Tulsa World: Israeli troops near Gaza, airstrikes continue

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Israeli troops near Gaza, airstrikes continue

A Palestinian family moves past a burning building after an Israeli missile strike in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza Strip on Sunday.

By The Associated Press
Published: 12/27/2008 11:37 AM
Last Modified: 12/28/2008 12:00 PM

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli warplanes pressing one of Israel's deadliest assaults ever on Palestinian militants dropped bombs and missiles on a top security installation, smuggling tunnels and dozens of other targets across Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday.

Israel called up 6,500 reserve soldiers and moved infantry and armored units to the Gaza border for a possible ground invasion. Some 280 Palestinians died in the first 24 hours of the campaign against Gaza rocket squads.

Most of the dead were Hamas police, but the airstrikes also claimed the lives of civilians, including a 15-year-old boy killed inside a greenhouse.

Unbowed by 250 Israeli airstrikes, militants fired dozens of rockets and mortars at border communities Sunday. Two rockets struck close to the largest city in southern Israel, Ashdod, some 38 kilometers (23 miles) from Gaza, reaching deeper into Israel than ever before. The targeting of Ashdod confirmed Israel's concern that militants are capable of putting major cities within rocket range. No serious injuries were reported in any of the attacks Sunday. One Israeli died in a rocket attack Saturday.

Despite the call for reserves, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said there were no plans to occupy Gaza. Speaking Sunday on "Meet the Press," Livni said the Israeli assault came because Gaza's Hamas rulers were smuggling weapons and building up "a small army."

But, she said, "Our goal is not to reoccupy" the Gaza Strip, which Israel left in 2005 after a 38-year occupation.

The Palestinians' moderate President Mahmoud Abbas, a fierce rival of Hamas' who controls only the West Bank and has little influence in Gaza, urged the Islamic militant group to renew a truce with Israel that collapsed last week.

Thousands swept into the streets of cities around the Middle East to denounce Israel's air assault. From Lebanon to Iran, Israel's adversaries used the weekend assault to marshal crowds out onto the streets for noisy demonstrations.

Syria called off indirect peace talks while Turkey, an ally of Israel that was mediating the talks with Syria, denounced the air assault on Hamas targets as a "crime against humanity."

In New York, the U.N. Security Council urged Israel and the Palestinians to immediately halt all violence and military activities. The U.N.'s most powerful body called for a new cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, and for opening border crossings into Gaza to enable humanitarian supplies to reach the territory.

Israel allowed limited supplies of fuel and medicine into Gaza on Sunday, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his Cabinet the operation in "is liable to last longer than we are able to foresee at this time."

Many of Israel's Western allies urged restraint on both sides, though the U.S. blamed Hamas for the fighting.

The offensive began eight days after a six-month truce between Israel and the militants expired. The Israeli army says Palestinian militants have fired more than 300 rockets and mortars at Israeli targets over the past week, and 10 times that number over the past year.

Streets were empty in Gaza City on Sunday as most residents stayed home, fearing more airstrikes. A few lined up to buy bread outside two bakeries. Schools were shut for a three-day mourning period the Gaza government declared Saturday for the campaign's dead.

Hamas police kept a low profile, wearing jackets over their dark blue uniforms and walking close to walls, hoping to evade the detection by Israeli pilots.

Aircraft struck one of Hamas' main security compounds in Gaza City on Sunday — a major symbol of the group's authority. Health officials said four people were killed and 25 wounded in the attack.

A column of black smoke towered from the building, and some inmates of the compound's prison fled after the missiles struck. Hamas police nabbed some of them.

One prisoner trapped under the rubble waved his hand in the hope of being rescued. Two other prisoners helped a bleeding friend walk through the debris.

Minutes after the strike, Hamas police defiantly planted the movement's green flag in the rubble.

"These strikes fuel our popular support, our military power and the firmness of our positions," said Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas legislator. "We will survive, we will move forward, we will not surrender, we will not be shaken."

Senior Hamas leaders went into hiding before the offensive began, shutting off their phones.

Hamas' Gaza prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, spoke on a televised address on Saturday evening, but it was not immediately clear where the address was taped.

Earlier, Palestinians said Israeli bombs destroyed a mosque outside Gaza's main hospital in Gaza City; the military called it a "base for terrorist activities."

In southern Gaza, aircraft targeted a tanker truck, touching off a blaze that raged out of control and spread to about a dozen nearby houses. One of the main medicine warehouses supplying local pharmacies in southern Gaza was hit in another sortie.

Residents said the tanker and the warehouse contained supplies that had been smuggled in from Gaza through underground tunnels with Egypt, suggesting Israel was widening its offensive to go after businesses that are a source of income for Hamas or thought they may have contained weapons.

The tunnels — which have allowed the Hamas leadership to stave off complete economic collapse — came under attack themselves on Sunday, security officials and medics said, with witnesses reporting fires and explosions in the area.

Warplanes also attacked the Hamas television headquarters, but it continued to broadcast from a mobile unit.

The initial waves of attacks Saturday focused on key Hamas security installations and rocket-launching pads.

