TWO STATE UNWORKABLE - US EX ENVOY

US ex-envoy says Mideast two-state solution unworkable Mon Jan 5, 3:42 am ET

WASHINGTON, (AFP) – Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said Monday settling the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of a two-state solution was no longer workable and suggested giving the Palestinian territories to Egypt and Jordan.Let's start by recognizing that trying to create a Palestinian Authority from the old PLO has failed and that any two-state solution based on the PA is stillborn, Bolton wrote in The Washington Post.Hamas has killed the idea, and even the Holy Land is good for only one resurrection.A two-state solution has been officially adopted as the basis for solving the Middle East conflict by all interested parties, including Israel and the administration of US President George W. Bush, in which Bolton has served.But Bolton now argues that the Middle East peace process is obviously not progressing... probably going backward while the US- and UN-backed road map for peace has still to show results.Instead, we should look to a three-state approach, where Gaza is returned to Egyptian control and the West Bank in some configuration reverts to Jordanian sovereignty, says the former ambassador, who now works for the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington.

Having the two Arab states re-extend their prior political authority is an authentic way to extend the zone of peace and, more important, build on governments that are providing peace and stability in their own countries, he concluded.Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal says in an editorial that a nation like Israel must maintain an aura of invincibility if it is to have any chance at peaceful co-existence with its Arab neighbors.It was that aura after two wars that induced Egypt to agree to peace with Israel in the 1970s, The Journal argued.By contrast, the 2006 Lebanon campaign convinced radical Arabs and Persians that Israel had grown soft and could be beaten. Israel can't let Hamas maintain a similar mythology at the end of this operation, or the costs will be far higher down the road.

Muslim states seek UN session on Gaza conflict Mon Jan 5, 3:06 am ET

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Muslim countries plan to seek a U.N. General Assembly special session to press for a halt to the escalating violence in Gaza, Malaysia's leader said Monday.Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Malaysia's permanent representative to the U.N. will hold discussions with other officials in the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, on how best to push for such a session.I hope the United States and its allies will not impede efforts to convene the special general assembly, Abdullah was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.Foreign ministers from OIC countries issued a statement following a meeting in Saudi Arabia over the weekend saying all Muslim nations should cooperate with other U.N. members to call for a special General Assembly session titled Uniting for Peace.The U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said it had no immediate response to Abdullah's statement.The United States late Saturday blocked approval of a U.N. Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and expressing serious concern at the escalation of violence, council diplomats said.Israel sent troops and tanks into Gaza on Saturday after a weeklong aerial bombardment.At least 512 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,500 injured since the air attacks began. One Israeli soldier was killed in the ground assault. Israel says it launched the offensive to stop rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza that have killed several Israelis.In a separate statement, Abdullah said Israel's ground offensive is an act of total war which the international community should not tolerate.Abdullah added that he has authorized $1 million of immediate humanitarian aid from the Malaysian government to be channeled through relief supplies for the Palestinians.

How Israel, Hamas define victory in Gaza By Joshua Mitnick Joshua Mitnick – Mon Jan 5, 3:00 am ET

Tel Aviv – Escalating a week-long assault against Hamas, Israel invaded Gaza over the weekend to stop the Islamist militants who continue to launch cross-border rocket attacks.But what victory means for each side still remains vague. The Israeli military says the ground offensive is aimed at eliminating militant rocket-launching sites, destroying weapon caches, and pursuing fighters hiding in the crowded coastal strip. Will it be satisfied if the militants stop firing rockets or if it destroys the hundreds of tunnels to Egypt that make up Hamas's supply line? Some experts say Israel wants to force a more extensive cease-fire with Hamas, compel the creation of an international peacekeeping force in the coastal strip, or destroy the Islamist group altogether.For Hamas, survival might be victory. It will be lauded across the Arab world if it can hold out against the region's strongest military.One of the most important things in this conflict between state and nonstate actors is what is the meaning of victory? says Eitan Azani, a former Israeli Defense Forces colonel and a deputy director at the Institute for Counter Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. A lot of people from [Hamas] dying? A collapse? Or most of the operational capability destroyed? This is up for debate. We are in a very complicated situation.In the 2006 Lebanon war, the Shiite militant group Hezbollah showed the world it could not only survive Israel's superior firepower but that it could confront them on the battlefield. Israel withdrew from the 34-day war with Hezbollah claiming a divine victory.So far, Hamas has succeeded in stirring up regional and domestic sympathy under the Israeli pummeling during the first week in the war. But as the fighting continues, the militant group risks seeing its fighting force quickly degraded.There may be a push to unseat its hold on Gaza, says Nicolas Pelham, a regional analyst for the International Crisis Group. It still appears to have retained authority and control in Gaza. There's no internal forces seeking to challenge Hamas.

