22 nov 2012
Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian man east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip late Thursday after he approached a fence on the border, medics said.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours since the start of a truce negotiated by Egypt between Israel and Hamas to end eight days of deadly airstrikes on the territory.
Haitham Abu Daqqa, 23, had approached the fence with a group of people carrying flags and celebrating the end of the conflict as Palestinians rallied for a second day.
The Israeli army described the demonstration as a riot.
An army spokesman said 200 Palestinians approached the fence and "began rioting" before causing damage to the fence. He said soldiers attempted to disperse the demonstrators without violence.
"In accordance with the rules of engagement, soldiers fired warning shots in the air," he told Ma'an.
Israel and Hamas agreed to stop attacks on each other's territory late Wednesday after eight days of airstrikes that killed some 170 Palestinians across Gaza.
The ceasefire was seen locally as a victory over Israel, which had threatened a ground operation but backed down after armed groups fired rockets as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Moe Diab Israel already broke the ceasefire by shooting a 23 year old Palestinian in Gaza for approaching a security fence.
After Ceasefire Was Implemented; Palestinian Injured By Army Fire In Gaza
In what seems to be the first Israeli violation of the truce that came into effect Thursday, Israeli soldiers shot and injured a young Palestinian man near the border fence, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Local sources reported that Haitham Abu Doqqa, 23, was shot and injured as he, and two other residents, approached the security fence, east of al-Faraheen area, in Abasan al-Kabeera town, in Khan Younis.
Several youths approached the border area to collect the parts of an Israeli military vehicle that was targeted by the resistance in Gaza more than a week ago.
Some youths managed to raise Palestinian flags on the border fence before the army opened fire on them.
Earlier in the day, several youths raised a Palestinian flag on the border fence east of Khan Younis.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza, 156 Palestinians have been killed during the eight days of Israeli war on Gaza; 103 civilians were killed and more than 1000 were injured.
According to the PCHR, 33 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli missiles and shells during the eights days of war, 274 children were injured, 13 women were killed and 162 were injured, and 3 journalists were killed.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours since the start of a truce negotiated by Egypt between Israel and Hamas to end eight days of deadly airstrikes on the territory.
Haitham Abu Daqqa, 23, had approached the fence with a group of people carrying flags and celebrating the end of the conflict as Palestinians rallied for a second day.
The Israeli army described the demonstration as a riot.
An army spokesman said 200 Palestinians approached the fence and "began rioting" before causing damage to the fence. He said soldiers attempted to disperse the demonstrators without violence.
"In accordance with the rules of engagement, soldiers fired warning shots in the air," he told Ma'an.
Israel and Hamas agreed to stop attacks on each other's territory late Wednesday after eight days of airstrikes that killed some 170 Palestinians across Gaza.
The ceasefire was seen locally as a victory over Israel, which had threatened a ground operation but backed down after armed groups fired rockets as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Moe Diab Israel already broke the ceasefire by shooting a 23 year old Palestinian in Gaza for approaching a security fence.
After Ceasefire Was Implemented; Palestinian Injured By Army Fire In Gaza
In what seems to be the first Israeli violation of the truce that came into effect Thursday, Israeli soldiers shot and injured a young Palestinian man near the border fence, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Local sources reported that Haitham Abu Doqqa, 23, was shot and injured as he, and two other residents, approached the security fence, east of al-Faraheen area, in Abasan al-Kabeera town, in Khan Younis.
Several youths approached the border area to collect the parts of an Israeli military vehicle that was targeted by the resistance in Gaza more than a week ago.
Some youths managed to raise Palestinian flags on the border fence before the army opened fire on them.
Earlier in the day, several youths raised a Palestinian flag on the border fence east of Khan Younis.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza, 156 Palestinians have been killed during the eight days of Israeli war on Gaza; 103 civilians were killed and more than 1000 were injured.
According to the PCHR, 33 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli missiles and shells during the eights days of war, 274 children were injured, 13 women were killed and 162 were injured, and 3 journalists were killed.
Civil defense crews on Thursday retrieved the body of a 29-year-old man from the rubble of the al-Dalou family home in Gaza City.
Family members identified the body as Mohammad al-Dalou. The body of Yara al-Dalou, 17, is still missing.
An Israeli airstrike flattened the al-Dalou family home in the Shujaiyya neighborhood on Sunday, killing a mother and her four children - 1-year-old Ibrahim, Yousef, 4, Jamal, 6, Sarah, 7 - a grandmother, great grandmother and two aunts.
The father of the family, a grocer, was at a local shop with his young son when the house was attacked. He returned to the wreckage to find most of his loved ones dead and trapped in its battered shell.
Two neighbors -- 83-year-old Ameena a-Miznar and her 19-year-old relative Abdullah -- were killed in the same strike.
Civil defense crews in Gaza have been searching the rubble of the home for the missing bodies since Sunday, a task complicated by repeated Israeli airstrikes on the neighborhood.
At Shifa Hospital on Monday, one family member struggled to identify his wife.
"Is this your wife?" asked a medic inside the morgue.
"Ah, what happened to your face sweetheart?" her husband said, weeping and collapsing into the arms of his spouse. The woman's face was burnt beyond recognition.
On Thursday, the Israeli military said it could not provide an explanation for the strike. An army spokeswoman said the incident was still being examined.
The Israeli newspapers Haaretz and Maariv said the army had fired at the wrong house, while Israel's top-selling daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported the al-Dalou home was indeed the target and that it housed a Hamas militant.
Around the time of the attack, the military said it had hit the commander of Hamas's rocket-launching operations. They named him as Yihia Abayah. Soon after, reports began coming in that a family was killed in the strike.
Several hours later, the Israeli army's chief spokesman, Yoav Mordechai, said on television the military tried to attack Abayah. "Although I don't know the outcome, there were civilians harmed by this".
But around the al-Dalou's home, people say they know nothing of Yihia Abayah. Hatem al-Dalou, a relative of the family, said: "I have never heard such a name (Yihia Abayah). This is nonsense."
"They killed a family that was safe and happy," he said.
Family members identified the body as Mohammad al-Dalou. The body of Yara al-Dalou, 17, is still missing.
An Israeli airstrike flattened the al-Dalou family home in the Shujaiyya neighborhood on Sunday, killing a mother and her four children - 1-year-old Ibrahim, Yousef, 4, Jamal, 6, Sarah, 7 - a grandmother, great grandmother and two aunts.
The father of the family, a grocer, was at a local shop with his young son when the house was attacked. He returned to the wreckage to find most of his loved ones dead and trapped in its battered shell.
Two neighbors -- 83-year-old Ameena a-Miznar and her 19-year-old relative Abdullah -- were killed in the same strike.
Civil defense crews in Gaza have been searching the rubble of the home for the missing bodies since Sunday, a task complicated by repeated Israeli airstrikes on the neighborhood.
At Shifa Hospital on Monday, one family member struggled to identify his wife.
"Is this your wife?" asked a medic inside the morgue.
"Ah, what happened to your face sweetheart?" her husband said, weeping and collapsing into the arms of his spouse. The woman's face was burnt beyond recognition.
On Thursday, the Israeli military said it could not provide an explanation for the strike. An army spokeswoman said the incident was still being examined.
The Israeli newspapers Haaretz and Maariv said the army had fired at the wrong house, while Israel's top-selling daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported the al-Dalou home was indeed the target and that it housed a Hamas militant.
Around the time of the attack, the military said it had hit the commander of Hamas's rocket-launching operations. They named him as Yihia Abayah. Soon after, reports began coming in that a family was killed in the strike.
Several hours later, the Israeli army's chief spokesman, Yoav Mordechai, said on television the military tried to attack Abayah. "Although I don't know the outcome, there were civilians harmed by this".
But around the al-Dalou's home, people say they know nothing of Yihia Abayah. Hatem al-Dalou, a relative of the family, said: "I have never heard such a name (Yihia Abayah). This is nonsense."
"They killed a family that was safe and happy," he said.
Two Palestinians critically wounded in Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip were taken to hospitals in Egypt on Thursday.
Ahmad Saed, 13, and Nidal Hussien, 37, were transferred through Rafah crossing, a Ma'an reporter said.
Egyptian hospitals in Sinai's el-Arish and in Cairo are treating 37 Palestinians wounded in Israeli attacks.
One Palestinian, Ahmad Daghmash, died el-Arish hospital died on Tuesday. He was wounded in an airstrike no Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City.
Medical teams in el-Arish, Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid and Bir al-Abd hospitals were ready to receive patients from Gaza from the first morning of Israel's war on the enclave.
Sinai's Al-Ismailiya hospital was put on emergency standby on Thursday morning and ambulances were dispatched to wait for the wounded.
Ahmad Saed, 13, and Nidal Hussien, 37, were transferred through Rafah crossing, a Ma'an reporter said.
Egyptian hospitals in Sinai's el-Arish and in Cairo are treating 37 Palestinians wounded in Israeli attacks.
One Palestinian, Ahmad Daghmash, died el-Arish hospital died on Tuesday. He was wounded in an airstrike no Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City.
Medical teams in el-Arish, Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid and Bir al-Abd hospitals were ready to receive patients from Gaza from the first morning of Israel's war on the enclave.
Sinai's Al-Ismailiya hospital was put on emergency standby on Thursday morning and ambulances were dispatched to wait for the wounded.
Israeli drones continued to hover over the Gaza Strip on Thursday, despite a ceasefire brokered the previous evening.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad agreed an Egyptian-mediated truce to halt hostilities on Wednesday night, ending eight days of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Residents on Thursday complained that despite the ceasefire, the noise of Israeli reconnaissance planes continued to disturb them.
"We do not want to feel that we still under the Israeli authorities' sight, and we do not want to feel that we still in a war," said Rana Matar.
Other residents said they couldn't sleep because of the constant noise.
Political analyst Mustafa al-Sawaf told Ma'an the drones were part of Israel's occupation, and would not stop despite the truce.
