An Israeli tank runs in the northern
Gaza Strip Jan. 7, 2009. The Israeli army has said that it would hold fire
in the Gaza Strip for three hours every day from Jan. 7 to allow local
residents to prepare basic supplies. (Xinhua/Ben-Ari) Photo
Gallery>>>
JERUSALEM, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army on
Wednesday said that it would hold fire in the Gaza Strip for three hours every
day to allow local residents to receive basic supplies.
Starting from Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) is expected to cease its operation across the Hamas-ruled enclave from 1
p.m.(1100 GMT) to 4 p.m.(1400 GMT), an IDF spokesman told Xinhua, adding that
the plan was part of Israel's "humanitarian corridor" efforts.
Yet should Hamas fire at Israeli forces during the
three hours, the IDF would respond accordingly, local daily The Jerusalem Post
quoted a defense official as saying.
Two Israeli soldiers rest beside the
tank in the Gaza Strip Jan. 6, 2009. The Israeli army has said that it
would hold fire in the Gaza Strip for three hours every day from Jan. 7 to
allow local residents to prepare basic supplies. (Xinhua/Tsafrir
Abayov) Photo
Gallery>>>
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's
office said that the Jewish state has decided to set up a humanitarian corridor
in Gaza to deliver basic supplies to local residents in order to "prevent a
humanitarian crisis" in the coastal strip devastated by massive bombardment and
fierce battle.
"This would entail opening geographic areas for
certain periods of time during which the population would be able to equip
itself and receive the assistance," said the office in a statement.
Local residents would also use the periods to repair
the damaged infrastructure, which UN officials said was on the brink of
breaking. Shortages of power and running water have been widely reported in
Gaza.
Although Israel has pledged to ease the humanitarian
situation while carrying out the offensive and has allowed hundreds of
truckloads of supplies into the enclave, the United Nations and Palestinian
officials have said the impoverished and crowded strip is already bracing for a
worsening humanitarian crisis due to shortages of food, fuel and medicine.
Over 600 have been killed and more than 2,700 others
wounded in Gaza since the so-called Operation Cast Lead began on Dec. 27, and
the death toll is certain to rise. Palestinian and UN figures showed that some
300 of the killed are civilians and some 130 are children aged 16 and under.
On the Israeli side, 10 have been killed so far,
including four soldiers fallen in two friendly fire incidents.
Amid growing international pressure for an immediate
truce, Israeli leaders met on Wednesday to decide whether to push ahead the
ongoing ground operation.
Local news service Ynet reported that should it be
approved, tens of thousands of reserve soldiers would be brought into the battle
in order to tighten the rope around Hamas' neck.
Meanwhile, the leadership might as well opt for a
ceasefire, as the Jewish state is seeking a desirable exit out of the 12-day
warfare, with the United States, its staunch ally, insisting on a "durable and
sustainable" ceasefire, which many analysts said represents Israel's ultimate
realistic goal.
JERUSALEM, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said Wednesday that Israel views positively the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, reported local daily Ha'aretz.
"Israel thanks Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy for their efforts to advance a solution for halting
terrorist actions from Gaza and the smuggling of war materiel
into the Gaza Strip from Egypt," Olmert's office said in a statement.
Full story
JERUSALEM, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Israel has decided to set up
"a humanitarian corridor" in the Gaza Strip to deliver basic supplies to local
residents, said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office on early Wednesday morning.
"This would entail opening geographic areas for
certain periods of time during which the population would be able to equip
itself and receive the assistance," said the office in a statement. Full story
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (C),
addresses the Security Council during the meeting on Gaza crisis at the UN
headquarters in New York, the United States, Jan. 6, 2009 (Xinhua/Hou
Jun) Photo
Gallery>>>
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday welcomed an initiative by Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy for an immediate ceasefire in
Gaza.
Ban, addressing an open Security Council meeting on
the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, said "third parties will need to provide
assistance." Full story
CAIRO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Egypt has offered Israel to have
talks on the issue of border security, visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy
said in an Egyptian Red Sea resort on Tuesday.
"(Egyptian) President (Hosni) Mubarak invites Israel
to discuss the matter of border security 'without delay'," Sarkozy said after
talks with Mubarak at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Full story
United Nations Security Council holds a
meeting on Gaza crisis at the UN headquarters in New York, the United
States, Jan. 6, 2009. (Xinhua/Hou Jun) Photo
Gallery>>>
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council
convened on Tuesday over the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, intensifying the
international diplomatic drive to push for an early end to the ongoing
assault.
Arab countries presented a draft resolution to the
15-nation council, calling for an immediate end to the conflict, which has
reportedly killed more than 570 Palestinians and wounded some 2,700 others as it
moved into its 11th day on Tuesday. Full story
JERUSALEM, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel is trying to blaze a
favorable trail out of the warfare in the Gaza Strip as its troops continued the
ground incursion on Tuesday to deal the biggest possible blow to the Islamist
Hamas movement.
"The sooner, the better," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert told local daily Ha'aretz when asked when the Israel Defense Forces(IDF)
plans to end its operation. "We did not set out to occupy Gaza or kill every
terrorist. We set out to bring change to the south." Full story