In the first day of the ground war, Palestinian health authorities reported that 30 Gazans had been killed in the fighting, many of them civilians, according to news wires. An Israeli military spokesperson said that one Israeli soldiers had died in the fighting and three were seriously wounded. Since the operation began on Dec. 27, at least 500 Palestinians have been killed. The United Nations estimates that at least 100 of the dead are civilians.On Sunday, human rights organizations warned of a burgeoning humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. As a result of the fighting, Gaza City and its main medical center, Shiffa Hospital, have been left without electricity. More than 1 out of every 3 residents are without water and sewage is running in the streets, according to Gisha, an Israeli human rights group.The ground invasion comes just as international mediators are arriving to the region to begin brokering a cease-fire that is believed to be the seldom-mentioned endgame for both sides.The ground action that we began last night, as part of the overall operation, is designed to establish our aspiration to change the security reality in the south, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Israeli cabinet, according to a statement. It cannot be that the home front will be subject to attack and a daring, strong and well-trained military does not defend it.Though Israel has struck at hundreds of targets across the Gaza Strip, it has yet to seriously injure Hamas's fighting force, the Izz ed-Din al Qassam Brigades. The main risk for Israel is that it will drag out into a full occupation of the Gaza Strip, says Shlomo Brom, the former head of the army's planning branch. If we will have very few casualties in this operation, it may lead some to say why don't we topple Hamas? Despite the offensive, Palestinian militants were able to fire about 30 rockets into southern Israel Sunday, according to the Israeli army. Since the offensive began, militants have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, killing three civilians. Israel said its air force hit 15 targets across Gaza on Sunday. The Qassam wing predicted that the Israeli soldiers would fall prey to the trap laid by the Islamist militants.The Zionist enemy will be surprised and will regret carrying out such an operation at such a heavy price, the organization said in a statement Saturday. Our militants are waiting patiently to confront the soldiers face to face.The start of the ground operation comes on the eve of stepped-up international efforts to prod a cease-fire. Representing the European Union's presidency, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, is planning to visit Israel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy is scheduled to arrive Monday. Much of Israel's firepower has been focused on destroying Gaza tunnels that are a channel for missiles and consumer goods into the strip. Shutting down the free flow of weapons trade over the border figures as one of the major goals of the operation, according to analysts. But it is far from certain who will enforce the closure of the tunnels when Israel leaves.

The nine mile-long Gaza-Egypt frontier has long been crisscrossed by a network of tunnels. The Gaza assault has included several air force sorties in which bunker buster bombs were dropped on the area, exploding underground and sending out shockwaves designed to collapse the secret passages. The issue of rearming is fundamental. We want to prevent Hamas from being rearmed like Hezbollah was after the Lebanon war, a senior Israeli official said. Palestinians in northern and eastern Gaza said that they can hear the sounds of the Israeli tanks and armored vehicle engines entering Gaza. Kamel Kafarna, a resident of the northern Gaza village of Beit Hanoun, says Israeli forces are in the fields outside of the village, but haven't entered the residential area. His family of four is running low on flour and wheat, and has run out of cooking gas. But the engineering teacher says he hasn't left his house for three days for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.

It's crazy. The bullets and rockets are flying over our heads, says Mr. Kafarna, who was reached by phone. Most of the civilians I believe were killed by mistake. And you don't know if you are going to be the next mistake.

Thousands across Middle East protest Gaza attack By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jan 4, 10:50 pm ET

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Thousands protesting Israel's ground offensive on Gaza converged Sunday in Beirut and Istanbul as the leaders of the only two Mideast Arab nations to sign peace treaties with Israel demanded an end to the attack.In Yemen, security officials said anti-Israel protesters attacked several Jewish homes in the northern province of Omran, smashing windows and pelting them with rocks. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said at least one Jewish resident was injured among the tiny minority community.Lebanese police used water hoses to try to push about 250 demonstrators away from the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon's capital. When that failed, they fired tear gas, Lebanese security officials said. A second Beirut protest — a sit-in outside the U.N. building — drew thousands of supporters of Hamas and Lebanon's Islamic Group.In Turkey, more than 5,000 people held an anti-Israel rally in Istanbul, waving Palestinian flags and burning effigies of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President George W. Bush. Also in Istanbul, club-wielding police broke up a small demonstration by protesters who hurled eggs at the Israeli Consulate, the private Dogan news agency reported. There were no reports of arrests or injuries.

In Morocco, tens of thousands gathered in the capital Rabat for a peaceful march to protest the Gaza offensive. Police estimated the turnout at 50,000, according to the official MAP news agency. Organizers said the number was bigger, but did not give a precise figure.Israel's weeklong aerial bombardment of Gaza and the start of the ground offensive Saturday against Hamas have drawn condemnation across the Muslim and Arab world and news coverage of the invasion has dominated Arab satellite television stations.Thousands in cities from Tehran to Damascus have also taken to the streets to protest the attacks, which have killed about 500 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,600, according to Gaza officials.In some cases, the protests of the past week were as directed against Arab governments as much as Israel, with many criticizing their perceived inaction or lack of sufficient support of the Palestinians.On Sunday, the leaders of Egypt and Jordan — the only two Mideast Arab countries to sign a peace agreement with Israel and maintain diplomatic ties — condemned the ground offensive and called for an end to Israel's onslaught in Gaza.