"The Israeli occupation wants to see what is happening on the ground in the Gaza strip, and especially as the battle is over."
He added: "We do not accept such attitude."
Hamas and Islamic Jihad agreed an Egyptian-mediated truce to halt hostilities on Wednesday night, ending eight days of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Residents on Thursday complained that despite the ceasefire, the noise of Israeli reconnaissance planes continued to disturb them.
"We do not want to feel that we still under the Israeli authorities' sight, and we do not want to feel that we still in a war," said Rana Matar.
Other residents said they couldn't sleep because of the constant noise.
Political analyst Mustafa al-Sawaf told Ma'an the drones were part of Israel's occupation, and would not stop despite the truce.
"The Israeli occupation wants to see what is happening on the ground in the Gaza strip, and especially as the battle is over."
He added: "We do not accept such attitude."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that the Tel Aviv regime is ready for fresh attacks on the Gaza Strip in case of, what he called, an Egypt-brokered ceasefire’s failure to hold.
“I know there are citizens that expect a harsher stand in Gaza - and we are prepared to make one. We choose when to act, against who to act and how to act,” he was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Netanyahu said Tel Aviv was “giving the ceasefire a chance.”
Earlier in the day, the Israeli Minister for Military Affairs, Ehud Barak also said the Tel Aviv regime was prepared to resume deadly attacks on Gaza, alleging likewise that the ceasefire might founder.
Also on Thursday, the democratically-elected Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh dismissed the possibility of the resumption of violence in the coastal sliver.
“I want to say to the Palestinian people in Gaza, in the West Bank and everywhere that the option of invading Gaza after this victory is gone and will never return,” he said.
The Cairo-mediated ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Wednesday, ended the Israeli attacks, which started on November 14, killing more than 160 Palestinians and injuring about 1,200 others.
Prior to the ceasefire, Palestinian resistance fighters incessantly fired retaliatory rockets and missiles towards the Occupied Palestinian Territories, killing at least five Israelis, including one trooper.
“I know there are citizens that expect a harsher stand in Gaza - and we are prepared to make one. We choose when to act, against who to act and how to act,” he was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Netanyahu said Tel Aviv was “giving the ceasefire a chance.”
Earlier in the day, the Israeli Minister for Military Affairs, Ehud Barak also said the Tel Aviv regime was prepared to resume deadly attacks on Gaza, alleging likewise that the ceasefire might founder.
Also on Thursday, the democratically-elected Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh dismissed the possibility of the resumption of violence in the coastal sliver.
“I want to say to the Palestinian people in Gaza, in the West Bank and everywhere that the option of invading Gaza after this victory is gone and will never return,” he said.
The Cairo-mediated ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Wednesday, ended the Israeli attacks, which started on November 14, killing more than 160 Palestinians and injuring about 1,200 others.
Prior to the ceasefire, Palestinian resistance fighters incessantly fired retaliatory rockets and missiles towards the Occupied Palestinian Territories, killing at least five Israelis, including one trooper.
Soldiers recruited during Operation Pillar of Defense disappointed that IDF 'didn't get to finish the job'.
The army began releasing on Thursday tens of thousands of reserve soldiers who were recruited under emergency orders during Operation Pillar of Defense.
Some of the soldiers were disappointed by the fact that the operation was cut short and they were not given the chance to "complete the mission," as one soldier put it, while others said it is just a matter of time before they are called up again.
Israel and Hamas reached an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday after eight days of fighting. The deal irked many residents of south Israel, who hoped Israel would launch a ground offensive in Gaza. Gal Margolis, one of the reserve soldiers, said "as a resident of Beersheba there is a sense of disappointment. (The violence) will repeat itself and we'll find ourselves back here again and again. They (government) should have let us complete the mission."
Ovad Nissan, another reservist, said "we are all happy to go home, but there is a certain disappointment. We could have done more. I believe a ground force would have cleared the territory. The calm will not last."
Oded Weiner, who fought in both Operation Defensive Shield and Operation Cast Lead, went home to his wife and three children. "The army could have done the job. Invading Gaza is not the ideal solution, but had we been inside much heavier pressure would have been applied on the terror organizations," he said.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz said Thursday that the army had struck every possible terror target in Gaza during Operation Pillar of Defense.
According to Gantz, the IDF attacked "everything that moves in the Strip," referring to "terror infrastructure, tunnels… weapons caches, launching sites and strategic facilities."
talkbacks
Use WW II as the model. Finish the job!
Instead of doing a half asse job, Israel should use the WW II model of victory. Finish the job! Do whatever it takes for absolute victory. After achieving absolute victory, dictate our terms for our "Palestinian" enemies to leave our land forever.
it was never the question....
if the IDF/IAF can finish the job! WE KNOW THEY CAN! it is always the politicians whom put their personal ambition and interest above the people of israel, and the nation!!!
Iron Dome Showed the Brilliance of Our Scientists and Techno
logists. Why oh why G-d couldn't you give at least a little intelligence to our political leaders?
they should have continued
From my point of view Israel should not give a damn about the opinion of the rest of the world, re-take gaza and finally complete an operation; By signing a ceasefire with these animals Israel simply shows how vulnerable it is. It is really just a matter of time before the situation escalates again...but none of your politicians, in fact no politician in no country gives damn about his or her country; its all about the image, winning elections and profit
Israel pulls back from Gaza, invasion force intact
By Douglas Hamilton
ROUTE 232, Israel (Reuters) -- Israel began withdrawing the army on Thursday that had been poised to invade the Gaza Strip to go after Hamas, with both sides declaring they had won their eight-day battle.
Dust-covered tanks and armored bulldozers were winched onto transporters and driven out of the same groves of straggly eucalyptus where they camped in January 2009 before going in.
That conflict cost more than 1,400 lives, all but 13 Palestinian, while this time, some 160 Palestinians were killed in eight days of fighting, against six Israelis.
Hamas nevertheless declared it had come out on top.
"From the lion's den, we declare victory," said Abu Obaida, spokesman of Hamas' armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades. Israel's "security hallucination" had been exposed.
Al-Qassam launched more than 700 rockets from Gaza by the end of October, Israel said, to explain its decision to set off the latest conflict by killing Hamas' top military commander with a precision strike from an F16 fighter jet.
Psychologically and in propaganda terms, the long-range rockets Hamas fired all the way toward Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem over the past eight days were a game-changer, celebrated by Gazans who were also relieved the invasion never came.
But 84 percent of Gaza's rockets were knocked out of the sky by Israel's new Iron Dome interceptor defense, neutralizing Hamas' main weapon.
The Israeli army says fighters fired 1,500 rockets at Israel, both home made and smuggled from Iran, scoring two lethal hits. The same number of Israeli strikes killed 30 senior militiamen and blew up rockets, launchers and arms dumps.
The ceasefire agreement, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, was "a paper bridge for the defeated so that they can explain to their public how they can even show their faces after what they were hit with for a week".
The truce, arranged by Egypt, "could last nine months. It could last nine weeks. And when it no longer continues we will know what to do," Barak said.
Tanks, self-propelled artillery, armored personnel carriers and Humvees were lined up in some of the same fields they used four years ago, when they did invade, Israel's blue and white flag flying from their radio masts.
They will be pulled out in the next day or so farmers can get back to work.
At Kerem Shalom, on the border with Egypt and Gaza, trucks carrying international food aid were rolling again Thursday into a terminal where freight is re-loaded onto Palestinian trucks for 1.2 million people in Gaza who depend on it.
Empty buses were coming down Route 232, which runs parallel to the Gaza street from north to south, to pick up soldiers no doubt relieved to know they would not have to go in.
In 2009, after a week of aerial bombing and long-range shelling, this country road with kibbutz farms on either side was the launch point for some 30,000 troops and armor that cut the Gaza Strip in two.
Israel is a small country and the front line is only 40 miles from Tel Aviv. The army could be back in place in little more than half a day if needed.
The truce will test the intense distrust between Israel and Hamas, which runs Gaza, but both sides had a clear interest it not prolonging the conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to cease fire just hours after a bomb exploded on a Tel Aviv bus, prompting opposition charges of weakness but winning international credit he may seek to draw on in Israel's standoff with Iran, whose disputed nuclear program he considers an existential threat.
"I don't hanker to go back in to Gaza. I'm persuaded that Hamas has no hankering to repeat what happened to it over the last week, and ditto Islamic Jihad," Barak told Israel Radio.
Hamas had managed to fire one ton of high explosive into Israel's built-up areas, he said. Israel hit Gaza targets with around 1,000 tonnes.
The army began releasing on Thursday tens of thousands of reserve soldiers who were recruited under emergency orders during Operation Pillar of Defense.
Some of the soldiers were disappointed by the fact that the operation was cut short and they were not given the chance to "complete the mission," as one soldier put it, while others said it is just a matter of time before they are called up again.
Israel and Hamas reached an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday after eight days of fighting. The deal irked many residents of south Israel, who hoped Israel would launch a ground offensive in Gaza. Gal Margolis, one of the reserve soldiers, said "as a resident of Beersheba there is a sense of disappointment. (The violence) will repeat itself and we'll find ourselves back here again and again. They (government) should have let us complete the mission."
Ovad Nissan, another reservist, said "we are all happy to go home, but there is a certain disappointment. We could have done more. I believe a ground force would have cleared the territory. The calm will not last."
Oded Weiner, who fought in both Operation Defensive Shield and Operation Cast Lead, went home to his wife and three children. "The army could have done the job. Invading Gaza is not the ideal solution, but had we been inside much heavier pressure would have been applied on the terror organizations," he said.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz said Thursday that the army had struck every possible terror target in Gaza during Operation Pillar of Defense.
According to Gantz, the IDF attacked "everything that moves in the Strip," referring to "terror infrastructure, tunnels… weapons caches, launching sites and strategic facilities."
talkbacks
Use WW II as the model. Finish the job!
