JERUSALEM, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that the Israeli military operation in
Gaza Strip is "the first phase in a series of steps approved by the
cabinet."
An Israeli soldier stands on the hood of
a military vehicle near the border with the Gaza Strip Dec. 28, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
Olmert met with Israeli President Shimon Peres
Tuesday morning to brief him on the most recent developments in Operation Cast
Lead in Gaza region and the attendant political and security issues, according
to the statement of Israeli Government Press Office.
Peres said that Hamas is the party responsible for
creating the current situation in Gaza Strip.
"Israel is not fighting against the Palestinian
population, only against the terror organization that has etched on its flag the
continuation of violence and the undermining of regional stability," he said.
"There isn't a person in the world who understands
what the goals of Hamas are and why they continue to fire rockets. The firing
defies reason and logic, and it doesn't stand a chance," Peres continued.
The Cast Lead Operation continued early Tuesday, with
at least 10 people killed and 40 others wounded when Israeli war planes bombed a
series of targets in Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian reports.
After a meeting overnight Monday with Israel Defense
Force Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and other heads of the security
establishment, Olmert stressed that Israel would strike Hamas with an "iron
fist" but would treat Gaza civilians with "kidgloves" in its humanitarian
effort, local daily Jerusalem Post reported.
During the meeting, security officials said that the
IDF had given telephone warnings to some 90,000 Gazans living near Hamas
facilities targeted by the Israeli air force. They stressed that the sites were
only bombed after civilians had left their homes.
JERUSALEM, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will continue its military action in Gaza Strip against Hamas until all the goals are met, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday.
Barak made the remarks to Israel Army Radio, as the operation, dubbed Cast Lead, entered the fourth day. Hundreds of places in Gaza were bombed during the unprecedented air strikes beginning Saturday, killing more than 380 Palestinians so far. Full story
GAZA, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Hamas on Tuesday said it will be the victor of the current offensive that Israel launched against the Islamic movement in Gaza Strip.
"Those who believe that these strikes will end Hamas have to remember what happened in Lebanon in 2006," said Ismail Radwan, a Hamas spokesman, referring to the war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla. Full story
SDEROT, Israel, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday continued gearing up for a possible ground
operation in the Gaza Strip, declaring the border area as a "closed military
zone."
Out of what the army said was security concerns,
journalists were no longer allowed to approach the border on the Israeli side,
where the IDF has reinforced its presence with infantry troops and armored
units, apparently in preparations for a widely speculated ground incursion
following the ongoing deadly airstrikes at the Hamas-ruled area. Full story
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian
and Egyptian UN ambassadors said here Monday that they asked the UN Security
Council to bring Israel into compliance with the world call to put an immediate
end to the violence and military actions in Gaza.
The ambassadors spoke to reporters after their
meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who voiced his repeated calls for
an immediate end to the "unacceptable" acts of violence in Gaza, which has left
at least 345 people dead and hundreds of others wounded. Full story
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- UN Chief Ban Ki-moon
said on Monday that he was deeply alarmed by the current escalation of violence
in and around Gaza, and that such continued violence is "unacceptable."
"I have been repeatedly condemning the rocket attacks
by Hamas militants against Israel. While recognizing Israel's right to defend
itself, I have also condemned the excessive use of force by Israel in Gaza," Ban
told a press conference at UN Headquarters. Full story
Bodies of Hamas policemen lie on the
ground of their destroyed police compound following an Israeli air strike
in Gaza Dec. 27, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
GAZA, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Palestinians death toll has
risen to 345 killed and over 1,600 wounded in the on-going Israeli warplanes
intensified airstrikes on Monday evening.
Israeli warplanes intensified its airstrikes on more
targets, mainly mosques, cars and militants' houses belong to Islamic Hamas
movement in the Gaza Strip, security sources said. Full story
GAZA BORDER, Israel, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- International
rights activists will sail with a "Free Gaza Movement" ship to make a "symbolic"
attempt to cross the border into the Gaza Strip on an emergency mission to help
ease the suffering of the Palestinians in the coastal area, according to a
coordinator of the movement on Monday.
The coordinator, Caiomhe Butterly, told Xinhua on
phone that the activists including some doctors and journalists had boarded the
ship at the Cypriot port of Larnaca late Monday afternoon. Full story
JERUSALEM, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Israel's ongoing
operation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip will be widened and deepened if
necessary, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday.
"Hamas is responsible for everything that
happens in Gaza and which emanates from it," Barak was quoted by local daily
Ha'aretz as telling a Knesset (parliament) session. "This operation will be
widened, deepened as we see fit." Full story
Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak
attends a joint news conference with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (both not pictured) in Tel Aviv Dec. 27,
2008. (Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
GAZA, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The health minister in the
deposed government of Hamas Bassem Na'eem said on Monday that medical situation
in Gaza Strip that his government rules, is deteriorating due to Israeli
strikes.
Israel has been carrying out since Saturday mourning
unprecedented intensive airstrikes on hundreds of targets belonging to Hamas
movement in Gaza Strip. Full story
JERUSALEM, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Air Force
used a new U.S.-supplied smart bomb in strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza
Strip on Saturday, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday.
The GPS-guided missile, called GBU-39, was developed
in recent years by the United States as a small-diameter bomb for low-cost,
high-precision and low collateral damage strikes. Full story
MUSCAT, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli raids on the
Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and preparation for an emergency meeting of Arab foreign
ministers in Cairo are high on the agenda of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
meeting scheduled later Monday.
Leaders of the six GCC members will convene at the
29th annual summit in the Omani capital of Muscat to discuss core regional
security issues and economic integration among the bloc, which groups six Gulf
Arab states --Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Qatar
and Bahrain. Full story
GAZA BORDER, Israel, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Roye, 36, was at
his home in Jerusalem with his wife and two children to enjoy a family dinner
for Jewish holiday Hanukkah and Shabbat. Suddenly, his phone screeched and
didn't stop ringing as he was drafted as a reservist.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is calling 6,500
reservists to duty as part of the military offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza
Strip, which started on Saturday, according to local daily Ha'aretz on its
website. Full story
GAZA, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Israeli F16 warplanes resumed on
Sunday night another round of airstrikes on security and police installations
belonging to Hamas movement as well as other targets, including cars and
buildings. Full story
RAMALLAH, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian analysts expect
more violence throughout the territories in future following Israeli massive
airstrikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, causing extensive Palestinian
casualties. Full story