Several hundred Jordanians shouting death to Israel protested against the Gaza offensive Sunday in two separate demonstrations in central Amman, the Jordanian capital. The protests were peaceful and police made no arrests.In parliament, the Jordanian government came under criticism from Islamic opposition lawmakers demanding that it suspend relations with Israel.All options are available to assess the relationship with every side, especially Israel, Prime Minister Nader al-Dahabi told parliament during a heated debate.We will reconsider relations according to our higher national interests, he said. We will not remain silent about the situation and the serious deterioration in Gaza and neither about the threat which risks the security of the whole area and its stability.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who runs his own Palestinian administration from the West Bank, also denounced Israel's ground offensive as brutal aggression in his harshest words yet in describing Israel's assault on his Hamas rivals.Israel says the aim of the operation is to stop the Palestinian militant Hamas group from firing rockets at southern Israeli towns. Hamas is opposed to any peace settlement with Israel and calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.This battle will end a (peace) settlement forever, Hamas' representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, told the protesters at the sit-in. This battle will show who are the men.Five civilians and one policeman were lightly injured in the clash outside the U.S. Embassy earlier in the day, according to the Lebanese officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Meanwhile, the leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, discussed the situation in Gaza with visiting chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, the group's Al-Manar TV said. Al-Manar did not give further details but said Nasrallah and Jalili, who arrived here Saturday from neighboring Syria, discussed ways of ending this aggression.Hezbollah, which is a strong ally of Hamas, possesses a formidable arsenal of rockets and missiles that bloodied Israel during a monthlong war in 2006. Hezbollah has not threatened to join Hamas in its current battle with Israel, but Nasrallah said last week that his men are on alert in case Israel attacks Lebanon. Associated Press reporters Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, and Ahmed Al-Haj in San'a, Yemen, contributed to this report.

Canada blames Hamas, calls for durable ceasefire in Gaza Sun Jan 4, 4:01 pm ET

OTTAWA (AFP) – Canada on Sunday urged a sustainable and durable ceasefire in Gaza, a day after Israeli troops poured into the embattled territory, and called for a halt to rocket attacks from Hamas.Canada is deeply concerned by the increase in hostilities between Israel and Hamas, said Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon in a statement.We urge renewed international diplomatic efforts to achieve a sustainable and durable ceasefire, starting with the halting of all rocket attacks on Israel.

Rocket attacks from Hamas militants and other factions into southern Israel were to blame for the crisis, said Cannon, adding that civilian safety has to be taken into account as the conflict intensifies.Just as urgent diplomatic efforts are needed to bring about an end to this crisis, it is essential that the international community come together to address the humanitarian situation, he said. This includes ensuring access to food, medical and fuel supplies.Tens of thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks battled Hamas Sunday, on the ninth day of a massive military operation on the Islamist-controlled territory as the Palestinian death toll from the offensive passed 500.

Hamas shares responsibility for civilian suffering: Sarkozy Sun Jan 4, 3:27 pm ET

PARIS (AFP) – Hamas bears a heavy responsibility in the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Lebanese newspapers in an interview out Monday.While condemning the Israeli ground offensive itself, Sarkozy told the newspapers: I want to say again here that we condemn with the same firmness (Hamas') continuing rocket fire, which is an unacceptable provocation.Hamas, which decided to break the truce and to resume rocket fire on Israel, bears a heavy responsibility in the suffering of the Palestinians of Gaza, he added.Sarkozy's interview with the three dailies, An Nahar, As Safir and L'Orient le Jour, came ahead of a two-day tour of the region.Sarkozy will travel to Israel, the West Bank and Egypt on Monday before heading to Syria and Lebanon on Tuesday to try to push for a end to the violence.The launching of the Israeli ground offensive makes the need to get a ceasefire even more urgent, said Sarkozy.This offensive, we have condemned along with our European partners, because it takes us that little bit further away from the changes of peace, and because it makes it more difficult to get aid to the people of Gaza.And I will say again to the Israeli authorities that it is absolutely essential that they let humanitarian aid through to Gaza, he added.

A French foreign ministry statement late Saturday condemned both Israel's decision to send ground troops into the Gaza Strip and Hamas' continued firing of rockets into Israel.Tens of thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks were battling Hamas Sunday, as the Palestinian death toll from the offensive to end militant rocket attacks passed 500.

Gaza crisis forces Rice to cancel China trip Sun Jan 4, 2:23 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has canceled a planned trip to China this week to deal with Israel's military offensive in Gaza, the State Department said Sunday.Due to events in the Middle East, Secretary Rice will not be able to travel to Beijing, China, as she had expected, State Department spokesman Fred Lash said in a statement.He said Rice's deputy John Negroponte will travel instead to Beijing on Wednesday for what was scheduled to be her final trip as secretary of state, to mark 30 years of Sino-US diplomatic relations.With Israel launching a ground attack on Hamas-held Gaza, the State Department says it is working toward a ceasefire but does not want a status quo ante in which the Palestinian group can fire rockets at Israel.It is obvious that that ceasefire should take place as soon as possible, but we need a ceasefire that is durable, sustainable, and not time limited, department spokesman Sean McCormack said Saturday.

President George W. Bush's administration has staunchly defended its Israeli allies' right to defend themselves from militant attacks, and placed the blame for the crisis on the Islamists of Hamas.President-elect Barack Obama, who takes office on January 20, has not commented on the crisis with aides insisting there is only one president at a time.With the Bush administration making way for Obama's in just over a fortnight, Rice had indicated that little of substance appeared likely to emerge from her visit to China scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.The United States switched its diplomatic recognition to communist-ruled China on January 1, 1979, ending decades of US support for Taiwan's Nationalist government.Bush informed Chinese President Hu Jintao of the decision to call off Rice's trip in a telephone call Sunday, China's official Xinhua news agency said.China understood the decision and would welcome a visit by Negroponte, it quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.

New York mayor, in Israel, backs strikes on Hamas By PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jan 4, 12:45 pm ET

JERUSALEM – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed solidarity with Israelis threatened by Hamas rockets on Sunday in a daylong trip to Israel that included visits to two towns targeted by the Islamic militant movement in recent weeks.

