Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations   

    by Saud Abu Ramadan     

    GAZA, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Mohamed al-Ashi, 28, was in a shock as he stood at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital's emergency room watching several relatives and police officers carrying the body of his brother, who died in the first Israeli airstrike carried out on Saturday at the main Hamas police headquarters.

    "I pray to Allah (God) to give us patience and strength, may God bless his spirit. We lost the best man in the family," said Mohamed, as he looked sad but kept his tears from flowing, while others shouted Allah Akbar (God is great).

Bodies of Hamas policemen lie on the ground of their destroyed police compound following an Israeli air strike in Gaza December 27, 2008. Israeli air strikes in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday killed at least 271 Palestinians, health officials in Gaza said. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Faris el-Ashi, a 33-year-old explosive expert and an officer in Hamas police forces, explosives division was critically wounded on Saturday and died of his wounds on Sunday morning at the hospital.

    El-Ashi, is one of hundreds who were either killed or wounded in the ongoing intensive Israeli warplanes airstrikes on targets belong to Hamas movement offices and its security forces.

    Mo'aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency services in the Palestinian Health Ministry told reporters that the death toll since Saturday morning hit to 282 people killed and over 900 wounded, 120 of them are in serious conditions.

    "All Gaza Strip Hospitals are in a status of emergency receiving bodies and casualties of people were hit by the Israeli air missiles. Gaza hospitals suffer from a severe lack of medical aids and equipment," said Hassanein.

    Gaza Strip streets looked empty of traffic and people, where all stores and shops as well as schools and universities closed down, as Hamas government announced a three-day grief and mourning.

    Salem Abu Akkar, a Palestinian academic from Gaza said he believes that "Hamas lost the battle from the very first strike, where most of those killed were all Hamas police men, and the Israeli airstrike had threatened its security leaders."

    "Militarily speaking, Hamas has lost on the ground, but publicly and politically I believe that Hamas has won the battle and earned more political support among the Palestinians and amongthe Arabs," Akkar added.

    He also said that "I think that Israel would loose on both sides, whether it continues its operation to the end or stop it due to Arab and international pressures, because on both cases rocket attacks on Israel won't stop and the results of both cases will be a renewal of the truce with Israel. So a renewal of the truce with Israel means that Hamas would again rebuild its military abilities and continue arming to prepare for another battle with Israel."

Bodies of Hamas policemen lie on the ground of their destroyed police compound following an Israeli air strike in Gaza December 27, 2008. Israeli air strikes in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday killed at least 271 Palestinians, health officials in Gaza said. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The Israeli army had suddenly surprised Hamas movement in Gaza and has suddenly began unprecedented intensive airstrikes, where explosions were heard every five minutes all-over the Gaza Strip.

    Early on Sunday, the Israeli army air forces continued on the second day of airstrikes on different targets belong to Islamic Hamas movement.

    Hamas movement said in a statement that the last airstrike was carried out on the building of Hamas cabinet headed by deposed prime minister Ismail Haneya, causing severe destruction to the building and several casualties.

    The movement said in the statement that the Israeli army warplanes, F16 and Apache helicopters carried out around 25 airstrikes on different targets and buildings all-over the Gaza Strip.

    The Israeli airstrikes overnight and early Sunday morning had also targeted a mosque in Gaza, al-Aqsa Television station of Hamas, metal workshops suspected for manufacturing homemade rockets and police stations, according to Hamas.

Israeli soldiers take position during scuffles with Palestinian stone-throwers at Qalandiya checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah December 27, 2008. Israeli warplanes and helicopters pounded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 205 people in the bloodiest one-day death toll in 60 years of conflict with the Palestinians. Palestinians staged protest rallies in Arab East Jerusalem, and in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Hebron, leading to scuffles with Israeli forces.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Israel started it's military operation called "the Poured Lead"on the Gaza Strip on Saturday. The operation was started with unprecedented intensive airstrikes on Hamas police installations.

    Among the senior people were killed Saturday was General Tawfiq Tirawai and the governor of central Gaza Abu Ahmed Aashour and Colonel Ismail al-Ja'bari, chief of internal security in Hamas police.

    Mohammed Abu Hmeid, a Hamas policeman, 36, said "It is hard to loose friends and colleagues you experienced different situations with them, from fighting Israel to work under the legitimate government."

    He added that "Our duty is more important (he controls the traffic near the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza). I still on my work though I have to relieve the families of my friends because we are hard to break."

    He accused Israel, the Palestinian National Authority and some Arab countries that "This is a plot against the Islamic rule and the democrat government of Palestine. The odor of blood and gunpowder is all-over the area."

    Hassan Abu Tuha, 22, a resident who was watching the movement of ambulances in and out of the main hospital in Gaza, said "A massacre or holocaust is not enough to describe the situation. I have never seen this before."

    He added "I'm talking to you now and I'm afraid of a rocket that may land here or around my house or kill any of my beloved. I did not sleep last night because the strikes did not stop. I kept holding my breath. May Allah show us a bloody day in the Jews and their aligned Arabs."

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defence Minister Ehud Barak (R) and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (L) hold a news conference in Tel Aviv December 27, 2008. Olmert said on Saturday Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip could "take time", and braced residents of the country's south for sustained rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled enclave.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

 

Bodies of Hamas policemen lie on the ground of their destroyed police compound following an Israeli air strike in Gaza December 27, 2008. Israeli warplanes and helicopters pounded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 271 people in one of the bloodiest days in the Palestinians' conflict with Israel.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>