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Thread: Israel Air Strikes On Gaza Kill 155

  1. #71
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    Peres: Hamas getting a lesson in Gaza

    http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/...5831231111545/

    WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- The Israeli ground invasion of Gaza is giving Hamas "a real and serious lesson," President Shimon Peres said Sunday on U.S. television.

    In an interview on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," Peres was asked whether Israel's goal is a negotiated peace or the removal of Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the United States.

    "We don't intend either to occupy Gaza nor to crush Hamas, but to crush terror," Peres said. "And Hamas needs a real and serious lesson. They are now getting it. We were careful. We were restrained. We waited. We gave them many chances."

    Peres said Hamas had taken over power in Gaza illegitimately after Mahmoud Abbas was elected president of the Palestinian Authority with 62 percent of the vote.

    "Anyway, we are not going to mix into their politics, but we have decided not to permit to shoot against us," he added.

    When asked Peres about Hamas's victory in parliamentary elections, which triggered a U.S. and Israeli boycott, the president said Hamas is allowing its people to be used by another country, Iran.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  2. #72
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    Israel rains fire on Gaza with phosphorus shells

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle5447590.ece

    1/5/2009

    Israel is believed to be using controversial white phosphorus shells to screen its assault on the heavily populated Gaza Strip yesterday. The weapon, used by British and US forces in Iraq, can cause horrific burns but is not illegal if used as a smokescreen.

    As the Israeli army stormed to the edges of Gaza City and the Palestinian death toll topped 500, the tell-tale shells could be seen spreading tentacles of thick white smoke to cover the troops’ advance. “These explosions are fantastic looking, and produce a great deal of smoke that blinds the enemy so that our forces can move in,” said one Israeli security expert. Burning blobs of phosphorus would cause severe injuries to anyone caught beneath them and force would-be snipers or operators of remote-controlled booby traps to take cover. Israel admitted using white phosphorus during its 2006 war with Lebanon.

    The use of the weapon in the Gaza Strip, one of the world’s mostly densely population areas, is likely to ignite yet more controversy over Israel’s offensive, in which more than 2,300 Palestinians have been wounded.

    The Geneva Treaty of 1980 stipulates that white phosphorus should not be used as a weapon of war in civilian areas, but there is no blanket ban under international law on its use as a smokescreen or for illumination. However, Charles Heyman, a military expert and former major in the British Army, said: “If white phosphorus was deliberately fired at a crowd of people someone would end up in The Hague. White phosphorus is also a terror weapon. The descending blobs of phosphorus will burn when in contact with skin.”

    The Israeli military last night denied using phosphorus, but refused to say what had been deployed. “Israel uses munitions that are allowed for under international law,” said Captain Ishai David, spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces. “We are pressing ahead with the second stage of operations, entering troops in the Gaza Strip to seize areas from which rockets are being launched into Israel.”

    The civilian toll in the first 24 hours of the ground offensive — launched after a week of bombardment from air, land and sea— was at least 64 dead. Among those killed were five members of a family who died when an Israeli tank shell hit their car and a paramedic who died when a tank blasted his ambulance. Doctors at Gaza City’s main hospital said many women and children were among the dead and wounded.

    The Israeli army also suffered its first fatality of the offensive when one of its soldiers was killed by mortar fire. More than 30 soldiers were wounded by mortars, mines and sniper fire.

    Israel has brushed aside calls for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged territory, where medical supplies are running short.

    With increasingly angry anti-Israeli protests spreading around the world, Gordon Brown described the violence in Gaza as “a dangerous moment”.

    White phosphorus: the smoke-screen chemical that can burn to the bone
    • White phosphorus bursts into a deep-yellow flame when it is exposed to oxygen, producing a thick white smoke
    • It is used as a smokescreen or for incendiary devices, but can also be deployed as an anti-personnel flame compound capable of causing potentially fatal burns
    • Phosphorus burns are almost always second or third-degree because the particles do not stop burning on contact with skin until they have entirely disappeared — it is not unknown for them to reach the bone
    • Geneva conventions ban the use of phosphorus as an offensive weapon against civilians, but its use as a smokescreen is not prohibited by international law
    • Israel previously used white phosphorus during its war with Lebanon in 2006
    • It has been used frequently by British and US forces in recent wars, notably during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Its use was criticised widely
    • White phosphorus has the slang name “Willy Pete”, which dates from the First World War. It was commonly used in the Vietnam era
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  3. #73
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    Iran says over 70,000 students sign up for martyrdom operations

    http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...t_10608923.htm

    www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-06 00:09:35

    TEHRAN, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The director of the Public Relations of Iran's Students' Basij (Volunteer) Organization Esmaeel Ahmadi said here on Monday that over 70,000 students had signed up for martyrdom operations, the official IRNA news agency reported.