Instead of doing a half asse job, Israel should use the WW II model of victory. Finish the job! Do whatever it takes for absolute victory. After achieving absolute victory, dictate our terms for our "Palestinian" enemies to leave our land forever.
it was never the question....
if the IDF/IAF can finish the job! WE KNOW THEY CAN! it is always the politicians whom put their personal ambition and interest above the people of israel, and the nation!!!
Iron Dome Showed the Brilliance of Our Scientists and Techno
logists. Why oh why G-d couldn't you give at least a little intelligence to our political leaders?
they should have continued
From my point of view Israel should not give a damn about the opinion of the rest of the world, re-take gaza and finally complete an operation; By signing a ceasefire with these animals Israel simply shows how vulnerable it is. It is really just a matter of time before the situation escalates again...but none of your politicians, in fact no politician in no country gives damn about his or her country; its all about the image, winning elections and profit
Israel pulls back from Gaza, invasion force intact
By Douglas Hamilton
ROUTE 232, Israel (Reuters) -- Israel began withdrawing the army on Thursday that had been poised to invade the Gaza Strip to go after Hamas, with both sides declaring they had won their eight-day battle.
Dust-covered tanks and armored bulldozers were winched onto transporters and driven out of the same groves of straggly eucalyptus where they camped in January 2009 before going in.
That conflict cost more than 1,400 lives, all but 13 Palestinian, while this time, some 160 Palestinians were killed in eight days of fighting, against six Israelis.
Hamas nevertheless declared it had come out on top.
"From the lion's den, we declare victory," said Abu Obaida, spokesman of Hamas' armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades. Israel's "security hallucination" had been exposed.
Al-Qassam launched more than 700 rockets from Gaza by the end of October, Israel said, to explain its decision to set off the latest conflict by killing Hamas' top military commander with a precision strike from an F16 fighter jet.
Psychologically and in propaganda terms, the long-range rockets Hamas fired all the way toward Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem over the past eight days were a game-changer, celebrated by Gazans who were also relieved the invasion never came.
But 84 percent of Gaza's rockets were knocked out of the sky by Israel's new Iron Dome interceptor defense, neutralizing Hamas' main weapon.
The Israeli army says fighters fired 1,500 rockets at Israel, both home made and smuggled from Iran, scoring two lethal hits. The same number of Israeli strikes killed 30 senior militiamen and blew up rockets, launchers and arms dumps.
The ceasefire agreement, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, was "a paper bridge for the defeated so that they can explain to their public how they can even show their faces after what they were hit with for a week".
The truce, arranged by Egypt, "could last nine months. It could last nine weeks. And when it no longer continues we will know what to do," Barak said.
Tanks, self-propelled artillery, armored personnel carriers and Humvees were lined up in some of the same fields they used four years ago, when they did invade, Israel's blue and white flag flying from their radio masts.
They will be pulled out in the next day or so farmers can get back to work.
At Kerem Shalom, on the border with Egypt and Gaza, trucks carrying international food aid were rolling again Thursday into a terminal where freight is re-loaded onto Palestinian trucks for 1.2 million people in Gaza who depend on it.
Empty buses were coming down Route 232, which runs parallel to the Gaza street from north to south, to pick up soldiers no doubt relieved to know they would not have to go in.
In 2009, after a week of aerial bombing and long-range shelling, this country road with kibbutz farms on either side was the launch point for some 30,000 troops and armor that cut the Gaza Strip in two.
Israel is a small country and the front line is only 40 miles from Tel Aviv. The army could be back in place in little more than half a day if needed.
The truce will test the intense distrust between Israel and Hamas, which runs Gaza, but both sides had a clear interest it not prolonging the conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to cease fire just hours after a bomb exploded on a Tel Aviv bus, prompting opposition charges of weakness but winning international credit he may seek to draw on in Israel's standoff with Iran, whose disputed nuclear program he considers an existential threat.
"I don't hanker to go back in to Gaza. I'm persuaded that Hamas has no hankering to repeat what happened to it over the last week, and ditto Islamic Jihad," Barak told Israel Radio.
Hamas had managed to fire one ton of high explosive into Israel's built-up areas, he said. Israel hit Gaza targets with around 1,000 tonnes.
Sterilize the Palestinian people, Dutch writer Leon de Winter says with Israeli ambassador listening
Leon de Winter
On the night a ceasefire came into effect ending eight days of Israeli slaughter that left 162 people, the vast majority unarmed civilians, dead in Gaza, Dutch columnist and author Leon de Winter proposed adding chemicals to Gaza’s water supply to sterilize the population.
The website PowNed reported that de Winter “made his proposal for forced eugenics yesterday evening in Amsterdam at a solidarity meeting of Dutch Jews,” and that the speech by de Winter was broadcast this morning by Dutch mainstream and publicly-funded Radio 1.
PowNed said:
De Winter responded in his speech to the accusations of genocide leveled against Israel, saying that the population of Gaza had only increased over the last few years. “Maybe we should secretly add some means of birth control to Gaza’s drinking water,” De Winter proceeded to propose.
The suggestion was met with roaring laughter by the public. Among the participants that evening were the Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands, Hiam Devon, and the cheerful leader of the [religious ultra-conservative] SGP party, Kees van der Staaij.
De Winter blogged until 2008 on the mainstream liberal news site Elsevier. He is also an “an adjunct fellow” at the Hudson Institute, a right-wing American think-tank.
While de Winter, known for his “humor,” might have intended his suggestion as some sort of sick joke, the reported reaction suggests that the audience were only too ready to mock an already dehumanized population.
De Winter’s comment fits neatly with Israel’s racist conception of Palestinians as a “demographic threat” simply because they are not Jews.
Such genocidal comments are particularly disturbing in The Netherlands given the upsurge of Islamophobia and xenophobia in recent years, and because the country had a particularly shameful history of collaboration with the Nazis in deporting Jews to their deaths during the Second World War.
Event backed by major Dutch Jewish communal and Zionist organizations
The 21 November event where de Winter spoke, titled “We Stand with Israel” and held at Amsterdam’s Jewish Cultural Center, was co-sponsored by a who’s who of Jewish communal and Zionist organizations, among them CIDI, Christians for Israel, WIZO (the Women’s International Zionist Organization), Collectieve Israel Actie (Israel Action Collective) and Mifgash, an organization that aims to encourage Jews to leave their home countries and emigrate to Israel.
De Winter’s repulsive comment is reminiscent of a genocidal call by American “academic” and former Harvard University fellow Martin Kramer at a conference in Israel in 2010 for the “surplus” population of Gaza to be reduced by cutting off humanitarian aid.
Daniel Bugel-Shunra, who translated the PowNed post, noted that the reader comments below it indicated little support for de Winter’s statement.
“Quite the contrary, which is a big surprise to me, especially since this website has strong anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant tendencies,” Bugel-Shunra told The Electronic Intifada.
On the night a ceasefire came into effect ending eight days of Israeli slaughter that left 162 people, the vast majority unarmed civilians, dead in Gaza, Dutch columnist and author Leon de Winter proposed adding chemicals to Gaza’s water supply to sterilize the population.
The website PowNed reported that de Winter “made his proposal for forced eugenics yesterday evening in Amsterdam at a solidarity meeting of Dutch Jews,” and that the speech by de Winter was broadcast this morning by Dutch mainstream and publicly-funded Radio 1.
PowNed said:
De Winter responded in his speech to the accusations of genocide leveled against Israel, saying that the population of Gaza had only increased over the last few years. “Maybe we should secretly add some means of birth control to Gaza’s drinking water,” De Winter proceeded to propose.
The suggestion was met with roaring laughter by the public. Among the participants that evening were the Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands, Hiam Devon, and the cheerful leader of the [religious ultra-conservative] SGP party, Kees van der Staaij.
De Winter blogged until 2008 on the mainstream liberal news site Elsevier. He is also an “an adjunct fellow” at the Hudson Institute, a right-wing American think-tank.
While de Winter, known for his “humor,” might have intended his suggestion as some sort of sick joke, the reported reaction suggests that the audience were only too ready to mock an already dehumanized population.
De Winter’s comment fits neatly with Israel’s racist conception of Palestinians as a “demographic threat” simply because they are not Jews.
Such genocidal comments are particularly disturbing in The Netherlands given the upsurge of Islamophobia and xenophobia in recent years, and because the country had a particularly shameful history of collaboration with the Nazis in deporting Jews to their deaths during the Second World War.
Event backed by major Dutch Jewish communal and Zionist organizations
The 21 November event where de Winter spoke, titled “We Stand with Israel” and held at Amsterdam’s Jewish Cultural Center, was co-sponsored by a who’s who of Jewish communal and Zionist organizations, among them CIDI, Christians for Israel, WIZO (the Women’s International Zionist Organization), Collectieve Israel Actie (Israel Action Collective) and Mifgash, an organization that aims to encourage Jews to leave their home countries and emigrate to Israel.
De Winter’s repulsive comment is reminiscent of a genocidal call by American “academic” and former Harvard University fellow Martin Kramer at a conference in Israel in 2010 for the “surplus” population of Gaza to be reduced by cutting off humanitarian aid.
Daniel Bugel-Shunra, who translated the PowNed post, noted that the reader comments below it indicated little support for de Winter’s statement.
“Quite the contrary, which is a big surprise to me, especially since this website has strong anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant tendencies,” Bugel-Shunra told The Electronic Intifada.
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Israel's War on Truth, Politics of Pardoning, Sociology of Security
Abby Martin highlights the Israeli Military's bombing of media buildings
and targeting of journalists, including the RT office in Gaza, and calls out the Israeli government to for making veiled threats to RT's headquarters in Moscow. |
"Ms. Azano said that she had not cooked anything since Friday because of the rockets and that her family was living on bread and spreads.