During the visit to the embattled town of Sderot, Bloomberg and his party, which included Rep. Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat, were briefly hustled to a bomb shelter when a missile warning went off.In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Bloomberg said he fully understood Israel's actions. You should rest assured, if anyone in New York was being threatened, my instruction to the NYPD (New York police) would be to use all the resources at their disposal to protect civilians, Bloomberg said.I think as a New Yorker, we've been attacked twice by al-Qaida itself, said the mayor, who is Jewish. We've seen enormous devastation and courage and after that you sort of feel you have a bond, if you will, for those who live in a dangerous world and subject to someone trying to kill them.Israel is in the ninth day of its strikes against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which have killed more than 500 Palestinians. Ground forces pushed into Gaza Saturday night amid widespread world condemnation.Bloomberg blamed the current situation entirely on the militant Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip and began launching rockets against Israeli towns in the south after its six-month truce with Israel lapsed last month.All Hamas has to do is stop sending rockets over to kill people and agree on the accords that were negotiated earlier and come to an agreement that is verifiable, durable and effective to stop people from being killed, he added.

Ghazi Khankan, a spokesman for the New York chapter of the American Muslim Alliance, said Bloomberg was elected as mayor of New York City and not of Tel Aviv. He should represent all New Yorkers, not one segment of the population.Khankan added, He should call for peace negotiations, not for supporting the Israeli side against the Palestinian side. He should be wise enough to realize that there is no military solution. There must be a political solution.International criticism of Israel has centered on the civilian deaths that have accompanied the attacks on Hamas and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where food, water and electricity are in short supply.

Ackerman, who accompanied Bloomberg to the southern Israeli towns of Ashkelon and Sderot, said the onus of the civilian deaths was on Hamas for using them as human shields.They have been the main victimizers of the innocent Palestinian people by inviting these kinds of attacks, said Ackerman, who chairs the House subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia.Associated Press writer Karen Mattews in New York contributed to the report.

Gaza death toll passes 500: medics Sun Jan 4, 11:40 am ET

GAZA CITY (AFP) – At least 500 Palestinians have died in Israel's nine-day offensive on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, medics said on Sunday.The number of martyrs has reached at least 500, including 87 children, and more than 2,450 have been wounded, Moawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza medical emergency services, told AFP.The number of the dead can be much higher, since there are many martyrs and wounded in the streets, but we have not been able to get to them, he said.

Abbas seeks French pressure on Israel over Gaza blitz Sun Jan 4, 10:36 am ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) – Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Sunday he would ask French President Nicolas Sarkozy to press Israel to end its nine-day offensive in the Gaza Strip.The two will meet in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Monday shortly after Sarkozy arrives in the region bidding to end the Israeli offensive against the Hamas-ruled territory that has killed more than 490 Palestinians.The Palestinian leadership is responding with all the means to end the Gaza aggression. Tomorrow we will receive the French president and ask him and the European Union to press Israel to end its aggression, Abbas said at the start of a meeting with Palestinian leaders in Ramallah.The beleaguered Palestinian president, whose forces were ousted from the Gaza Strip by Hamas in June 2007, strongly condemned the brutal Israeli operation.

Israel hit by 32 Gaza rockets: army Sun Jan 4, 9:41 am ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 32 rockets and mortar rounds into Israel on Sunday, lightly wounding three people as Israeli troops pushed deeper into the Palestinian territory, the army and medics said.One of the rockets scored a direct hit on a house in the southern town of Sderot, lightly wounding one woman. The town, which lies several kilometres (miles) from the Gaza border, has borne the brunt of the rocket fire since 2001.Medics also treated another two people who were lightly wounded -- one in the Israeli port city of Ashdod and another in kibbutz Nir Oz.At least 12 of the missiles were longer-range Grad rockets, which fell near Ashdod, and the towns of Ofaqim and Netivot which are both east of Gaza, the army said.Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired more than 500 rockets and mortar rounds into Israel since the beginning of the Jewish state's massive offensive on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on December 27, killing four people and wounding several dozen others, according to Israeli officials.At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel's ground offensive began on Saturday.In total, more than 485 Palestinians have died since Israel began its offensive against Gaza on December 27.

EU foreign policy chief Solana calls for Gaza ceasefire Sun Jan 4, 8:28 am ET

LONDON (AFP) – EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, adding that European nations stand ready to contribute international monitors to help keep the peace.The ceasefire has to be a ceasefire complied (with) by everybody and be clearly maintained, Solana told the BBC.We are ready to cooperate with other members of the international community to see if necessary how we can monitor the ceasefire, he said.Solana said deploying monitors can be done, but that cannot be done in 24 hours. And for that we need a ceasefire first.Thousands of Israeli troops and scores of tanks pushed deep into Gaza on Sunday, moving towards the enclave's capital on a mission to end militant rocket attacks.

Pope urges Israel, Hamas to act immediately on Gaza Sun Jan 4, 8:20 am ET

VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to act immediately to end the current tragic situation in the Gaza Strip.The pontiff deplored the refusal to dialogue which has resulted in an indescribable worsening of conditions through ground fighting for the coastal strip's population,once again the victims of hatred and war.At least 23 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, have been killed in Gaza since Israel's ground offensive in the Hamas-run enclave began on Saturday, medics said on Sunday.In total, more than 485 Palestinians have died, including 80 children, with more than 2,500 wounded according to Gaza medics since Israeli military operations began on December 27.

