel or Hamas, when the dust settles?
    The Gaza Air Strikes: Why Israel Attacked

    Israel's strike on Gaza had been expected for days, but it was still a surprise when it finally came. Taking advantage of good weather, which is forecast to last at least three days, Israeli planes bombed some 40 Palestinian police stations, posts and other targets early Saturday morning, killing more than 150 people including a number of senior Hamas military leaders. The first strikes came in a coordinated three-minute blitz.

    Israeli officials say the strikes were necessary to force an end to the rocket attacks from Gaza, which is ruled by the radical Islamist group Hamas after it split from the Palestinian Authority run by President Mahmoud Abbas out of the West Bank. Palestinian militants in Gaza have long launched Kassam and other rockets at Israeli towns across the border, and in the past six weeks the number of attacks has increased dramatically. After the attack, Israeli officials said the number of Palestinian rocket attacks could now spike to 200 a day. Hamas announced that it had sent a rocket toward Askelon; one man in the Israeli town of Netivot, east of the Gaza strip, was killed. Israel also expects Hamas to launch suicide attacks against Israel. A Hamas leader promised as much Saturday.

    But Israel is prepared to ratchet up the pressure still further in the hope that it will force a workable ceasefire. Saturday's attack was authorized two days previously, and though no Israeli ground troops have crossed into Gaza so far, that remains an option according to Israeli officials. Dozens of Israeli air force planes remain in the skies above Gaza. "If they retaliate they will feel it stronger and the number [of casualties] on the Gaza side will rise", a senior Israeli military source told TIME.

    But Israel will need to move carefully. Air strikes that kill large numbers of Palestinian civilians are only likely to fuel support for Hamas, and ramp up international pressure to end the operation quickly. (See photos of Gaza border tension.)

    Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in June. Israel wants the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and is extremely wary of becoming embroiled in a military operation in Gaza with no clear exit strategy. Hamas needed the truce to relieve the catastrophic economic strain imposed by the Israeli siege and to consolidate its control over Gaza. And so, for very different reasons, the two sides found themselves negotiating — not directly, because neither side recognizes the other — but through an Egyptian mediator. But in the past few weeks the ceasefire has all but broken down.

    Indeed, even as the Israelis said the operation was continuing, Egypt was among the diplomatic casualties. Cairo had played host to Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Dec. 25. She took the opportunity to criticize Hamas for its rocket attacks. The silence of her Egyptian hosts is now being seen by Palestinians as indirect collusion with Israel, damaging Cairo's ability to play mediator. Furthermore, in the contest for primacy between Hamas and Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA), Hamas, as the "victim" of this episode, emerges as the victor in the eyes of Arabs and Palestinians. Already, elements of Abbas' own Fatah Party, the bulwark of the PA, are campaigning against the security cooperation with Israel and talking about boycotting meetings with the Jewish state.

    Both Israel and Hamas have their reasons for a return to open hostilities. Livni and her allies face a looming election against the more hawkish former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hamas may be pushing for tactical gains, like doing away with a 600-meter no-man's land established by the Israeli military on the Palestinian side of the boundary fence. The recent rocket attacks were also well timed because of the political vacuum in the U.S. In Washington, officials have been urging Israel to refrain from an invasion or other operations in Gaza during the White House transition. The air attack on Gaza has shattered that hope.
    http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...868829,00.html
    "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

  • #2
    Massive Israeli air raids on Gaza

    Israeli F-16 bombers have pounded key targets across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 200 people, local medics say.

    Most of those killed were policemen in the Hamas militant movement, which controls Gaza, but women and children also died, the Gaza officials said.

    About 700 others were wounded, as missiles struck security compounds and militant bases, the officials said.

    Israel said it was responding to an escalation in rocket attacks from Gaza and would bomb "as long as necessary".

    The operation came days after a truce with Hamas expired.

    Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said "it won't be easy and it won't be short".

    "There is a time for calm and a time for fighting, and now the time has come to fight," he said.

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate halt to the violence, condemning what he called Israel's "excessive use of force leading to the killing and injuring of civilians" and "the ongoing rocket attacks by Palestinian militants".

