JERUSALEM, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert on Thursday said that his government might order the army to step up the
ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip to achieve its goals.
Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (L)
and Defence Minister Ehud Barak (R) visit an army base at an undisclosed
location in southern Israel January 8, 2009, in this picture released by
the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO). (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
"The bottom line, the test that will set the
political leadership's decision, is how to assure that the reality that the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is currently changing does not again control the
south and that quiet prevails," he said during a visit to the army's Gaza
division.
"To this, we have not yet arrived, and the IDF has
not yet been asked to carry out everything necessary in order to do so. The
decision is still before us," added Olmert, accompanied by Defense Minister Ehud
Barak and some other top officials.
Smoke rises during Israeli's
offensive in Gaza Jan. 8, 2009. Palestinians faced even grimmer conditions
in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a U.N. aid agency halted work, saying
its staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants, after
two drivers were killed.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
Earlier in the day, Barak watched the training of
reserve units called up as part of the current Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, and
voiced satisfaction with their readiness "for the missions that await them in
Gaza," local news service Ynet reported.
The clues to a possible escalation of Israel's
operation were revealed after the National Security Cabinet on Wednesday voted
to continue the operation at a meeting during which the key ministers could have
chosen to expand the offensive.
Should an escalation be greenlighted, tens of
thousands of Israeli soldiers would be sent to combat Hamas militants in the
Palestinian enclave, where about 763 people have been killed and 3,120 others
injured so far in the 13-day-old Israeli onslaught.
Although Israeli officials said that Hamas has
sustained significant losses, Gazan militants on Thursday continued to pound
southern Israel with rockets, causing several injuries and damage. Among the 11
deaths confirmed by the Israeli side, four was killed in such attacks.
Israel vowed to end rocket fire from Gaza and restore
quiet to its southern land by this operation. Many analysts said that its
ultimate goal is to reach a lasting ceasefire on terms more favorable to Israel.
While threatening to upgrade the offensive, the
Jewish state sends a delegation to Cairo on Thursday for talks on a possible
ceasefire, under mounting pressure from the international
community.
Palestinians gather at the site of a
destroyed mosque following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, Jan. 8,
2009. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
GAZA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations for
Relief and Work Agency in the Far East (UNRWA) suspended on Thursday providing
humanitarian aids for the Gaza residents due to Israeli attacks on its
institutions.
An official UNRWA statement sent to reporters said
the humanitarian organization decided to suspend providing Gaza Strip population
with its aid after Israel targeted its schools and food-laden trucks. Full story
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council
is scheduled to meet on the Gaza conflict again at 5 p.m. EST (22:00 GMT) on
Thursday, the UN Spokesman's Office announced.
The announcement came as top diplomats from Arab and
Western countries are meeting behind closed doors to discuss the proposals on
how to end the conflict in Gaza, which already lasted 13 days and left more than
700 Palestinians killed.
UNITED
NATIONS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Thursday condemns
Israel's firing on UN aid convoy in Gaza and called again for an immediate
ceasefire.
Michele Montas, the UN spokesperson, said in a statement
that "the secretary-general condemns the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) firing on a
United Nations aid convoy in Gaza, the killing of two UNRWA (the UN Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) contract workers and the
injuring of another. "
GAZA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- A senior medical official in Gaza said on Thursday that
763 Palestinians have been killed and 3,120 others wounded in 13 days of Israeli
military offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Mo'aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance
services in the Palestinian Health Ministry, told reporters 763 people were
killed and 3,120 wounded, including 375 in critical conditions, during the
Israeli air and ground military operations.
GAZA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel pressed on with its
airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday by shelling houses and a school run by
the United Nations, killing 82 Palestinians, the majority women and children, in
the eleventh day of violence.
An Israeli air and ground strike on al-Fakhoura school run
by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Jabalia refugee camp on
Tuesday evening killed 46 people and wounded 150 others, medics said.
GAZA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The death toll has risen to 40
Palestinians killed and dozens wounded on Tuesday afternoon when the Israeli
army struck a school run by the United Nations in the Jabalia refugee camp in
northern Gaza Strip, medics said.
Mo'aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance
services in the Palestinian Health Ministry told reporters that 40 civilians
were killed and dozens injured in the strike on the al-Fakhoura school in the
refugee camp.