Rocket fire from Gaza over the past week has killed four people in Israel.The Vatican has yet to confirm that the pope will visit Israel, reportedly set for May 8-15.Benedict added after Sunday Angelus prayers that: War and hatred are not solutions to problems.Today, in all the churches of the Holy Land, church leaders are calling on worshippers to pray for the end to the conflict in the Gaza Strip and (for) justice and peace for their land, the pope also said.I join in their prayers and invite you to do the same.In his New Year's and World Peace Day message on Thursday, the pope warned that violence, hatred and mistrust are themselves forms of poverty -- perhaps the greatest -- that must be fought.The deep desire to live in peace... rises in the hearts of the great majority of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, once more placed in danger by the massive violence that has broken out in the Gaza Strip in response to other violence.May this not prevail, the pope urged, having called last Sunday on the international community to help both sides abandon this dead-end road.Israel unleashed a massive bombardment of Hamas targets in Gaza on December 27 in response to militant rocket and mortar fire.

EU tells Israel to respect humanitarian law in Gaza, offers more aid Sun Jan 4, 8:00 am ET

BRUSSELS (AFP) – The European Commission on Sunday called on Israel to respect international law and allow access to people suffering and dying in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.The commission, the European Union's executive arm, announced an extra three million euros (4.2 million dollars) of emergency aid in the Gaza Strip, and urged Israel to allow a humanitarian space for delivery of vital relief.One and a half million people are crammed into an area that is just over one percent the size of Belgium. They rely on supplies from outside for their survival and, with every day that passes, their situation becomes more desperate, EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said in a statement.The obligation to respect the principals of international humanitarian law "is universal and attacks from either side that kill or injure civilians indiscriminately are unacceptable," he added.

Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza and clashed in fierce battles with Hamas fighters on Sunday as Israel raised the stakes in its deadly offensive on the Islamists' overcrowded stronghold.Blocking access to people who are suffering and dying is also a breach of humanitarian law. I call on the Israeli authorities to respect their international obligations and ensure a humanitarian space for the delivery of vital relief, said Michel.The new EU aid will be deployed as rapidly as possible to meet the basic needs of people affected by the Israeli airstrikes and by continuing access restrictions.The European Union is the biggest aid donor to the Palestinians.The latest three million euros will be focused on food, emergency shelter repairs and further medical support, all areas identified as priorities by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in their flash appeal of December 31.

European foreign ministers were to fly to Egypt Sunday at the start of a Middle East trip where they hope to persuade Israeli and Palestinian leaders to move towards a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, officials said.On Monday the EU delegation will hold separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem and the West Bank before finishing their trip in Jordan.Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose nation took over the EU presidency on New Year's Day, will head the mission along with his French and Swedish counterparts plus EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.Late Saturday Schwarzenberg stressed that Israel does not have the right to take military actions which largely affect civilians, though its launching of land operations in the Gaza Strip was no surprise.

UN Security Council fails to agree on Gaza ceasefire call by Herve Couturier Herve Couturier – Sun Jan 4, 7:55 am ET

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The UN Security Council has failed to agree on a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after the United States argued a return to the situation that existed before Israel's ground invasion was unacceptable.After nearly four hours of closed-door consultations late Saturday, members of the council emerged without reaching agreement that would have asked Israel and Hamas to end eight-day hostilities that have claimed the lives of at least 460 Palestinians.The meeting was the Security Council's third since the conflict erupted on December 27.French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, who presides in the council this month, said there was no formal agreement between member states on a Gaza statement.But I have noted strong convergencies about our concern at the escalation of violence and the deterioration of the situation and strong convergencies on our call for an immediate, durable and respected ceasefire, Ripert told reporters after the meeting.A draft statement submitted earlier for the council's consideration by Libya on behalf of the Arab League had expressed serious concern about the ground invasion and called on the parties to observe an immediate ceasefire and for its full respect.However, the document made no mention of the ongoing Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli territory that Israel said prompted its retaliatory offensive against Gaza, and the British and US ambassadors said the draft seemed too partial.

US deputy envoy Alejandro Wolff, talking to reporters after the consultations, said Washington believed it was important that the region not return to the status quo that had allowed Hamas to fire rockets into Israel.The efforts we are making internationally are designed to establish a sustainable, durable ceasefire that's respected by all, Wolff said. And that means no more rocket attacks. It means no more smuggling of arms.As Israel's closest ally, Washington has regularly vetoed Security Council resolutions it sees as too critical of the Jewish state.Libyan Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi said the impasse had produced a sad day for the Security Council as it failed once again to voice its outrage at the escalation of the situation in Gaza.The Libyan draft, however, still remains on the table, and Arab foreign ministers are expected here next week to push for a ceasefire statement. They will be joined by Western-backed Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas.