She added, “We have no appetite at all.”" Why not order a Pizza? No appetite? Why not look at pictures of Palestinian children butchered by your bombs. That will surely restore your appetite. FlotillaHyves Drones over Gaza, don't know why Farah Filasteen Photo Palestinian medics celebrate after a cease-fire with Israel is agreed. Farah Filasteen Khaled Mish'al to CNN: Hamas is NOT behind bus bombing today in Tel Aviv Gaza Farah Filasteen 963 families in Gaza are now homeless. |
Palestinian women cry after evacuating their homes to take shelter at a UN school in Gaza City
by Rodney Shakespeare Also here and here
It’s a victory for Hamas and vindication of its ability to defend against aggression. It’s a victory for the people of Gaza and a blazoning of their courage under horrendous attack. And it’s a victory for the world’s decent people who oppose a fiendish Zionism bent on destroying Islam.
It’s also a defeat for the Zionists. It’s a defeat for the American and British scum who lied that Hamas started it and who openly encouraged Israel to slaughter civilians with gruesome weapons. And it’s a defeat for the corrupt, perverted thieves of the Persian Gulf autocracies who wanted Gaza to be destroyed for daring to be democratic and have a genuinely popular government. One thing is certain: the Persian Gulf monarchs are being reminded that they are despised the world over and it won’t be long before they are overthrown by another great wave of Arab democracy.
But let nobody have any illusions. Peace has not come to Palestine. The nasty truth is that the Zionists have committed, are committing, and will commit, genocide. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group. Backed by toe-rags and vicious twerps in America, UK, France, Canada and the Persian Gulf monarchies, the genocide is being forwarded, bit by bit, year by year. A look at the map of Palestine as it has changed from 1947 to today reveals everything. The Palestinians now exist only on tiny slivers of land and are constantly being pressurized and squeezed. Operation Pillar of Cloud is just the latest episode of slashing, blasting, slicing and poisoning at which Israel is so adept.
The Zionists are Nazis. The German Nazis had a policy of lebensraum which was a determination to remove all Slavic people from the plains and steppes of Eastern Europe. The biggest and most terrible battles of the Second World War took place in Eastern Europe. It is not widely known that the Jews suffered little in comparison to the suffering of the Slavs who were viewed as sub-human by the Nazis and, like animals, could be killed at will.
Following a similar policy of lebensraum, the Nazi Zionists want a Jewish state in the lands of Palestine from the eastern end of the Mediterranean right across to the river Tigris. These lands are to be made ‘racially’ pure i.e., to have only Jews and no Muslims or Christians. Strutting like Nazi gauleiters (not ‘like’, they actually are Nazi gauleiters), the Zionists view all present inhabitants of these lands as sub-human, as animals. Bit by bit, atrocity by atrocity, they are determined to create a racist, Zionist, state.
Israel has no borders and it has no borders because it, and the USA which hates Islam, is determined to expand, slaughtering whenever the circumstances allow, so that it can populate lands free from Arabs or others.
There is, of course, one difference between the Israeli Nazis and the German Nazis. The German Nazis were opposed by the USA and UK whereas the Zionist Nazis have their backing. The USA and UK backed the killings of Operation Cast Lead in 2008/9 just as they have backed the killings of the present Operation Pillar of Cloud. We should remember that the given figures for dead and wounded are grossly understated because, beneath the acres of rubble created by the Zionists trying to bomb Gaza back to the Stone Age, there are hundreds of unrecovered dead and, alas, even more wounded who cannot be rescued and who are dying slowly and painfully even as the Gazan crowds understandably celebrate their victory.
And let nobody think that the West has lessened its control over Arabs and Islam. If President Morsi of Egypt had announced that the Egyptian army was moving to the defence of Gazan citizens, the Arab world would have risen in support and, at the same time, overthrown many of the slimy dictators. Egypt has over four hundred combat-worthy jets, three thousand heavy front-line tanks, half a million regulars and nearly half a million reserves. Morsi could have done it and he would have become Morsi The Great, a figure to be honoured in history. Most importantly, the Egyptian army, an institution completely disgraced by venal corruption and its repression of the Egyptian people, would have had a chance to regain its dignity and honour.
But Morsi lacked the imagination and the courage to grasp the opportunity which history was offering to him largely because he has made the mistake of borrowing money from outside thereby putting himself under the control of the Americans. A country should never borrow from abroad: it should only ever borrow from its own national bank.
So, alas, Morsi The Great was not to be and he and Egypt have missed the present chance to lead the forces of history. The USA, UK, Canada and France have apparently organised a retreat but it’s only a small one and they will soon again be helping the Zionists conduct another ghastly massacre of women and children.
These countries talk of peace but they never admit the big underlying issue which is that they, and Israel, do not want peace. Peace would require that Israel has fixed borders behind which it would have to stay. But, with fixed borders, the Zionist state could not expand and that is why the USA always vetoes all UN resolutions against Israel.
However, the world is changing and another chance for Morsi and Egypt will come if courage and determination, like those of the Gazans, are shown. The arrogant Western powers are weakening economically and politically. America has lost all moral authority. The Non Aligned Movement countries are beginning to organise themselves against Western imperialist domination. On 29th November the UN General Assembly gets a chance to forward the cause of decency and democracy by voting for recognition of Palestine as an independent state.
Let us hope the General Assembly takes the chance to vote for and we will also be able to see exactly who are the anti-democrats, perverts and killers voting against.
by Rodney Shakespeare Also here and here
It’s a victory for Hamas and vindication of its ability to defend against aggression. It’s a victory for the people of Gaza and a blazoning of their courage under horrendous attack. And it’s a victory for the world’s decent people who oppose a fiendish Zionism bent on destroying Islam.
It’s also a defeat for the Zionists. It’s a defeat for the American and British scum who lied that Hamas started it and who openly encouraged Israel to slaughter civilians with gruesome weapons. And it’s a defeat for the corrupt, perverted thieves of the Persian Gulf autocracies who wanted Gaza to be destroyed for daring to be democratic and have a genuinely popular government. One thing is certain: the Persian Gulf monarchs are being reminded that they are despised the world over and it won’t be long before they are overthrown by another great wave of Arab democracy.
But let nobody have any illusions. Peace has not come to Palestine. The nasty truth is that the Zionists have committed, are committing, and will commit, genocide. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group. Backed by toe-rags and vicious twerps in America, UK, France, Canada and the Persian Gulf monarchies, the genocide is being forwarded, bit by bit, year by year. A look at the map of Palestine as it has changed from 1947 to today reveals everything. The Palestinians now exist only on tiny slivers of land and are constantly being pressurized and squeezed. Operation Pillar of Cloud is just the latest episode of slashing, blasting, slicing and poisoning at which Israel is so adept.
The Zionists are Nazis. The German Nazis had a policy of lebensraum which was a determination to remove all Slavic people from the plains and steppes of Eastern Europe. The biggest and most terrible battles of the Second World War took place in Eastern Europe. It is not widely known that the Jews suffered little in comparison to the suffering of the Slavs who were viewed as sub-human by the Nazis and, like animals, could be killed at will.
Following a similar policy of lebensraum, the Nazi Zionists want a Jewish state in the lands of Palestine from the eastern end of the Mediterranean right across to the river Tigris. These lands are to be made ‘racially’ pure i.e., to have only Jews and no Muslims or Christians. Strutting like Nazi gauleiters (not ‘like’, they actually are Nazi gauleiters), the Zionists view all present inhabitants of these lands as sub-human, as animals. Bit by bit, atrocity by atrocity, they are determined to create a racist, Zionist, state.
Israel has no borders and it has no borders because it, and the USA which hates Islam, is determined to expand, slaughtering whenever the circumstances allow, so that it can populate lands free from Arabs or others.
There is, of course, one difference between the Israeli Nazis and the German Nazis. The German Nazis were opposed by the USA and UK whereas the Zionist Nazis have their backing. The USA and UK backed the killings of Operation Cast Lead in 2008/9 just as they have backed the killings of the present Operation Pillar of Cloud. We should remember that the given figures for dead and wounded are grossly understated because, beneath the acres of rubble created by the Zionists trying to bomb Gaza back to the Stone Age, there are hundreds of unrecovered dead and, alas, even more wounded who cannot be rescued and who are dying slowly and painfully even as the Gazan crowds understandably celebrate their victory.
And let nobody think that the West has lessened its control over Arabs and Islam. If President Morsi of Egypt had announced that the Egyptian army was moving to the defence of Gazan citizens, the Arab world would have risen in support and, at the same time, overthrown many of the slimy dictators. Egypt has over four hundred combat-worthy jets, three thousand heavy front-line tanks, half a million regulars and nearly half a million reserves. Morsi could have done it and he would have become Morsi The Great, a figure to be honoured in history. Most importantly, the Egyptian army, an institution completely disgraced by venal corruption and its repression of the Egyptian people, would have had a chance to regain its dignity and honour.
But Morsi lacked the imagination and the courage to grasp the opportunity which history was offering to him largely because he has made the mistake of borrowing money from outside thereby putting himself under the control of the Americans. A country should never borrow from abroad: it should only ever borrow from its own national bank.
So, alas, Morsi The Great was not to be and he and Egypt have missed the present chance to lead the forces of history. The USA, UK, Canada and France have apparently organised a retreat but it’s only a small one and they will soon again be helping the Zionists conduct another ghastly massacre of women and children.
These countries talk of peace but they never admit the big underlying issue which is that they, and Israel, do not want peace. Peace would require that Israel has fixed borders behind which it would have to stay. But, with fixed borders, the Zionist state could not expand and that is why the USA always vetoes all UN resolutions against Israel.
However, the world is changing and another chance for Morsi and Egypt will come if courage and determination, like those of the Gazans, are shown. The arrogant Western powers are weakening economically and politically. America has lost all moral authority. The Non Aligned Movement countries are beginning to organise themselves against Western imperialist domination. On 29th November the UN General Assembly gets a chance to forward the cause of decency and democracy by voting for recognition of Palestine as an independent state.
