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Gaza residents fear Israeli army wake-up call
Goooooooooooood morning, Gaza!GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli voice interrupted a Palestinian radio broadcast in Gaza on Thursday with a stern message in Arabic. "The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) call on residents near the agriculture college to leave. Army forces will target it because terrorists use the place to fire rockets against the state of Israel," the voice said. The message from the army was the latest to warn of an impending strike in what Israel says is an attempt to avoid civilian casualties, and the Palestinian government, led by the Hamas Islamist militant group, calls a "psychological war." Okay. So don't warn them. Wouldn't want to piss off, Hamas, would they? "Many people left their houses near the agriculture college following the Israeli message on the radio," said Yamen Hamad, a local journalist from Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. "People take these threats very seriously and they live in panic awaiting the hour of destruction," he told Reuters. The agriculture college had not been bombed by 1230 GMT, two hours after the broadcast. The Information Ministry accused Israel of trying to spread panic in an offensive, launched a month ago, which has so far failed to achieve its goals of recovering a captured soldier and ending cross-border rocket fire. At least 148 Palestinians have been killed in the campaign, which has not slackened despite being overshadowed by Israel's war with Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Three people were killed on Thursday. The army confirmed the practice of issuing warnings in Gaza by breaking into radio and television broadcasts as well as through phone calls, flyers and loudspeakers. "It is not a psychological war," an Israeli army spokesman said. "It's only due to the fact that Palestinian terrorists are operating from these civilian areas." At least six Palestinian houses have been bombed, hours after receiving warning calls from Israeli army officers. When Omar al-Mamlouk got a call two days ago, he thought at first it was a cruel joke by an acquaintance. "What IDF? Are you joking me?" Mamlouk asked, but the firm voice replied: "The IDF does not joke with anybody." Mamlouk hurried to alert his family. As soon as they left, abandoning all their furniture, the place was bombed. "Let the house be destroyed for the sake of Palestine," Mamlouk said, denying army allegations the house was used to store arms for the Islamic Jihad militant group. No, no. Doesn't sound like somebody who'd support Islaminc Jihad... Concerned that some Palestinians might imitate the Israeli warnings as pranks, the Palestinian attorney general has decided to stop callers hiding their number. Mahmoud Al-Beavis and Achmed Al-Butthead... Many government officials, militants and some ordinary Palestinians had used the service, enabling them to conceal their phone numbers for security as well as social reasons. The lone Palestinian Mobile phone company, Jawwal, circulated a text message to subscribers on Wednesday telling them they would no long be allowed to conceal their numbers. The IDF thanks you. Posted by: tu3031 2006-07-27 |
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