And France's President Nicolas Sarkozy is due to fly to the Middle East on Monday, hoping to rally key players in the region behind a French plan to pressure Israel and Hamas to renew a failed ceasefire.The French leader will visit Egypt, the West Bank, Israel, Syria and Lebanon.Earlier in Cairo, Arab League chief Amr Mussa accused the Security Council of ignoring Israel's onslaught on Gaza, saying the delay in agreeing on a resolution was proof of failure to handle the conflict.The continuation of ... the international community and the Security Council ignoring this situation is a very dangerous thing, he told reporters at a press conference in the pan-Arab organization's Cairo headquarters.On Friday, US President George W. Bush made clear he would not condemn an Israeli ground offensive, arguing that Israel had a right to defend itself against Hamas, which is firing rockets into Israel.However, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate halt to the violence and urged Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the impoverished Palestinian territory. A statement released by Ban's office before the Security Council meeting said the secretary general had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and conveyed his extreme concern and disappointment.He called for an immediate end to the ground operation, and asked that Israel do all possible to ensure the protection of civilians and that humanitarian assistance is able to reach those in need, the statement went on to say. Permanent Palestinian observer at the United Nations Riyad Mansour warned that if the Israeli assault is not stopped immediately, thousands more Palestinian civilians will be killed and injured. This is immoral, this is illegal, this is unacceptable, and the Security Council cannot continue to sit on its hands and not force Israel to comply with its position, the position that it adopted on Sunday morning, Mansour said. UN General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto of Nicaragua called the Israeli incursion a monstrosity.
And once again, the world is watching in dismay the dysfunctionality of the Security Council, D'Escoto argued.

Brown says Israeli ground offensive dangerous moment Sun Jan 4, 5:52 am ET

LONDON (AFP) – Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Sunday that Israel's ground offensive in Gaza had created a very dangerous moment in the conflict and he called for increased efforts to secure a ceasefire.This is a very dangerous moment, Brown said in an interview with BBC television.I think everybody around the world is expressing grave concerns. What we've got to do almost immediately is to work harder than we've done for an immediate ceasefire.Brown said assurances needed to be given to both the Israelis and Hamas.He explained: I can see the Gaza issues for the Palestinians -- that they need humanitarian aid -- but the Israelis must have some assurance that there are no rocket attacks coming into Israel.So first we need an immediate ceasefire, and that includes a stopping of the rockets into Israel. Secondly, we need some resolution of the problem over arms trafficking into Gaza and, thirdly, we need the borders and the crossings open and that will need some international solution.Brown said the Arab powers had to apply pressure to ensure that the illegal tunnels used for supplying Gaza with arms were closed.He explained: I sense that the Arab powers are as worried as we are about the turn of events.What I believe has got to happen over the next few days is that we have got to work with them and of course with the United States and the European Union, and (French) President (Nicolas) Sarkozy is visiting the region tomorrow.Israeli troops pushed deep into Gaza Sunday with thousands of soldiers and scores of tanks battling Hamas fighters and moving towards the capital in a bid to end militant rocket attacks.

Israel not interested in new front in the north: PM Sun Jan 4, 5:04 am ET

TEL AVIV (AFP) – Israel is not interested in opening up a new front in the north as it carries out a massive offensive on Hamas in Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday in a veiled reference to Lebanon's Hezbollah militia.Israel has no interest in opening new fronts other than the one in the south, Olmert said at the start of the cabinet meeting. Not to the east and not to the north.But caution is required, and I have therefore instructed the defence establishment to be extremely alert and prepared for any development in the event that someone might think that this is his opportunity to take advantage of Israel focusing on the southern front in order to try and change the stable reality created following events in the past.

His comments were a thinly veiled reference to Lebanon's Hezbollah militia with which Israel fought a war in 2006 just weeks into Israel's last major offensive against the Gaza Strip.Two weeks after Israel launched its assault on Gaza in June 2006 -- after militants in the territory seized a soldier in a cross-border raid -- Hezbollah launched a deadly cross-border raid of its own in Israel's north and seized two soldiers.In response Israel unleashed a war on Hezbollah that lasted for 34 days and killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

U.S. thwarts Libyan push for Gaza truce demand at U.N. By Louis Charbonneau Louis Charbonneau – Sat Jan 3, 11:50 pm ET

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States thwarted an effort by Libya on Saturday to persuade the U.N. Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after Israel launched a ground invasion, diplomats said.French U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, currently Security Council president, told reporters after a closed-door session there was no agreement, but there (were) serious convergences to express serious concern about the crisis.The convergences of opinions among council members included the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and easing the humanitarian crisis Gazans are in, Ripert said.British Ambassador John Sawers said he was very disappointed about the council's failure to agree on a statement during Saturday's 4-hour emergency meeting.Libya, the only Arab member of the council, had circulated a draft statement expressing serious concern at the escalation of the situation in Gaza, in particular, after the launching of the Israeli ground offensive and urged all parties to observe an immediate ceasefire.But diplomats said the United States refused to back the Libyan-drafted text and killed the initiative, since council statements must be passed unanimously. Later the United States refused to back a watered-down call for a truce, the diplomats said.The United States, one of five permanent Security Council members, insists that any statement or resolution state that the Palestinian militant group Hamas is a terrorist organization that seized power in Gaza from the legitimate Palestinian Authority.U.S. envoy Alejandro Wolff said there was no point in issuing statements that Hamas, which unilaterally declared an end to a 6-month old ceasefire last month, would ignore.I don't think it does the council any good ... to issue statements that aren't going to be observed, Wolff said. Israel's self-defense is not negotiable.Libya and other Arab states oppose the U.S. view, leaving the 15-nation Security Council deadlocked on the Gaza crisis.