Let us hope the General Assembly takes the chance to vote for and we will also be able to see exactly who are the anti-democrats, perverts and killers voting against.
The Israeli ferocious war on Gaza over the past eight days claimed the lives of 43 children and wounded 432 others or one third of the total casualties.
Medical sources in Gaza said on Thursday that 27% of the fatalities in the Israeli air strikes and shelling of Gaza were children while 35% of the wounded were children.
They pointed out that five children were killed on Wednesday on the last day of the war the youngest being two years old.
The sources said that two of the killed children were 11 months old, two others were one year old and the others ranged from one and a half years old to 16 years old some of them brothers and sisters.
Medical sources in Gaza said on Thursday that 27% of the fatalities in the Israeli air strikes and shelling of Gaza were children while 35% of the wounded were children.
They pointed out that five children were killed on Wednesday on the last day of the war the youngest being two years old.
The sources said that two of the killed children were 11 months old, two others were one year old and the others ranged from one and a half years old to 16 years old some of them brothers and sisters.
Gaza After War: 164 dead and 1200 wounded, Names of victims London, (Pal Telegraph)
The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip lasted eight days to claim the lives of approximately 163 Palestinians, including 43 children and 15 women. The aggression left more than 1200 palestinian injured, mostly women and men.
Durning the aggression, Israeli conducted a series of deliberate massacres that eliminated entire families such as the family of Daluo, Abu Zour, in addition to the martyrdom of relatives of other families like Hijazi family.
The names of the martyrs of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip reported after the announcement of the cease-fire:
The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip lasted eight days to claim the lives of approximately 163 Palestinians, including 43 children and 15 women. The aggression left more than 1200 palestinian injured, mostly women and men.
Durning the aggression, Israeli conducted a series of deliberate massacres that eliminated entire families such as the family of Daluo, Abu Zour, in addition to the martyrdom of relatives of other families like Hijazi family.
The names of the martyrs of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip reported after the announcement of the cease-fire:
|
1 – Ahmed Jabari
2 – Ranan Yousef Jalal Arafat 3 – Mohammed Hamed al-Hams 4 – Heba Adel Mashharawi Turk 5 – Mahmoud Hamad Abu Soawin 6 – Omar Mashharawi 7 - Haneen Khaled Tafesh 8 – Habis Hassan Msmah 9 – Wael Haider Ghalban 10 – Hesham Mohamed Ghalban 11 – Mohamed Hani Al-kaseeh 12 – Essam Mahmoud Abu Al-Maaza 13 – Khaled Abou Nasr 14 - Rani Hammad 15 – Marwan Abdel Rahman Abu Qomsan 16 – Walid Mahmoud Abadleh 17 – Odai Jamal Nasser 18 – Faris Ahmed Bassiouni 19 – Mohammed Iyad Saadallah 20 – Ayman Abed Abu Warda 21 – Tahreer Ziad Salman 22 – Ismail Khatab Qandil 23 – Younis Kamel Tafesh 24 – Mohammed Talal Salman 25 – Hassan Salem Alhela 26 – Ziad Farhan Abu Jalal 27 – Ahmed Mohammed Jadou Abu Jalal 28 – Amjad Mohammed Jadou Abu Jalal 29 – Khaled Khalil Al-shaaer 30 - Ayman Rafiq Salim 31 - Ahmed Osama Mohammed Al-Atrash 32 - Mohammed Saleh Ashitoa Alloulihy 33 – Awad Hamdi Hassan Al-Nahal 34 – Abdulrahman Salem al-Masri 35 – Moukhlis Mahmoud Adwan 36 – Osama Mousa Abdel Gawad 37 - Ali Abdel Halim Ali Mana’ma 38 – Ashraf Hassan Darwish 39 – Mohamed Mahmoud Yassin 40 – Osama Youssef Mansour Al-Qadi 41- Ahmed Salim Said 42 – Hani Abdel Meguid Ibraam 43 – Ali Hassan bin Saeed 44 – Samantha Khalil Mahmoud Qudaih 45 – Mohammed Sabri Aydat 46 – Tamer Khaled Al Hamri 47 Saadia Mohammed Dib 48 Jamal Mohammed Jamal Al-Dalou 49 Abdullah Mohammed Ramadan Alumzenr 50 Suhaila Mahmoud Yassin Al-Dalou 51 Samah Abdul Hamid Yitzhak Al-Dalou 52 Tahani Hassouna Ahmed Al-Dalou 53 Ibrahim Mohammed Jamal Al-Dalou 54 Yusuf Mohammed Jamal Al-Dalou 55 Amina Hassan Mattar Alumzenr |
56 Sami Imad Subhi Al-Ghafeer
57 Mohammed Bakr Aghaff 58 Sara Mohamed Al-Dalou 59 Sohail Ashour Hamada 60 Mou’men Suhail Hamada 61 Atiyah Abd al-Mubarak 62 Hossam Hussein Abu Shawish 63 Jumana Salama Ibrahim Abu Seifan 64 Tamer Salama Ibrahim Abu Seifan 65 Nawal Faraj Mahmoud Abdel Aal 66 Iyad Yousef Abu Khoussa 67 Musa Mahmoud Juma Sumairi 68 Ahmed Essam Sami Al-Nahal 69 Tasneem Zuhair Mahmoud Al-Nahal 70 Ahmed Mahmoud Ahmed Abuamrh 71 Nabil Ahmed Odeh Aauamrh 72 Mohammed Iyad Fouad Abozzor 73 Sahar Fadi Asad Abozzor 74 Mohammed Salameh Saadi Jondia 75 A’hed Hamdi Alqtati 76 Nismah Helmi Salem Abozzor 77 Amin Zuhdi Ibrahim Bashir 78 Tamer Rushdie Mohammad Bashir 79 Rashid Alyan Atiya Abu Amra 80 Ibrahim Mohammed al-Astal 81 Omar Mahmoud Mohammed al-Astal 82 Jalal Mohammed Nasr 83 Hussein Jalal Nasr 84 Abed Mohammed Attar 85 Saifuddin Sadeq 86 Husamettin Zein 87 Mahmoud Said Abu Khater 88 Abdullah Salem Harb Abu Khater 89 Mohammed Riad Khamlkh 90 Ramadan Ahmed Mahmoud 91 Rama Al-Shadni 92 Mohammed Al-Qasser 93 Raneen Jammal Aldel 94 Ramiz Najib Musa Harb 95 A’aed Sabri Radi 96 Amin Ramadan Al-Malahi 97 Husam Fayez Abdel Gawad 98 Salem Pouls Sweilem 99 Mohamed Zidan Tubail 100 Ibrahim Mahmoud Hawajri 101 Arkan Harbi in Abu Kamil 102 Osama Walid Shehadeh 103 Khalil Ibrahim Shehadeh 104 Suhaib Fouad Hijazi 105 Mohamed Fouad Hijazi 106 Fouad Khalil Hijazi 107 Ahmed Tawfik Nasasrh 108 Mohammed Tawfiq Nasasrh 109 Bilal Jihad Barrawi 110 Yahya Akram Ma’rouf |
111 Yahya Mohamed Awad
112 Abdul Rahman Hamad 113 Mohammed Abed Rabbo Badr 114 Ahmed Khaled Dughmush 115 Mahmoud Rizk Salman al-Zahar 116 Musab Mahmood Dughmush 117 Suloh Nimer Muhammad Dughmush 118 Subhi Nimer Mohammed Dughmush 119 Ahmed Jamil Doghmush 120 Mahmoud Ali Komi 121 Yousara Basil Shawwa 122 Mahmoud Mohamed Al-Zouhri 123 Tariq Azni Hadjilh 124 Saqr Yusuf Bulbul 125 Mahmoud Rizk Ashour 126 Amin Mahmoud Alddh 127 Hossam Mohammed Salameh 128 Ayman Tawfiq Abu Rashid 129 Mohammed Abu Eisha 130 Ahmed Abu Moor 131 Khaled Abu Moor 132 Hassan Yousef Al-Ostaz 133 Salem Ayesh Abu Sitta 134 Mohammed Ahmed Abu Sitta 135 Shawki Abu Snema 136 Ibrahim Ahmed Hamad 137 Mahmoud Khalil Arja 138 Mustafa Abu Hmeidan 139 Ahmed Abu Alian 140 Fares Asbitan 141 Ibrahim Nasr 142 Ameera Nasr 143 Mubarak Abu Ghoula 144 Mohammed Attia Abu Khussa 145 Abdul Rahman Naim 146 Mohammed Bakr 147 Mubarak Abu Ghoula 148 Ibrahim Muheisen 149 Reham Nabahin 148 Muhammad Muhammad Bakr 150 Ibrahim Shehadeh 151 Rami Obeid 152 Mohammed Abu Oa’tawi 153 Saadi Abu Kamil 154 Nidal Hassan 155 Talal Al-Esali 156 Ayman Al-Esali 157 Hadeel Al-Esali 158 Mohammed Ashkar 159 Ahmed Abu Kamil 160 Abdullah Hussein 161 Mohammed Abu Adwan 162 Nader Abu M_khasab 163 Mohammed Ayesh 164 Mohammed Jamal Al-Dalou |
Hanin Tafesh 8 months, killed nov 16 2012
A ceasefire has been reached between Palestinian factions and Israel through Egyptian mediation. The deal calls for an immediate halt to "all hostilities, an end to the Israeli blockade, which has been in place since 2006, and an end to the launching of rockets. According to Health Ministry of Gaza, the total number of Palestinians killed is 160 and 1,222 were wounded. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 4 Israelis were killed and 219 others were wounded.
OCHA also stated that Over 10,000 people have been displaced from Gaza city and Northern Gaza. They took shelters either at UNRWA’s schools or with relatives’ and friends across the strip.