    Middle East envoy Tony Blair and the French EU presidency also urged an immediate ceasefire.

    Palestinian militants frequently fire rockets against Israeli towns from inside the Gaza Strip; large numbers of rocket and mortar shells have been fired at Israel in recent days.

    In a statement, Israel's military said it targeted "Hamas terror operatives" as well as training camps and weapons storage warehouses.

    Hamas bases destroyed

    A Hamas police spokesman, Islam Shahwan, said one of the raids targeted a police compound in Gaza City where a graduation ceremony for new personnel was taking place.

    At least a dozen bodies of men in black uniforms were photographed at the Hamas police headquarters in Gaza City.

    Israel said operations "will continue, will be expanded, and will deepen if necessary".

    It is the worst attack in Gaza since 1967 in terms of the number of Palestinian casualties, a senior analyst told the BBC in Jerusalem.

    Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni defended the air raids, saying Israel had "no choice". "We're doing what we need to do to defend our citizens," she said in a television broadcast.

    Israel hit targets across Gaza, striking in the territory's main population centres, including Gaza City in the north and the southern towns of Khan Younis and Rafah.

    Hamas said all of its security compounds in Gaza were destroyed by the air strikes, which Israel said hit some 40 targets.

    Mosques issued urgent appeals for people to donate blood and Hamas sources told the BBC's Rushdi Abou Alouf in Gaza that hospitals were soon full.

    In the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas - whose Fatah faction was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007 - condemned the attacks and called for restraint.

    But Hamas quickly vowed to carry out revenge attacks on Israel in response to the air strikes, firing Qassam rockets into Israeli territory as an immediate reply.

    One Israeli was killed by a rocket strike on the town of Netivot, 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Gaza, doctors said.

    "Hamas will continue the resistance until the last drop of blood," spokesman Fawzi Barhoum was reported as saying.

    The air strikes come amid rumours that an Israeli ground operation is imminent.

    Calls for ceasefire

    A White House spokesman said the United States "urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties as it targets Hamas in Gaza".


    "Hamas' continued rocket attacks into Israel must cease if the violence is to stop," the spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, added.

    The UK Foreign Office said: "We urge maximum restraint to avoid further civilian casualties."

    At least 30 missiles were fired by F-16 fighter bombers. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that about 60 warplanes took part in the first wave of air strikes.

    Egypt opened its border crossing to the Gaza Strip at Rafah to absorb and treat some of those injured in the south of the territory.

    Most of the dead and injured were said to be in Gaza City, where Hamas's main security compound was destroyed. The head of Gaza's police forces, Tawfik Jaber, was reportedly among those killed.

    A resident describes the attacks in Gaza

    Residents spoke of children heading to and from school at the time of the attacks, and there were fears of civilian casualties.

    Israeli security officials have been briefing about the possibility of a new offensive into Gaza for some days now, says the BBC's Paul Wood, in Jerusalem.

    But most reports centred on the possibility of a ground offensive, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was not expected to authorise any operation until Sunday at the earliest.

    Although a six-month truce between Hamas and Israel was agreed earlier this year, it was regularly under strain and was allowed to lapse when it expired this month.

    Hamas blamed Israel for the end of the ceasefire, saying it had not respected its terms, including the lifting of the blockade under which little more than humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza.

    Israel said it initially began a staged easing of the blockade, but this was halted when Hamas failed to fulfil what Israel says were agreed conditions, including ending all rocket fire and halting weapons smuggling.

    Israel says the blockade - in place since Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007 - is needed to isolate Hamas and stop it and other militants from firing rockets across the border at Israeli towns.

    THE BBC
    A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

    Comment


    • #3
      Wow, what a timing.

      Israel just sensed an opportunity after the truce expired and hit hamas with what they they have. Also to notice is the attacks are just weeks ahead of Obama sworning in.