LAW OF THE JUNGLE

Israel launched the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, sending tanks and infantry into battle with Hamas fighters, who have defied eight days of deadly air strikes with salvos of rocket fire into Israeli towns.Israel insists its Gaza action aims to halt Hamas rocket attacks. The strip is home to 1.5 million Palestinians.Riyad Mansour, the permanent Palestinian observer to the United Nations, said it was the council's responsibility to demand that Israel stop this aggression immediately.Israel cannot continue to behave as a state above international law -- this is the law of the jungle, he said.The United States and Libya have clashed repeatedly on the Israeli-Palestinian issue since Libya joined the council a year ago, and Washington has tried to keep the topic off the agenda whenever possible.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate end to Israel's ground operation in Gaza. Speaking by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Ban conveyed his extreme concern and disappointment, his press office said in a statement.At least a quarter of the 453 Palestinians killed have been civilians, a U.N. agency said. Four Israelis have been killed by rockets that continue to pound southern Israel.(Editing by Patricia Zengerle and Chris Wilson)

Jordan king tells Blair world's Gaza 'silence' unacceptable Sat Jan 3, 4:00 pm ET

AMMAN (AFP) – Jordan's King Abdullah II told Middle East peace Quartet envoy Tony Blair on Saturday that the world's silence on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is unacceptable, the palace said.The humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated in a way that silence has become unacceptable, a palace statement quoted the king as telling Blair over the telephone.The international community should help end this tragedy and press Israel to stop its aggression and open border crossings to allow aid and evacuate the wounded, the king said, according to the statement.The Quartet includes the United States, the United Nations, the European Union, and Russia.The king and Blair discussed international efforts to halt Israel's military operations in Gaza, the statement said.Jordan plans to build a field hospital in Gaza and send daily aid shipments to densely populated and impoverished territory.On Thursday it evacuated eight Gazans from the Egyptian's city of El-Arish near Gaza to treat them in a military hospital in Amman.More than 460 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's deadly campaign against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules Gaza.

UN Security Council has failed in Gaza: Arab League Sat Jan 3, 3:55 pm ET

CAIRO (AFP) – Arab League chief Amr Mussa accused the UN Security Council on Saturday of ignoring Israel's onslaught on Gaza, saying the delay in agreeing a resolution is proof of failure to handle the conflict.Arab regimes cannot put pressure on Israel but the Security Council could pressure the Jewish state into ending its eight-day bombardment of Gaza, he said.Israel does not respect the Arabs. And we do not respect its policies, he said.A delegation of Arab foreign ministers is expected to leave for the UN's headquarters in New York on Sunday evening, he said.The continuation of... the international community and the Security Council ignoring this situation is a very dangerous thing, he told reporters at a press conference in the pan-Arab organization's Cairo headquarters.We see that its not convening is a clear proof of failure in dealing with this huge crisis and allowing Israel an opportunity, he said.Mussa also dismissed as Israeli disinformation reports that some Arab regimes have accepted or supported Israel's campaign against Hamas.He accused Israel of using banned weapons in Gaza.Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit also said in an Egyptian television interview that the Security Council was not doing its job of quickly ending the conflict, according to a BBC Monitoring transcript.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) is not doing its job or quickening its pace to shoulder its responsibilities, he said.No one should leave an operation such as this for seven days, as if it (the UNSC) wants a repetition of what happened in [the Israeli] operation in Lebanon, he added, referring to Israel's war against Hezbollah in 2006.The Security Council issued a resolution calling for a ceasefire a month into that conflict, which killed at least 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.At least 460 Palestinians have died in Israeli air strikes and naval bombardment of Gaza since Israel launched its campaign.

The US, a close ally of Israel and one of five countries with veto power in the Security Council, has said it would reject a Libyan draft resolution that called on both sides to abide by a ceasefire because it did not explicitly mention Hamas rocket attacks.Israel says it is trying to deter the Islamist Hamas movement which controls Gaza from firing rockets into Israel.Hamas rockets have killed four Israelis in the past eight days, while medics say Israel's air blitz has killed at least 460 Palestinians and wounded 2,350 others.

Israel interrupts its radio, TV broadcasts in Gaza: Hamas Sat Jan 3, 11:27 am ET

GAZA CITY (AFP) – Hamas on Saturday accused Israel of interrupting its radio and television broadcasts in Gaza as the Jewish state's deadly offensive on the Islamists entered its second week.The enemy is trying to break our frequencies... do not listen to this, said a broadcast on Al-Aqsa radio.Earlier the radio's programme was interrupted with a man's voice speaking in Hebrew-accented Arabic: Hamas leaders are hiding in the tunnels and are leaving you on the frontline of Israel's Defence Forces.Hamas leaders are lying to you and they are hiding in hospitals, he said. Launching rockets puts civilians in danger.Meanwhile a broadcast on Al-Aqsa television was interrupted with an image of a ringing phone that no one was answering.Hamas leaders are hiding and they are leaving you on the front line, says a voice in accented Arabic.The Israeli army did not have immediate comment.On Friday, Hamas's political supremo Khaled Meshaal was calling on Palestinians to rise up against Israel when his picture suddenly disappeared from the Al-Aqsa TV broadcast.Hamas has misled you and abandoned you, a man's voice said in Arabic. If you call any leader of Hamas, nobody will answer.An Al-Aqsa official said the Israeli army was behind the spoiler interruption, which was repeated several times during the broadcast of what appeared to be a pre-recorded speech.