Israeli killed 43 children and 22 women. Three journalists were attacked, 15 wounded and 1 needed leg amputation.
Over 1700 Israeli air, naval and ground attacks severely damaged the basic infrastructure like schools, bridges, houses, roads and mosque.
Recommendations:
• Our government and the international community need to support Palestinian to revere years of de-development and disinvestment. Four decades of Occupation and Eight years of blockade has decimated Gaza economically.
• Gaza’s social and political stability is gravely threatened by Israeli assassination of Palestinian political leaders and nightly raids in to Gaza. The Palestinians in Gaza are forced to endure a permanent state of violence and our government and the international community must force Israel to lift the condition of threat, intimidation and violence.
• Our government and the international community must respect the democratic choice of the Palestinian people.
• There exists an international consensus on ending the conflict, which demands Israel to end its 40 year occupation; including occupation of East Jerusalem, dismantle its settlement projects and uphold the just and fair resolution of the refugees based on international law and Resolution 194 and the right of return. This is the framework, re-affirmed every year at the UN, confirmed by the International Court of Justice as the legal basis for peace, and offered by Arab League to begin normal relations with Israel, accepted by all 54 countries of the OIC, all Palestinian factions including Hamas.
• Our government and the international community must pressure Israel from taking actions that endanger the long term political solution. Israel’s unilateral moves in changing facts on the ground are irreversibly derailing this political outcome. Israel exerts power and control over Palestine, but it uses its power and authority to scuttle the only viable solution by building more settlements, demolishing Palestinian homes, restricting Palestinian movement, blocking access to their land through an illegal wall and putting Gazans under a blockade.
A ceasefire has been reached between Palestinian factions and Israel through Egyptian mediation. The deal calls for an immediate halt to "all hostilities, an end to the Israeli blockade, which has been in place since 2006, and an end to the launching of rockets. According to Health Ministry of Gaza, the total number of Palestinians killed is 160 and 1,222 were wounded. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 4 Israelis were killed and 219 others were wounded.
OCHA also stated that Over 10,000 people have been displaced from Gaza city and Northern Gaza. They took shelters either at UNRWA’s schools or with relatives’ and friends across the strip.
Israeli killed 43 children and 22 women. Three journalists were attacked, 15 wounded and 1 needed leg amputation.
Over 1700 Israeli air, naval and ground attacks severely damaged the basic infrastructure like schools, bridges, houses, roads and mosque.
Recommendations:
• Our government and the international community need to support Palestinian to revere years of de-development and disinvestment. Four decades of Occupation and Eight years of blockade has decimated Gaza economically.
• Gaza’s social and political stability is gravely threatened by Israeli assassination of Palestinian political leaders and nightly raids in to Gaza. The Palestinians in Gaza are forced to endure a permanent state of violence and our government and the international community must force Israel to lift the condition of threat, intimidation and violence.
• Our government and the international community must respect the democratic choice of the Palestinian people.
• There exists an international consensus on ending the conflict, which demands Israel to end its 40 year occupation; including occupation of East Jerusalem, dismantle its settlement projects and uphold the just and fair resolution of the refugees based on international law and Resolution 194 and the right of return. This is the framework, re-affirmed every year at the UN, confirmed by the International Court of Justice as the legal basis for peace, and offered by Arab League to begin normal relations with Israel, accepted by all 54 countries of the OIC, all Palestinian factions including Hamas.
• Our government and the international community must pressure Israel from taking actions that endanger the long term political solution. Israel’s unilateral moves in changing facts on the ground are irreversibly derailing this political outcome. Israel exerts power and control over Palestine, but it uses its power and authority to scuttle the only viable solution by building more settlements, demolishing Palestinian homes, restricting Palestinian movement, blocking access to their land through an illegal wall and putting Gazans under a blockade.
From the first moments after Israel's assassination last week of a top Hamas commander, Ma'an journalists in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank reported on the crisis in real time.
Below is their minute-by-minute coverage of the deadly assault as it unfolded over eight days until ending Wednesday as Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Taken together, the more than 800 individual news updates -- most of them reported by journalists and witnesses on the ground -- make up the most extensive account compiled so far of the events as they happened in the Gaza Strip.
Day 1: Israel assassinates Hamas commander, factions respond
The first eight Palestinians die in violence that begins with Israel's assassination of a top Hamas commander, Ahmad al-Jaabari, sparking retaliatory rocket fire toward Israeli targets.
Day 2: Death toll reaches 19 after UN fails to take action on crisis
Warplanes pound the Gaza Strip, killing at least 11 Palestinians, as foreign journalists struggle to get inside. Thousands attend al-Jaabari's funeral, and Hamas promises to respond to his assassination. The UN Security Council holds an urgent meeting at Egypt's request, but it fails to take any action. The Israeli army dismisses reports of rockets reaching Tel Aviv as "Hamas propaganda" hours before Fajr missiles target a suburb of the commercial capital. A rocket kills three Israelis in a town near Gaza.
Day 3: Missiles land near Tel Aviv, Jerusalem for first time
Israel bombs Gaza City over 40 times before dawn; one attack hits an interior ministry department which houses 70 years worth of records. Egypt's premier pays a short visit to Gaza; Israel and Hamas promise to hold fire but don't. Al-Qassam blows up a Reuters vehicle. Ma'an learns of the extrajudicial killing of an alleged collaborator. Air raid sirens sound in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. A Ma'an photographer captures the only known photo of incoming rockets before they crash in Gush Etzion. Palestinians clash with Israeli soldiers throughout the West Bank and Israel calls up 75,000 reservists. Death toll hits 30.
Day 4: Rumors of ceasefire talks but Israel, Hamas deny
US president calls everyone but Mahmoud Abbas, hacker group Anonymous takes down Israeli websites, Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk tells Ma'an not to expect a ceasefire anytime soon, Tunisia's foreign minister pays a visit to Gaza, Hamas' Khalid Mashaal holds low-profile talks with Egypt's intelligence chief, Israel's deputy PM makes a case for targeting civilians, Gaza hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties, Egyptian president sees indications of ceasefire but Israel denies. Death toll approaches 50.
Day 5: Family wiped out in airstrike; Israel targets media
On the bloodiest day in Gaza since Operation Cast Lead, more than 30 die in attacks across the enclave. An airstrike levels a three-story home in Jabaliya killing at least 10 members of the same family -- mostly women and children -- in the single deadliest incident since the start of Israel's assault. Meanwhile, Israel seizes radio broadcasts and orders an airstrike on a building housing Ma'an's Gaza City office, injuring six Quds TV staffers. The Israeli army claims the attack targeted "infrastructure of Hamas' operational communications," but there was no military infrastructure of any kind inside the building.
Day 6: Deaths in West Bank, Gaza airstrikes kill civilians
Rescue workers continue to search the rubble of the al-Dalou family home for two people who remain missing. A group of 38 international aid agencies calls for an urgent ceasefire and Amnesty International calls for an international army embargo on Israel and Hamas. Two Palestinians die in the occupied West Bank after being shot by soldiers in separate incidents as hundreds of Palestinians clash with soldiers at demonstrations against the violence in Gaza. Hezbollah says Israel failed to achieve its objectives, and Hamas' top official lays out conditions for a ceasefire. The death toll in Gaza rises to 117.
Day 7: Journalists killed in airstrikes, Israeli death toll rises
Three journalists are killed in targeted strikes, drawing further condemnation from groups like Reporters Without Borders. Six Palestinians are also killed in a single airstrike. Rockets kill a soldier and a defense ministry contractor, raising Israel's death toll to five. Six alleged collaborators are shot dead in Gaza. Officials in Egypt and Israel suggest a ceasefire is in the works but it fails to materialize. The death toll rises to 146.
Day 8: Death toll reaches 170, bomb injures Israelis in Tel Aviv
Armed groups fire a barrage of rockets toward Israel after midnight, and Israeli airstrikes damage more media buildings. A bomb explodes on a bus in Tel Aviv, injuring 17 Israelis. World leaders rush to condemn the bus injuries. Twenty-two people are reported to have died in Gaza before Egypt's foreign minister in Cairo announces a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel to take effect at 9 p.m. As the ceasefire appears to hold, Palestinians take to the streets to celebrate victory.
Below is their minute-by-minute coverage of the deadly assault as it unfolded over eight days until ending Wednesday as Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Taken together, the more than 800 individual news updates -- most of them reported by journalists and witnesses on the ground -- make up the most extensive account compiled so far of the events as they happened in the Gaza Strip.
Day 1: Israel assassinates Hamas commander, factions respond
The first eight Palestinians die in violence that begins with Israel's assassination of a top Hamas commander, Ahmad al-Jaabari, sparking retaliatory rocket fire toward Israeli targets.
Day 2: Death toll reaches 19 after UN fails to take action on crisis
Warplanes pound the Gaza Strip, killing at least 11 Palestinians, as foreign journalists struggle to get inside. Thousands attend al-Jaabari's funeral, and Hamas promises to respond to his assassination. The UN Security Council holds an urgent meeting at Egypt's request, but it fails to take any action. The Israeli army dismisses reports of rockets reaching Tel Aviv as "Hamas propaganda" hours before Fajr missiles target a suburb of the commercial capital. A rocket kills three Israelis in a town near Gaza.
Day 3: Missiles land near Tel Aviv, Jerusalem for first time
Israel bombs Gaza City over 40 times before dawn; one attack hits an interior ministry department which houses 70 years worth of records. Egypt's premier pays a short visit to Gaza; Israel and Hamas promise to hold fire but don't. Al-Qassam blows up a Reuters vehicle. Ma'an learns of the extrajudicial killing of an alleged collaborator. Air raid sirens sound in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. A Ma'an photographer captures the only known photo of incoming rockets before they crash in Gush Etzion. Palestinians clash with Israeli soldiers throughout the West Bank and Israel calls up 75,000 reservists. Death toll hits 30.
