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Israeli army shells Gaza as ceasefire talks progress - imagine that!
GAZA (Reuters) Israeli forces pushed deeper into the city of Gaza and pounded densely populated neighborhoods with artillery and tank shells Thursday, stepping up pressure on Hamas as the warring sides weighed a ceasefire proposal.Keep weighing. Until you're dead. At least 15 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli attacks, medical officials said. The Palestinian death toll from the air-and-ground offensive has risen to at least 1,055, according to the Wow. On par with the Israeli's efforts. Until you consider that there are only Israeli soldiers on the battlefield. Terrified residents of Gaza city, reeling from Israel's most relentless shelling since it began its offensive on December 27, huddled in homes that provided precarious shelter. Well, they did whenever the reporters came around. Dozens could be seen fleeing on foot as explosions sent plumes of smoke skyward. Ah. So they do learn! "It is a catastrophe," one woman said, walking quickly away from the area and carrying a child in her arms as two other children ran behind her to keep up. And only slowing up long enough to speak with a reporter for a few minues. "We took our money and passports. We have to carry some identification with us in case we get killed," she said. "Hamas can claim victory if it wants but we just need this bloodshed to end." Try shedding some Hamas blood and it will. A senior Western diplomat said Israel appeared to be trying to make last-minute gains on the ground before a truce could be imposed. Pinhead. "It's a classic Israeli strategy," the diplomat said. There's a reason something earns the title "classic". Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in broadcast remarks that Israel's armed forces would "fight up to the last minute." Pinhead. Much of the fighting was centered in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said its compound was hit twice by shelling and three staff members were injured. Red on red or blue on red? Israeli forces have encircled the city of 500,000 people for days. Tanks have made forays toward the center to test the resistance of Hamas and other militant groups but have held off a full-scale assault on the densely populated urban maze. Ceasefire NEGOTIATIONS About 14 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel Thursday, causing some damage but no casualties, police said. I wonder why they continue to do it. Seems so pointless when compared to what the Israelis are capable of. Until you consider where the three Israeli civilian casualties came from. Totally avoidable by Hamass, if you ask me. An Israeli envoy was to meet Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Thursday after a Hamas delegation concluded talks on an Egyptian truce proposal by repeating their demand that Israel withdraw its troops and lift a long-standing blockade on coastal Gaza. Shouldn't they be home preparing for the Shabbat or something? Israel, which wants an end to rocket attacks on its towns and guarantees that Hamas cannot smuggle in more weapons from tunnels to neighboring Egypt, said it would not agree to a truce allowing the Palestinian Islamists to regroup and rearm. In the occupied West Bank Wednesday, Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, a former EU Middle East envoy, said: "My perception is we are very close to reaching a ceasefire. They are very close but still there is some work to be done." Some? Some? With Hamass being who you're negotiation with? You've still got another 14,000 Hamass militants left to kill, then you will be very close to reaching a ceasefire. Israeli officials said Israel was seeking an agreement with Washington on regional and international security guarantees that would bolster Egyptian efforts to ensure Hamas could not replenish its arsenal. And of course, Shabbat in Washington falls about the day after the Shabbat in Israel, so you can't work then, either. The United States and European powers, the officials said, would commit themselves to providing Egypt with advisers and new technology to combat smuggling tunnels. Firehoses? Israel also was seeking an international maritime monitoring effort to prevent rocket smuggling by sea through Egyptian ports to block the shipments before they reach the border, the officials said. Does it include Greek Fire? U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon -- who arrived in the region Wednesday for several days of intense diplomacy on the conflict -- planned to meet Israeli leaders later Thursday. In a booby-trapped Gaza school, I hope? Political analysts see a possible deadline in Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama as U.S. president, after which Israel may be reluctant to test White House support for a campaign that has stirred international outrage. Outrage among whom? It's more like an international touchy-feely get-together to affirm old values. Human rights groups have reported shortages of vital supplies, including water, in the Hamas-ruled territory. A fuel shortage has brought frequent power blackouts. Yeah, disrupting lives is a bad thing. Isn't it. We can agree on that. Israel has permitted almost daily truck shipments of food and medicine. But Human Rights Watch said Israel's daily three-hour break in attacks to facilitate the supply of humanitarian aid to Gazans was "woefully insufficient." Apparently not insufficient enough to keep Hamass from intercepting the trucks and selling the supplies for a profit. And not enough to keep them from scurrying around during their three-hour humanitarian break to set up Kassam rockets on timers so they launch after the three hour window is over instead of gathering much-needed s necessities like Posted by: gorb 2009-01-15 |
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