    "More than 70,000 students from universities throughout Iran have signed up on the list to conduct Esteshhadi (martyrdom seeking) operations (against Israeli troops in Gaza)," Ahmadi said.

    "The students will act as part of Esteshhadi battalions," he added.

    Iranian hard-line university students, since the erupt of Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza, have urgently sought the Iranian officials' permission to be deployed to Gaza to fight by the side of Palestinians.

    To implement this, they have adopted divers means, including taking sanctuary in Teheran's old Mehrabad airport, staging consecutive rallies and resorting to students' opinions by signing up the list for martyrdom operations.

    However, Iran's influential cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Friday that Gaza does not need soldiers but political, weaponry and propagandistic support.

    Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi on Monday denied that there was anything (like providing weaponry support for Hamas) in Iran's government agenda.

    On Saturday, Israel's ground troops entered the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip for the second phase of its offensive on the militant group after eight days of airstrikes.

    Israel's military action, aimed at retaliating for Hamas rocket attacks into Israel, has killed over 500 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,600 others since the start of the operation on Dec. 27.

    Hamas is strongly backed by Iran which does not recognize Israel as a state of the international community.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  4. #74
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    Iran says 70,000 volunteer for Israel fight

    http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...Ixp4gD95H5LI00

    2 hours ago

    TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — More than 70,000 Iranian students have volunteered to carry out suicide bombings against Israel, Iran's state news agency reported Monday, but President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not responded to their request for permission.

    Volunteer suicide groups have made similar requests in the past and the government never responded, giving the campaigns more of the feel of propaganda.

    According to the official IRNA news agency, hardline student leader Esmaeil Ahmadi said the students want to fight Israel in support of Hamas, Gaza's Islamic militant rulers.

    Iran is Hamas' main backer, though the country denies sending weapons to the Islamic militant movement that took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Iran considers Israel its archenemy, and Ahmadinejad has called for the destruction of the Jewish state.

    Five hard-line student groups and a conservative clerical group launched the registration drive for suicide bombers last week and asked the government to allow them to stage the attacks.

    In an open letter to Ahmadinejad, the students said "volunteer student suicide groups ... are determined to go to Gaza. You are expected to issue orders to the relevant authorities to pave the way for such action." A copy of the letter was made available to The Associated Press last week.

    The hard-liners started signing up volunteers after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a religious decree Dec. 28 saying anyone killed while defending Palestinians in Gaza against Israeli attacks would be considered a martyr.

    Khamenei's religious decree was not considered a government decision and did not oblige the government to launch attacks against Israel.

    At a gathering two days later in Tehran, hard-liners distributed registration forms.

    Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has killed hundreds of Palestinians, has outraged many in Iran and throughout the rest of the Muslim world. Israel says it launched its campaign in retaliation for Hamas rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns.

    On Dec. 30, IRNA reported that dozens of Iranian students broke into the British Embassy residence in Tehran, accusing Britain of supporting the Israeli air assault that started Dec. 27. The report said the students pulled down the British flag and raised a Palestinian flag at the compound's entrance before police forced them to leave.

    The protest lasted about half an hour, and no injuries were reported.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  5. #75
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    Obama on his silence over Gaza violence: 'one president at a time'

    http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_..._one_0105.html

    1/6/2008

    President-elect Barack Obama Monday expressed concern about the Gaza crisis but stressed he would not interfere in "delicate negotiations" by the outgoing US administration.

    Asked about whether Israel's offensive against Hamas was distracting him from his economic agenda, Obama told reporters "obviously, international affairs are of deep concern."

    "I strongly believe that a president or president-elect or his team should be able to do more than one thing at a time. With the situation in Gaza, I've been getting briefed every day," he said.

    Obama has faced criticism for his silence on the Middle East violence, especially in the Arab world and European press. It adds to the huge challenges awaiting him when he succeeds President George W. Bush on January 20.

    But the president-elect stressed: "I will continue to insist that when it comes to foreign affairs, it is particularly important to adhere to the principle of one president at a time, because there are delicate negotiations taking place right now and we can't have two voices coming out of the United States when you have so much at stake."