      Looks like the US gave a tacit approval to the attacks, it may be a policy thing as Hamas is still not recognized by the State Dept, but they did not ask Israel not to attack Hamas, but to minimize the civilian casualties. I don't think Obama will be this kind to Israel.
      A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

      Comment


      • #4
        For their defence, Israel did say that its not going to be patient on the rocket attacks.

        Dec 25, 2008

        Israeli leaders have issued stern warnings to Palestinian militant group Hamas to stop rocket attacks on Israel.

        Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he would not hesitate to strike Hamas and another militant group, Islamic Jihad, in the Gaza Strip.

        Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni warned Israel "cannot tolerate" Palestinian militants targeting Israeli citizens.

        Some 50 rockets have been launched from Gaza in recent days, after the killing of three Hamas members by Israel.

        A six-month ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas ended last week.

        'Enough is enough'

        Speaking after talks with the Egyptian leadership in Cairo on the failed ceasefire in Gaza, Ms Livni described the latest escalation as "unbearable".

        Ehud Olmert appeals to the people of Gaza to turn against Hamas. Courtesy Al-Arabiya TV

        "Hamas needs to understand that our aspiration to live in peace doesn't mean that Israel is going to take this kind of situation any longer. Enough is enough," she said.

        The BBC's Christian Fraser says some will see the visit as the first of several diplomatic steps Israel must take before launching military action.

        Mr Olmert called on residents of Gaza to stop militants "firing on innocent civilians", in an interview with the Arab television station Al-Arabiya.

        "I say to you in a last-minute call, stop it," Mr Olmert said, Israeli media reported.

        "Don't let Hamas, which is acting against the values of Islam, put you in danger. Stop them. Stop your enemies and ours."

        Mr Olmert added: "I will not hesitate to use Israel's might to strike Hamas and [Islamic] Jihad. How? I will not go into details now."

        Egyptian anger

        Ms Livni had earlier been holding talks with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who brokered the ceasefire.

        Mr Aboul Gheit urged restraint from both sides, and said Egypt would continue to act as a mediator but admitted that a new truce currently seemed unlikely.

        Relations between Egypt and Gaza are strained, our correspondent says.

        President Mubarak has told the militants he believes they are making a mistake in abandoning the ceasefire.

        It is widely understood the Egyptians are furious with Hamas for boycotting peace talks with Fatah last month, which were due to be held in Cairo.

        The question now, our correspondent says, is whether the Egyptians would back an Israeli military offensive against Hamas.

        The London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi has reported that Egypt would not object to a limited Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, aimed at toppling Hamas.


        Ms Livni travelled to the Egyptian capital at the personal invitation of the government.

        This is rare given that Mr Mubarak usually only meets Israeli officials in the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

        It is being read as an Egyptian endorsement of Tzipi Livni, who is seeking to become prime minister in February's general election.

        It has been noted that President Mubarak has not yet invited for talks the Defence Minister and Labour Chairman Ehud Barak, who is also a prime ministerial hopeful.
        A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

        Comment


        • #5
          Some 50 rockets have been launched from Gaza in recent days, after the killing of three Hamas members by Israel.
          So in response to 50 rockets launched that killed one Israeli, Israel kills 205 Palestinians? Talk about a disproportionate response. What was the impetus to kill the three Hamas members, i.e. who broke the ceasefire first?

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Jay View Post
            Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said "it won't be easy and it won't be short".

            "There is a time for calm and a time for fighting, and now the time has come to fight," he said.
            Israel was bound to manufacture a crisis as the new American adminstration comes in. They will kill Palestinians as long as it takes for them to feel sure that Obama won't cut the flow of US tax dollars.

            Comment


            • #7
              Israel attacks Gaza; Gaza swears revenge!
              While the bigger powers sit back and talk about how they can come to an agreement
              and hundreds die. There is no sense of right and wrong anymore only mine and yours. How can a man kill another mans child and say "its better this way for the future".
              I don't understand Isreali logic or Palestinian either.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by GraniteForge View Post
                Israel was bound to manufacture a crisis as the new American adminstration comes in. They will kill Palestinians as long as it takes for them to feel sure that Obama won't cut the flow of US tax dollars.
                These cunning Jews always devising elaborate conspirational schemes, aren´t they?