Day 4: Rumors of ceasefire talks but Israel, Hamas deny
US president calls everyone but Mahmoud Abbas, hacker group Anonymous takes down Israeli websites, Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk tells Ma'an not to expect a ceasefire anytime soon, Tunisia's foreign minister pays a visit to Gaza, Hamas' Khalid Mashaal holds low-profile talks with Egypt's intelligence chief, Israel's deputy PM makes a case for targeting civilians, Gaza hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties, Egyptian president sees indications of ceasefire but Israel denies. Death toll approaches 50.
Day 5: Family wiped out in airstrike; Israel targets media
On the bloodiest day in Gaza since Operation Cast Lead, more than 30 die in attacks across the enclave. An airstrike levels a three-story home in Jabaliya killing at least 10 members of the same family -- mostly women and children -- in the single deadliest incident since the start of Israel's assault. Meanwhile, Israel seizes radio broadcasts and orders an airstrike on a building housing Ma'an's Gaza City office, injuring six Quds TV staffers. The Israeli army claims the attack targeted "infrastructure of Hamas' operational communications," but there was no military infrastructure of any kind inside the building.
Day 6: Deaths in West Bank, Gaza airstrikes kill civilians
Rescue workers continue to search the rubble of the al-Dalou family home for two people who remain missing. A group of 38 international aid agencies calls for an urgent ceasefire and Amnesty International calls for an international army embargo on Israel and Hamas. Two Palestinians die in the occupied West Bank after being shot by soldiers in separate incidents as hundreds of Palestinians clash with soldiers at demonstrations against the violence in Gaza. Hezbollah says Israel failed to achieve its objectives, and Hamas' top official lays out conditions for a ceasefire. The death toll in Gaza rises to 117.
Day 7: Journalists killed in airstrikes, Israeli death toll rises
Three journalists are killed in targeted strikes, drawing further condemnation from groups like Reporters Without Borders. Six Palestinians are also killed in a single airstrike. Rockets kill a soldier and a defense ministry contractor, raising Israel's death toll to five. Six alleged collaborators are shot dead in Gaza. Officials in Egypt and Israel suggest a ceasefire is in the works but it fails to materialize. The death toll rises to 146.
Day 8: Death toll reaches 170, bomb injures Israelis in Tel Aviv
Armed groups fire a barrage of rockets toward Israel after midnight, and Israeli airstrikes damage more media buildings. A bomb explodes on a bus in Tel Aviv, injuring 17 Israelis. World leaders rush to condemn the bus injuries. Twenty-two people are reported to have died in Gaza before Egypt's foreign minister in Cairo announces a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel to take effect at 9 p.m. As the ceasefire appears to hold, Palestinians take to the streets to celebrate victory.
The Tunisian presidential advisor for international affairs, Anwar Al-Gharbi, has disclosed that his country was discussing means of retaliating to the Israeli bombing of its school in Gaza.
He told Quds Press on Thursday that the Israeli occupation forces shelled the Tunisian school in Gaza shortly after a solidarity visit by a senior official delegation to the beleaguered Strip.
He said that Tunis was studying retaliating to that act either by demanding compensation or filing a lawsuit with international courts.
Tunisia supports the Palestinian people’s struggle and believes that each people in the world is entitled to defend itself in face of aggression, Gharbi said.
He pointed out that the Tunisian presidency has established an office to follow up affairs of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Meanwhile, Tunisian president Al-Muncef Al-Marzouki reached Palestinian premier in Gaza Ismail Haneyya over the phone and congratulated him over the victory in Gaza over the Israeli aggression.
He told Quds Press on Thursday that the Israeli occupation forces shelled the Tunisian school in Gaza shortly after a solidarity visit by a senior official delegation to the beleaguered Strip.
He said that Tunis was studying retaliating to that act either by demanding compensation or filing a lawsuit with international courts.
Tunisia supports the Palestinian people’s struggle and believes that each people in the world is entitled to defend itself in face of aggression, Gharbi said.
He pointed out that the Tunisian presidency has established an office to follow up affairs of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Meanwhile, Tunisian president Al-Muncef Al-Marzouki reached Palestinian premier in Gaza Ismail Haneyya over the phone and congratulated him over the victory in Gaza over the Israeli aggression.
The minister of education in the Gaza Strip Osama al-Mazini said Thursday that schools will reopen on Saturday.
Israel launched an air offensive against Hamas and other Gaza factions on Nov. 14 killing 170 Palestinians.
The sides entered an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday night.
Israel launched an air offensive against Hamas and other Gaza factions on Nov. 14 killing 170 Palestinians.
The sides entered an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday night.
The Jordanian union of physicians said it would send a delegation of specialized doctors to the Gaza Strip to help the wounded and support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people there.
In a press release on Wednesday, the union affirmed that it coordinated with the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza to delegate a team of medical specialists including surgeons to help relieve the suffering of patients and war victims.
It noted that it started to receive financial and in-kind donations in order to send humanitarian assistance to the Gaza people.
Israel's war on the densely-populated enclave claimed the lives of 162 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and rendered 1, 222 others wounded, according to a Palestinian medical report.
In a press release on Wednesday, the union affirmed that it coordinated with the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza to delegate a team of medical specialists including surgeons to help relieve the suffering of patients and war victims.
It noted that it started to receive financial and in-kind donations in order to send humanitarian assistance to the Gaza people.
Israel's war on the densely-populated enclave claimed the lives of 162 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and rendered 1, 222 others wounded, according to a Palestinian medical report.
By Crispian Balmer
Hamas celebrated a victory in their Gaza stronghold Wednesday after a truce was declared with Israel, where a sober reckoning of how the next round may go underscored the total lack of trust between the two foes.
Palestinians and Israelis alike were relieved that their eight-day conflict had come to an end without a bloody invasion of the Gaza Strip. But on both sides there was a foreboding that their ceasefire might not last very long.
"We are sceptical," said a senior Israeli government official, who declined to be named. "But the Egyptians and Americans have backed this deal, so if it falls apart they know that we would have a legitimate reason to go in hard."
On the face of it, both Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza, can draw positive conclusions at the end of a brutal clash that killed over 170 Palestinians, including more than 30 children, and five Israelis.
Although Hamas lost its top military commander and suffered serious hits to its infrastructure and weaponry, it has nonetheless emerged with its reputation in the Arab world significantly enhanced and its standing at home embellished.
Israel can take comfort from the fact it dealt painful blows to its enemy, found a way to work with the Islamist leadership of Egypt, and showed that it can defend itself from a barrage of incoming missiles with its high-tech Iron Dome interceptor.
"No one is under the illusion that this is going to be an everlasting ceasefire. It is clear to everyone it will only be temporary," said Michael Herzog, a former chief of staff at the Israeli ministry of defense.
"But there is a chance that it could hold for a significant period of time, if all goes well," he told Reuters.
Jubilation
Israel and Hamas have been here before. In 2009, they pulled apart after a 22-day conflict and it took many months before Gaza militants felt strong enough to start firing rockets again out of their tiny, impoverished enclave.
At the time, some Gazans resented Hamas, accusing it of instigating a devastating war and invasion that killed 1,400 Palestinians. Three years on, the mood was different and thousands took to the streets to celebrate the ceasefire.
After years of isolation, a succession of Arab VIPs rushed to the enclave to show their solidarity as Israeli warplanes were striking their targets, and the leaders of Hamas were treated with careful respect by Egypt - unthinkable in the days of the ousted president, Hosni Mubarak.
"Hamas is in a stronger position than ever," said Gaza political analyst Talal Okal, adding that he too did not expect the truce to become a permanent fixture. "The Palestinians must not stop preparing themselves for another round," he added.
Hamas does not recognize Israel and has scorned President Mahmoud Abbas for seeking a diplomatic solution.
The Western-backed Abbas, who holds sway in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, cut a lonely figure during the crisis, seeing Hamas' credibility rise in the Arab world at his own expense.
In contrast with wild jubilation in Gaza, a few hundred residents in southern Israel took to the streets to denounce the deal, fearing that after a brief pause they would once more be the target of regular rocket attacks.
With a general election just two months away, the political consensus of the last week immediately evaporated and opposition figures swiftly laid into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not using the mighty army he had positioned on the Gaza borders.
"I think the goals of the operation weren't achieved," said Shaul Mofaz, head of the centrist Kadima party.
"Israeli citizens expected something else. They expected a reality in which the Israeli army forced a truce on Hamas. Today (Egyptian President Mohamed) Mursi, with US backing, forced Israel to a ceasefire," he told Channel 1 television.
Netanyahu will put a very different spin on it.
He showed he could work with the Mursi, thereby shoring up Israel's sagging relations with Cairo. He also re-invigorated ties with US President Barack Obama, who gave him constant public support despite their famously bad relations.
Moreover, he will point out that he set limited goals when he launched the air offensive last week. He never vowed to topple Hamas, but rather promised to cripple its infrastructure.
Although the Israeli military has declared its mission accomplished, the public might be hard to convince.
"There was no decisive victory here, there is nothing so dramatic that Israel can be proud of," said Giora Eiland, a former National Security Adviser. "But the situation was managed in the right way and it was clear that Israel enjoyed certain international support."
Iron Dome
Perhaps Israel's biggest winner was the Iron Dome interceptor that had a 84 percent success rate against incoming missiles, according to the military, almost certainly saving many lives and reducing the pressure for any escalation.
Politicians and military experts are likely to take a much tougher look at the role of the air force, with criticism already surfacing that it was over cautious in its targeting for fear of repeating the mass casualties seen in the 2008-2009 war.
"The Iron Dome has proved itself to be a game changer," said Yohanan Plesner, a Kadima politician who sits on parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee.
"But on the offensive side, the more we are surgical and cautious then the harder it is to achieve the goals of long-term calm. The more we limit ourselves, the less of a price Hamas has to pay," he told Reuters.