    Israel has rejected worldwide calls for a ceasefire as the Palestinian death toll from its 10-day offensive in the Gaza Strip against the militant group Hamas tops 550.

    Obama did not elaborate on the negotiations he mentioned. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has canceled a planned trip to China this week to deal with the crisis.

    According to the Palestinians, Arab states are pushing for a UN Security Council resolution aimed at securing an immediate end to the "Israeli aggression" in Gaza.

    Earlier Monday, Bush said he understood Israel's desire to defend itself, adding any Gaza ceasefire must ensure Hamas militants cannot fire rockets on Israeli towns.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  6. #76
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    Group: Israel deliberately attacked Palestinian journalists

    http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Group_...ists_0105.html

    1/5/2009

    GENEVA (AFP) — Israel deliberately targeted Hamas-run media installations in its bombing campaign on Gaza and is practising media censorship, a journalist rights group said Monday.

    The installations in question include Al-Aqsa television, Al-Resalah newspaper and Sawt Al-Aqsa radio, which the Israeli army bombed on December 28 and over the weekend respectively, the Geneva-based Press Emblem Campaign said in a statement, citing a Palestinian media non-governmental group.

    The press group, which fights for better protection of journalists in conflict zones, also condemned the recent deaths of two journalists as a result of Israeli attacks.

    "Two Palestinian journalists were killed one in previous attacks by Israel, photographer Hamza Shahin,who died on 26 December 2008, and another during the current military round on 3 January, Omar Silawi.

    "The current attacks against Palestinian journalists remind the media community of the attacks that were committed by Israel against Lebanese media in the July-August war 2006," the press group said, referring to the conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia.

    It called for Israel to allow non-Palestinian media access to Gaza and denounced the military censorship it said journalists were subjected to in Israel "which questions their ability to cover objectively the conflict from the Israeli side."

    The Geneva group called for an independent international probe to look into alleged rights violations during the conflict.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  7. #77
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    How ya like Obama now?
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  8. #78
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    Gaza wounded dying because ambulances can't reach them: Red Cross

    http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Red_Cr...ause_0105.html

    1/6/2008

    GENEVA (AFP) — People wounded in fighting in the Gaza Strip are dying because ambulances cannot reach them, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday.

    "The situation is extremely dangerous and the coordination of ambulance services is very complex because of the incessant attacks and military operations," ICRC spokeswoman Dorothea Krimitsas said in Geneva.

    "Wounded people have died while waiting for Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances," she added.

    The International Committee of the Red Cross was also concerned about water supplies in the densely populated coastal strip.

    Krimitsas said two out of the 45 wells in the Gaza Strip were out of action after having been hit during Israeli air raids, while the pumps on eight others were no longer working because of power cuts.

    "Half a million people, that's about one third of the population of the territory, are threatened with being completely deprived of water," she said.

    Krimitsas said technicians needed to gain access to the electrical installations damaged during the fighting.

    A team of four ICRC medical staff, including a surgeon, were allowed into the Gaza Strip from Israel on Monday after three days' delay, the relief agency said.

    They are due to help staff at the territory's Shifa hospital carry out complex operations on the wounded. The medical team also brought in tetanus vaccines for children and blood supplies, Krimitsas said.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  9. #79
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    Norwegian doctor: Israel intentionally targeting civilians
    'They are bombing one and a half million people in a cage'

    http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Norweg...ting_0105.html

    David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster
    Published: Monday January 5, 2009

    Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor working in Gaza, told Sky News on Monday that that he believes Israel is deliberately attacking the Palestinian population, not just targeting Hamas as Israeli authorities have said numerous times.

    "Just a little bit more than an hour ago, the Israelis bombed the central food market in Gaza City and we had a mass influx of about 50 injured and between 10 and 15 killed," said Gilbert, on the phone with Sky News.

    "At the same time they bombed an apartment house with children playing on the roof and we had a lot of children also. This is really like from Dante's Inferno. It's like hell here now and it's been bombing all night. Up till now, close to 500 people have been killed and the number of casualties is getting to 2 to 2 and a half thousand which 50 percent are children and women."

    "Are your hospital's reaching capacity?" asked the Sky News correspondent. "Can you deal with these people?"

    "We have been doing surgery around the clock," Gilbert replied. "I just talked to to one of my colleagues in the ICU who has not been sleeping for three days and they hospital is completely overcrowded and we are running six, seven OR's and there are injuries that you just don't want to see in this world. Children coming in with open abdomens and legs cut off.

