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Israel 'will no longer show restraint when attacked'
(AKI) - Israel's Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, signalled on Monday that Israel would no longer respond with restraint to rocket fire from militant Islamist Palestinian group Hamas.
But they'll have a 3-hour ceasefire every day so the Hamas gunnies can have lunch and a siesta.
Her country's current military offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip is intended to "change the equation" in the region, Livni said. Speaking to journalists in Jerusalem on Monday, Livni) defended Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip as "legitimate self-defence".

Earlier on Monday, Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak told MPs that Hamas had suffered a "very heavy blow", but insisted the offensive in Gaza would continue to defend Israeli citizens. "We still haven't reached our objectives," Barak said.

On the tenth day of the military operation, thousands of Israeli troops, backed by tanks, artillery and helicopters, pushed deeper into Gaza, effectively splitting the north from the south in the the aid-dependent territory. Israeli Navy, Air Force and special units are also taking part, Barak stated.

Over 500 people have been killed in the military bombardment and ground offensive, most of them Hamas operatives, and over 2,200 have been wounded, Barak confirmed.

Barak defended Israel's action, saying any country would have taken the same action in the face of Hamas rocket attacks.

Palestinian militants fired 20 missiles into southern Israel on Monday, the Israeli army said. It said 47 rockets were launched from Gaza into southern Israel on Sunday.

Intense diplomatic efforts are under way to try to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, with separate missions to the Middle East being led by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and a high-level European Union team.
Posted by: Fred 2009-01-07
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=259196