Although Hamas certainly suffered losses, it also had much to boast about - particularly the fact that it managed for the first time to send missiles flying toward both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
"Israel won't think of challenging us like this ever again," said Mohammed al-Ghazaleh, firing a deafening burst from his Kalashnikov rifle to celebrate the truce in Gaza city.
But such thinking is almost certainly a miscalculation that already sows the seeds for the next confrontation.
Hamas celebrated a victory in their Gaza stronghold Wednesday after a truce was declared with Israel, where a sober reckoning of how the next round may go underscored the total lack of trust between the two foes.
Palestinians and Israelis alike were relieved that their eight-day conflict had come to an end without a bloody invasion of the Gaza Strip. But on both sides there was a foreboding that their ceasefire might not last very long.
"We are sceptical," said a senior Israeli government official, who declined to be named. "But the Egyptians and Americans have backed this deal, so if it falls apart they know that we would have a legitimate reason to go in hard."
On the face of it, both Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza, can draw positive conclusions at the end of a brutal clash that killed over 170 Palestinians, including more than 30 children, and five Israelis.
Although Hamas lost its top military commander and suffered serious hits to its infrastructure and weaponry, it has nonetheless emerged with its reputation in the Arab world significantly enhanced and its standing at home embellished.
Israel can take comfort from the fact it dealt painful blows to its enemy, found a way to work with the Islamist leadership of Egypt, and showed that it can defend itself from a barrage of incoming missiles with its high-tech Iron Dome interceptor.
"No one is under the illusion that this is going to be an everlasting ceasefire. It is clear to everyone it will only be temporary," said Michael Herzog, a former chief of staff at the Israeli ministry of defense.
"But there is a chance that it could hold for a significant period of time, if all goes well," he told Reuters.
Jubilation
Israel and Hamas have been here before. In 2009, they pulled apart after a 22-day conflict and it took many months before Gaza militants felt strong enough to start firing rockets again out of their tiny, impoverished enclave.
At the time, some Gazans resented Hamas, accusing it of instigating a devastating war and invasion that killed 1,400 Palestinians. Three years on, the mood was different and thousands took to the streets to celebrate the ceasefire.
After years of isolation, a succession of Arab VIPs rushed to the enclave to show their solidarity as Israeli warplanes were striking their targets, and the leaders of Hamas were treated with careful respect by Egypt - unthinkable in the days of the ousted president, Hosni Mubarak.
"Hamas is in a stronger position than ever," said Gaza political analyst Talal Okal, adding that he too did not expect the truce to become a permanent fixture. "The Palestinians must not stop preparing themselves for another round," he added.
Hamas does not recognize Israel and has scorned President Mahmoud Abbas for seeking a diplomatic solution.
The Western-backed Abbas, who holds sway in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, cut a lonely figure during the crisis, seeing Hamas' credibility rise in the Arab world at his own expense.
In contrast with wild jubilation in Gaza, a few hundred residents in southern Israel took to the streets to denounce the deal, fearing that after a brief pause they would once more be the target of regular rocket attacks.
With a general election just two months away, the political consensus of the last week immediately evaporated and opposition figures swiftly laid into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not using the mighty army he had positioned on the Gaza borders.
"I think the goals of the operation weren't achieved," said Shaul Mofaz, head of the centrist Kadima party.
"Israeli citizens expected something else. They expected a reality in which the Israeli army forced a truce on Hamas. Today (Egyptian President Mohamed) Mursi, with US backing, forced Israel to a ceasefire," he told Channel 1 television.
Netanyahu will put a very different spin on it.
He showed he could work with the Mursi, thereby shoring up Israel's sagging relations with Cairo. He also re-invigorated ties with US President Barack Obama, who gave him constant public support despite their famously bad relations.
Moreover, he will point out that he set limited goals when he launched the air offensive last week. He never vowed to topple Hamas, but rather promised to cripple its infrastructure.
Although the Israeli military has declared its mission accomplished, the public might be hard to convince.
"There was no decisive victory here, there is nothing so dramatic that Israel can be proud of," said Giora Eiland, a former National Security Adviser. "But the situation was managed in the right way and it was clear that Israel enjoyed certain international support."
Iron Dome
Perhaps Israel's biggest winner was the Iron Dome interceptor that had a 84 percent success rate against incoming missiles, according to the military, almost certainly saving many lives and reducing the pressure for any escalation.
Politicians and military experts are likely to take a much tougher look at the role of the air force, with criticism already surfacing that it was over cautious in its targeting for fear of repeating the mass casualties seen in the 2008-2009 war.
"The Iron Dome has proved itself to be a game changer," said Yohanan Plesner, a Kadima politician who sits on parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee.
"But on the offensive side, the more we are surgical and cautious then the harder it is to achieve the goals of long-term calm. The more we limit ourselves, the less of a price Hamas has to pay," he told Reuters.
Although Hamas certainly suffered losses, it also had much to boast about - particularly the fact that it managed for the first time to send missiles flying toward both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
"Israel won't think of challenging us like this ever again," said Mohammed al-Ghazaleh, firing a deafening burst from his Kalashnikov rifle to celebrate the truce in Gaza city.
But such thinking is almost certainly a miscalculation that already sows the seeds for the next confrontation.
Iran's president welcomed the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, but expressed reservations about its effectiveness, said a Pakistani television station, which interviewed him on Thursday.
"President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad said the cruelty in Gaza should unite Muslims. He said he welcomes the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, but he seems to not be very optimistic about the ceasefire," a TV anchor for the station said.
A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers took hold on Thursday after eight days of conflict, although deep mistrust on both sides cast doubt on how long the Egyptian-sponsored deal can last.
Iran angered after France's Fabius blames Tehran for Gaza conflict
Iran reacted angrily to assertions by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and accused him of not understanding the realities in the region after the diplomat accused Tehran of being responsible for the Gaza conflict.
On Wednesday Fabius accused Iran of negative intentions in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Gaza and that it bore a "heavy responsibility" for the fighting for providing long-range weapons.
Iran has denied allegations it has supplied Hamas with Fajr-5 rockets, which the militant group that controls Gaza said it had fired on Tel Aviv, but Iran has made clear it has provided military aid.
"The comments made by Mr. Fabius are due to lack of attention to the prevailing realities in the Middle East," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said, the state news agency reported late on Wednesday.
"This French official must keep in mind the point that such comments do not lift the responsibility of the Zionist regime and its supporters about the war crimes they have committed against the oppressed Palestinian nation."
On Wednesday, Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Ali Jafari denied Iran had given Hamas Fajr 5 rockets and only provided technological assistance.
Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani urged Arab states on Wednesday to follow Iran's example of providing military assistance to the Palestinians.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect late on Wednesday, bringing welcome respite after eight days of conflict as concern grew over an imminent Israeli ground offensive into the territory.
Argentinian president urges UN support to Abbas after Gaza conflict
The President of Argentina wrote to the Union of South American Nations on Wednesday asking them to demand the UN Security Council makes a statement on Israel's eight-day bombardment of Gaza.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said the council should order an end to hostilities, which halted later Wednesday as a truce deal was reached, but also commend President Mahmoud Abbas for his diplomatic efforts for peace.
Abbas will ask the UN General Assembly next week to admit Palestine as a non-member state. The UN bid has been overshadowed by Israel's war on Gaza, which killed 170.
South America's support to the bid "will be a clear message to the Palestinian people and Israel that they can, and must, rely on the international community to achieve a lasting and effective peace," Kirchner wrote, in the letter provided by the Argentinian consulate to the PA.
The Security Council should "express to President Mahmoud Abbas our full support to his intense work to reach peace through dialogue and not violence," she wrote.
"President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad said the cruelty in Gaza should unite Muslims. He said he welcomes the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, but he seems to not be very optimistic about the ceasefire," a TV anchor for the station said.
A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers took hold on Thursday after eight days of conflict, although deep mistrust on both sides cast doubt on how long the Egyptian-sponsored deal can last.
Iran angered after France's Fabius blames Tehran for Gaza conflict
Iran reacted angrily to assertions by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and accused him of not understanding the realities in the region after the diplomat accused Tehran of being responsible for the Gaza conflict.
On Wednesday Fabius accused Iran of negative intentions in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Gaza and that it bore a "heavy responsibility" for the fighting for providing long-range weapons.
Iran has denied allegations it has supplied Hamas with Fajr-5 rockets, which the militant group that controls Gaza said it had fired on Tel Aviv, but Iran has made clear it has provided military aid.
"The comments made by Mr. Fabius are due to lack of attention to the prevailing realities in the Middle East," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said, the state news agency reported late on Wednesday.
"This French official must keep in mind the point that such comments do not lift the responsibility of the Zionist regime and its supporters about the war crimes they have committed against the oppressed Palestinian nation."
On Wednesday, Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Ali Jafari denied Iran had given Hamas Fajr 5 rockets and only provided technological assistance.
Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani urged Arab states on Wednesday to follow Iran's example of providing military assistance to the Palestinians.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect late on Wednesday, bringing welcome respite after eight days of conflict as concern grew over an imminent Israeli ground offensive into the territory.
Argentinian president urges UN support to Abbas after Gaza conflict
The President of Argentina wrote to the Union of South American Nations on Wednesday asking them to demand the UN Security Council makes a statement on Israel's eight-day bombardment of Gaza.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said the council should order an end to hostilities, which halted later Wednesday as a truce deal was reached, but also commend President Mahmoud Abbas for his diplomatic efforts for peace.
Abbas will ask the UN General Assembly next week to admit Palestine as a non-member state. The UN bid has been overshadowed by Israel's war on Gaza, which killed 170.
South America's support to the bid "will be a clear message to the Palestinian people and Israel that they can, and must, rely on the international community to achieve a lasting and effective peace," Kirchner wrote, in the letter provided by the Argentinian consulate to the PA.
The Security Council should "express to President Mahmoud Abbas our full support to his intense work to reach peace through dialogue and not violence," she wrote.