    "We just had a child who left. We had to amputate both legs and the arms and the only crime they have done is been civilians -- Palestinians living in Gaza. The relief now is not more doctors and more drugs the relief now is to stop the bombing immediately. This can not go on. It is a disaster."

    "You've talked about the civilians, the women and children, the men who aren't involved in this but are you also getting casualties that are Hamas fighters?" asked the reporter.

    "To be honest, we came on New Year's Eve in the morning," answered Gilbert. "I've seen one military person among the tens -- I mean, hundreds -- we have seen and treated. So, anybody who tries to claim this as sort of a clean war against another army are lying.

    "This is an all out war against the civilian Palestinian population in Gaza and we can prove that with the numbers and you have to remember that the average age of the Gaza inhabitant is 17-years. It's a very young population and 80% are living below the poverty limit of the U.N.

    "So, this is a poor and very young people and they are able to escape absolutely nowhere because they can not flee like other populations can in wartime. Because they are fenced in and they are in a cage. So, they are bombing one and a half million people in a cage. And young people and poor people and, you know, you can not separate between the civilians and the fighters in such a situation."

    This video is from CBS News, broadcast Jan. 5, 2008.

    Video At Source
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


  10. #80
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    Israeli troops deepen push into Gaza

    http://uk.reuters.com/article/burnin...5053R720090106

    By Nidal al-Mughrabi
    Tue Jan 6, 2009 3:11pm GMT

    GAZA (Reuters) - Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip killed more than 30 Palestinian civilians on Tuesday, medical officials said, and international efforts to secure a ceasefire focused on an Israeli demand to prevent Hamas from rearming.

    "That is the make-or-break issue," Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said about ensuring an end to weapons smuggling along the Gaza-Egypt frontier.

    A senior Israeli official said French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on a Middle East visit and in partnership with Egypt, was pursuing "a serious initiative" for a ceasefire in Israel's 11-day-old operation and Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli towns.

    Talks were focusing, the official said, on the size of an "international presence" along the blockaded Gaza-Egypt border, where rockets and other weapons have reached Hamas through a network of tunnels.

    Tony Blair, the Middle East envoy of major powers sponsoring Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, said Sarkozy, the European Union and the United States were all in agreement that new anti-smuggling measures would be needed to clinch a ceasefire.

    "What is being talked about is a credible plan to stop the smuggling," Blair, a former British prime minister, told reporters in Jerusalem.

    He said he hoped the plan could be completed quickly and that enhanced Israeli security would lead to "a significant advance in opening up Gaza to the outside world."

    In Damascus, Sarkozy, who met Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, said after talks with President Bashar al-Assad he had no doubt the Syrian leader "will throw all his weight to convince every one to return to reason."

    Syria is one of the main backers of Hamas, an Islamist group that seized the Gaza Strip from Abbas's Fatah group in fighting in 2007.

    Hamas, which has rebuffed Western demands to recognize Israel, end violence and accept existing interim peace deals, has demanded a lifting of the blockade of the Gaza Strip in any future ceasefire.

    CIVILIAN DEATHTOLL RISES
    Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces pushed into Khan Younis in southern Gaza as the army widened the ground assault it launched four days ago against Hamas militants after a week of air strikes failed to stamp out cross-border rocket fire.

    Palestinian medical officials said 35 Palestinian civilians were killed on Tuesday, including 11 in a house that was bombed from the air, 10 on a beach hit by naval shells and three people who had taken refuge in a U.N.-run school.

    Four militants also were killed, medical officials said.

    Deaths recorded by Palestinian medics reached 588.

    Most of the several dozen deaths reported by hospitals in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in recent days have been civilians.

    At least five rockets fired from the Gaza Strip landed in Israel on Tuesday, including one that hit the town of Gadera, 28 km (17 miles) from Tel Aviv, police said. A three-year-old girl was wounded.

    The Israeli military said it killed 130 militants since Saturday, a figure that suggested the total Palestinian death toll since December 27 might be close to 700 and that bodies could still be on the battlefield.

    Many of the Gaza Strip's 1.5 million people lack food, water or power. In southern Israel, schools remained closed and hundreds of thousands of people have been rushing to shelter at the sound of alarms heralding incoming rockets.
    No One Knows Everything. Only Together May We Find The Truth JG


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