Gaza health official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said at least 280 people were killed, including 183 members of Hamas' uniformed security forces. It was not clear how many of the others were gunmen or civilians.

The civilian casualties included a 15-year-old boy who died in southern Gaza on Sunday in an attack on a greenhouse near the border. At least 644 people were wounded, Hassanain said.

The Israeli Cabinet authorized the mobilization of 6,500 soldiers, a government official said. But the callup was not the kind of massive mobilization that was ordered in the summer of 2006 when Israel went to war against Lebanese guerrillas.

The rockets that struck close to Ashdod, extending the militants' reach closer to Israel's heartland, landed some 23 miles (38 kilometers) from Gaza. Gaza's Hamas rulers have been stockpiling weapons in recent months, including medium-range missiles. Until Sunday, the deepest targets inside Israel had been the city of Ashkelon and the town of Netivot, which are about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from Gaza.

Store clerk Elvira Taberbobsky, 36, stepped outside after one rocket struck only to have a second exploded right in front of her.

"I flew backwards. I couldn't hear anything for a few seconds. and then all of a sudden I saw holes in my pants and blood streaming down my pants," she said.

Schools in Israeli communities in rocket range were told to remain closed beyond the Hanukkah holiday which ends Monday.

Israel's military was on alert for possible disturbances in the West Bank.

Hundreds gathered in the West Bank town of Ramallah, seat of Abbas' government, where demonstrators were uncharacteristically allowed to march with Hamas' green flags. "With our blood and souls we defend you, Gaza," some of the protesters chanted. By The Associated Press