                HA!

                That is an absurd intrepetation on your part and unbecoming of you. So much so, that if 200 rockets and mortar shells were falling in San Diego in 2 days, targeting schools and daycare centers, as it happened just now (never mind the 6000 fired in the last 2 years) Tijuana would be flattened to the ground. And I suspect you will be the first one to advocate such an action.


                You also seem very worried about the destiny of US tax dollars. When it comes to Israel that is. Which is odd because in my view a US foreign aid has never been so well spent as in this case. Because I´m pretty sure you don´t have the slightest idea of what the US is sending to other countries. Given your preoccupation, I don´t think is going to be reassuring for you to find out that Israel is like the 20th country in terms of economic aid given by the US.

                I´m gathering information to demolish those kind of arguments. (Which I never hear about Germany, South Korea, Egypt or Jordan which give back far, far less for their lot. No, the problem apparently is Israel) There are surprising facts to be found. Right now Israel only receives military aid, mostly spend in the US which is effectively subsidizing its own industry and it turns out Pakistan receives X10 times more aid than Israel.

                That´s X10 more military aid but like X10 less returns and like X100 less critique when the opposite should be true.

                Why would that be the case? How strange...
                Last edited by Castellano; 28 Dec 08,, 00:37.
                L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Is Real View Post
                  Israel attacks Gaza; Gaza swears revenge!
                  While the bigger powers sit back and talk about how they can come to an agreement
                  and hundreds die. There is no sense of right and wrong anymore only mine and yours. How can a man kill another mans child and say "its better this way for the future".
                  I don't understand Isreali logic or Palestinian either.
                  I understand Israel logic perfectly well. They are surrounded by islamic-nazis who want to annihilate them and they are defending themselves.

                  If you think that the islamic-nazis characterization is an exaggeration I suggest you read Hamas charter.

                  GO ISRAEL!
                  L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Stop lobbing rockets into Israel and Israel won't drop bombs.

                    Hellooo?

                    Try it for a few months. Obviously lobbing more rockets won't stop the bombs. Or is "peace" too hard a concept for Hamas?
                    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      And that is how you fight these terrorists!! Indian leaders, learn something!! They hit you, hit them back ten times as hard!
                      Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
                      -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Castellano View Post
                        I understand Israel logic perfectly well. They are surrounded by islamic-nazis who want to annihilate them and they are defending themselves.

                        If you think that the islamic-nazis characterization is an exaggeration I suggest you read Hamas charter.

                        GO ISRAEL!
                        I still don't think Israelis have any justice to build a country in Palestine. What Nazis did to Jew was cruel, and the whole world feel sympathy about Jew in WWII. If they want to build a new country to protect its people, it should be in Europe.
                        Last edited by xunil; 28 Dec 08,, 06:41.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Hamas and other Palestinian militias choose to wage their war in and next to urban centres, its a strategy (provides cover, a higher potential that the adversary reconsiders a counter attack for fear of civilian casulties/propaganda victory, civilian casulties are a good propagnada victory) - the strategy is almost a win-win scenario. But in doing so they are responsible for the civilian casulties that they cause. Hamas, hezbolla has proven they have the capabilty to build extensive underground paths/caves, which were used during the Israeli lebanon war, so my point is that they have the capbility to go to the local wooded forest area, build a trench or go to a cave and fire the rocket but they dont, they fire in populated urban centres.

                          With rockets being fired into your country targeting civilians, what is Israel supposed to do?!
                          Those who object to Israels reaction should suggest the correct strategy Israel should employ to stop these rockets.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            It is about time Israel respond to these terrorists. I hope they will use land forces as well.
                            "We Shall Never Surrender" Winston Churchill

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Castellano View Post
                              I understand Israel logic perfectly well. They are surrounded by islamic-nazis who want to annihilate them and they are defending themselves.

                              If you think that the islamic-nazis characterization is an exaggeration I suggest you read Hamas charter.

                              GO ISRAEL!
                              I second that
                              "We Shall Never Surrender" Winston Churchill

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