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	Report Comment Mr. Brown, Tulsa (12/27/2008 12:12:28 PM) If this isn't a case of somone getting whatthey asked for, I don't know what is.
	Report Comment RICKNER, Yale (12/27/2008 12:18:55 PM) Have the people of this region not learned from the past ? You cannot mess with Israel without getting whipped..the US could take lesson here.
	Report Comment Eric, Tulsa (12/27/2008 12:35:29 PM) Worth mentioning: For months, Hamas to continue to fire rockets into Israel. Curious that there was little (if any) mention of this in the news media. Now that Israel finally responded, all of a sudden, its front page news! Makes thinking people wonder if there is a bias here. I just wonder how many comments and editiorials we'll see in the Sunday newspapers and talk shows that either say: > Hamas had it coming or; > Condemn Israel's attack on the innocent folk in the Gaza Strip.
	Report Comment Eric, Tulsa (12/27/2008 12:36:41 PM) Polar Bear, with all due respect, you are in serious need of educating yourself. Go to the HonestReporting-dot-com site and get wise.
	Report Comment Bluebird48, Whiting, (12/27/2008 12:39:38 PM) blood feud started since the dawn of man.
	Report Comment Jason L., Tulsa (12/27/2008 12:59:31 PM) "Israel: Stop firing missiles at us, or we'll attack. Gaza: (increases missile attacks) Israel: We said stop! Gaza: (even more missile attacks) Israel: Okay, here we come, we warned you!" Credit to Binary Logic at SomethingAwful dot com
	Report Comment Caitlin, Tulsa (12/27/2008 1:17:10 PM) It's unfortunate that most of the casualties in instances like these are civilians probably just doing what they do everyday and not bothering anyone. Even the security men were probably just doing their job securing the area. Also, interesting note to the person above me a similar thing happened in the early 20th century, when the League of Nations gave the U.K. a mandate over a section of the recently fallen Ottoman Empire (now Palestine and/or Israel)... It went something like this...: U.K.: We're moving Jewish people here. Palestine: Uh, no. (riots) U.K.: We need to use this land for Jews. Palestine: No! (riots more) U.K.: Nope, still moving them in. And then they declared independence right before the mandate was over, started the Arab-Israeli War in 1948, and here we sit today. Still fighting over refugees that wouldn't even exist had they not forced Jewish immigrants into a land that was already occupied by someone else.
	Report Comment Jason L., Tulsa (12/27/2008 1:39:24 PM) Thanks Caitlin. I did not know that. That is interesting. I wish all history lessons were as simply put as above.
	Report Comment Proud Muslim, Tulsa: Coolest place in the world (almost) (12/27/2008 1:42:48 PM) "Some of the Israeli missiles struck in densely populated areas as children were leaving school, and women rushed into the streets frantically looking for their children. Most of those killed were security men, but civilians were among the dead." Did the innocent civilians ask for this too, Mr. Brown, RICKNER, or Jason? Caitlin, thank you for so eloquently writing what I so dearly wanted to say but didn't know how.
	Report Comment insider9909, Cushing (12/27/2008 2:10:53 PM) Caitlin, so what did you want them to do with the Jews, throw them back into the ovens. That land was ungoverned and open. It was and is the traditional home of Israel. It is God's will that they be there.
	Report Comment Tim Denver, Denver (12/27/2008 2:27:00 PM) Way to go, Israel. How many terrorists did you kill, compared to innocent civilians, men women, and children. How many more enemies have you created? If I had an ounce of respect left for Israel before.....they have murdered it. All of Gaza is densely populated. A population of 1.3 million in a little strip of land only 139 square miles. I dare the Bush administration to comdemn the attacks. There was no excuse for these atrocities. As far as I'm concerned, the Israeli government is guilty of plain murder.
	Report Comment Caitlin, Tulsa (12/27/2008 2:35:37 PM) No, I think the United States and the United Nations could have prevented them from being displaced in the beginning by, say, not handing Hitler Czechoslovakia. And turning a blind eye after WWI when he tried to overthrow the German government. The United States choose neutrality while Hitler murdered millions of people. Well, until another Axis power attacked us. And that's where most history books decide to start their talks on WWII, because it's heroic to think we didn't ignore a genocide. The Jewish people, you're right, had no place to go after World War II. But taking land that already had people living there for someone else is a Band-Aid solution. Jerusalem is holy land for 3 major religions, not just Judaism. I have no place saying what God wants, but I think he would want everyone to have peaceful access to a site like that.
	Report Comment Tim Denver, Denver (12/27/2008 2:37:12 PM) Yes, Caitlin, thank for educating the under educated on how Israel came into being. How anyone can blindly follow is beyond me.
	Report Comment Popeye, T-Town (12/27/2008 2:47:39 PM) Caitlin: Would you please call Sads and have her read what you're up to? I mean REALLY?? I think you're doing an outstanding job herein and am proud of you (though exactly why "I" am proud of you remains to be reconciled)!
	Report Comment Bluebird48, Whiting, (12/27/2008 3:05:52 PM) Answer me this TW bloggers: What causes more conflicts in the world? Money or Religion?
	Report Comment Tim Denver, Denver (12/27/2008 3:05:57 PM) Yes, The Dead Man, most of the terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. Why, then, did the Bush administration secretly allow a plane full of Saudi nationals, including members of the bin Laden family to leave the country after September 11, when no one else could fly anywhere? No, this is attack on innocent people is pure evil. Israel has been stealing land from the Palestinians for way too long.
	Report Comment Welcome to America !, Claremore (12/27/2008 3:06:07 PM) Civilians from terrorists countries are just as likely to be the one's firing those rockets as the militants; often one and the same. It's about time Israel stood up for themselves and pounded on the Palestinians. Good job. Keep it up. Make them understand they are occupying your territory. You'll get it back someday soon.
	Report Comment Tim Denver, Denver (12/27/2008 3:09:01 PM) Bluebird: (so-called) religion, and God is colmforting all those innocent people who died today. He doesn't care if you're Christian, Jewish, Moslem, Baha'i, Zoroastrian, or whatever. Everyone is equal in His eyes.
	Report Comment Travis, Tahlequah (12/27/2008 3:12:24 PM) The Israelis finally retaliated for the acts of terrorism being brought against them by the Hamas terrorist which operate freely within Gaza. From the CIA world fact book: "Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories Israel occupied since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In April 2003, US President BUSH, working in conjunction with the EU, UN, and Russia - the "Quartet" - took the lead in laying out a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005, based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between September 2003 and February 2005. An Israeli-Palestinian agreement reached at Sharm al-Sheikh in February 2005, along with an internally-brokered Palestinian ceasefire, significantly reduced the violence. In the summer of 2005, Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of HAMAS in January 2006 to head the Palestinian Legislative Council froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Ehud OLMERT became prime minister in March 2006; following an Israeli military operation in Gaza in June-July 2006 and a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon in June-August 2006, he shelved plans to unilaterally evacuate from most of the West Bank. OLMERT in June 2007 resumed talks with the PA after HAMAS seized control of the Gaza Strip and PA President Mahmoud ABBAS formed a new government without HAMAS." Israel has made many attempts at peace, all of which have been either rejected or broken by the Palestinians or Arabs.
	Report Comment Ignatz, Broken Bow (12/27/2008 3:16:42 PM) Impressive...only 70 retaliatory high explosive responses. Now we'll have the sporadic suicide killings, probably a tourist group in a bus, cafes in Tel Aviv. I wish I had a clear understanding of this situation, but don't pretend to since it is all about religion.
	Report Comment Big Harp, Florida (12/27/2008 3:24:03 PM) What's New ?
	Report Comment Bluebird48, Whiting, (12/27/2008 3:30:35 PM) Tim Denver, Denver (12/27/2008 3:09:01 PM) Bluebird: (so-called) religion, and God is colmforting all those innocent people who died today. He doesn't care if you're Christian, Jewish, Moslem, Baha'i, Zoroastrian, or whatever. Everyone is equal in His eyes -- You haven't answer the question.. I have started a thread at the smoke portal for uncensored discussion. My answer is there.
	Report Comment TOPCPA, (12/27/2008 3:38:01 PM) I just hope Obama supports Israel in their freedom fight. Many centuries of killing must stop.
	Report Comment Tim Denver, Denver (12/27/2008 3:45:24 PM) Roscoe Toomba is right.
	Report Comment Bluebird48, Whiting, (12/27/2008 3:46:18 PM) Great answer Roscoe. But I still don't see your answer. testosterone. If it was only that simple, then a simple pill would be an answer for world peace. I think we need to ponder a little bit more.

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