EU team off to Middle East, hoping for Gaza truce by Paul Harrington Paul Harrington – Sat Jan 3, 9:38 am ET

BRUSSELS (AFP) – European foreign ministers set off Saturday for the Middle East where they hope to persuade Israeli and Palestinian leaders to move towards a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, officials said.Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose nation took over the EU presidency on New Year's Day, will go to the region with French and Swedish counterparts plus EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.We are going to discussing the situation, Schwarzenberg's spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova told AFP on Saturday.There is no concrete message yet. We are going to listen to our partners and we will see what we can do to obtain a ceasefire again in the region.The European Union -- the biggest foreign donor to the Palestinian territories -- is concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip after more than a week of Israeli air strikes.The foreign ministers will be seeking hard information -- not least from aid agencies on the ground -- about how much help is needed and what supplies are actually getting into Gaza.We want to find out what are the possibilities for humanitarian aid amid conflicting reports on the situation, said Opletalova by telephone from the Czech capital Prague.The key day for the tour, which will begin Sunday in Cairo, is Monday when the Europeans will meet in Jerusalem with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Jewish state's foreign and defence ministers.

From there they will go to the West Bank town of Ramallah, seat of the government of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who will be making his own separate trip to the region, will also attend the meetings in Ramallah with Abbas and his prime minister Salam Fayyad.Sarkozy embarks on his two-day, four-nation tour of the Middle East on Monday, hoping to rally support for a ceasefire in Gaza which was launched last month when France still help the rotating EU presidency.Since Israel unleashed Operation Cast Lead on December 27 in response to consistent rocket attacks from Gaza, at least 436 Palestinians have been reported killed and 2,290 wounded.At least 75 of those killed have been children, according to emergency services inside Gaza.Concerns are rising over the humanitarian situation in one of the world's poorest and most densely populated places, where the vast majority of people depend on foreign aid.The goal is an immediate ceasefire and especially a humanitarian truce. That's what we're going to ask Israel and we hope they'll accept, said Spanish Miguel Angel Moratinos this week.Israeli officials have said they could consider international calls for a pause in fighting to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. But both they and Hamas, which controls Gaza, have rebuffed appeals for a lasting truce.Euroepan Commission spokeswoman Christiane Hohmann said the EU foreign ministers' trip was a concrete example of the involvement of the 27-nation European Union in the Middle East.We have always said we are an actor in the Middle East and we want to do that, she said. Us going there is a manifestation of that.Other European officials said the European Union is keen to show show leadership as the United States awaits the inauguration on January 20 of Barak Obama as its next president. The French, Czech and Swedish foreign ministers represent the past, present and future EU presidencies. All 27 EU foreign ministers are likely to discuss Gaza when they meet in Prague next Thursday.

Muslims around the world protest Gaza assault By REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 2, 9:10 pm ET

CAIRO, Egypt – Thousands protested Friday against Israel's air offensive targeting Hamas at demonstrations in the Middle East and several continents.Similar protests have been held daily across the Middle East since Israel launched the bombing campaign last Saturday. But these gatherings held mostly after Friday prayers were larger — mainly because Friday prayers are a traditional gathering opportunity for Muslims — and seemed to be more far-reaching in the number of countries where protests occurred.The Israeli offensive has killed more than 400 Palestinians and sparked outrage among the Arab public. Israel says its offensive is aimed at silencing Hamas rockets.In Tehran, a crowd of about 6,000 stretching for a half-mile (kilometer) marched from prayers at Tehran University to Palestine Square, chanting Death to Israel and Death to America and burning Israeli flags.Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned Israel that entering Gaza by land will be the biggest mistake of the Zionist regime.Iran is a major backer of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, giving it millions of dollars. The U.S. and Israel accuse Iran of giving weapons and rockets to Hamas, though Tehran denies arming Hamas.In Egypt, authorities clamped down hard to prevent protests Friday. Hundreds of riot police surrounded Cairo's main Al-Azhar Mosque, where a rally had been called, and scuffled with would-be protesters, keeping most from approaching.Police also arrested 40 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood that called for protests.

More than 3,000 people marched in the northern Sinai city of el-Arish.Many governments in the Arab world such as Egypt have been wary about protests at home over Israel's Gaza assault lest the protests spiral out of control.In Jordan, police fired volleys of tear gas and scuffled with protesters who tried to reach the Israeli Embassy in Amman. A few of the protesters threw stones at police, but the security forces dispersed the group, arresting several.About 30,000 Jordanians gathered at a stadium in Amman shouting their support for Gaza and calling for the abolition of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty signed in 1994.More than 10,000 Muslims marched through Indonesia's capital Jakarta to protest the ongoing bombing raids in Gaza, aiming fake missiles labeled Target: Tel Aviv, Israel at the U.S. Embassy.Protests were also held after Friday prayers in other cities in the world's most populous Muslim country, in what was the largest turnout since Israel began the operation.In the Afghan capital of Kabul, about 3,000 people gathered outside a prominent mosque, according to police estimates. Men in the crowd threw stones and shoes at an effigy of President George W. Bush.Dozens of demonstrators gathered in the Philippines capital Manila, carrying placards saying Israel is a butcher of children.In Turkey, Israel's closest ally in the region, some 5,000 people denounced the Israeli raids outside a mosque in Istanbul, burning Israeli and U.S. flags and reciting funeral prayers for the victims.In Syria, some 2,000 marched in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, carrying Palestinian flags and chanting jihad will unite us.Syrian President Bashar Assad talked with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday and called on the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution forcing Israel to immediately halt its Gaza offensive, Syria's official news agency SANA reported. In Sudan, thousands marched in downtown Khartoum, urging Muslims to jihad and denouncing Israel and America.

Protests erupted as well in the Palestinian territories. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, thousands demonstrated in solidarity with Gazans, calling for Palestinian unity and accusing Arab leaders of silence over Israel's bombardment. There were also protests in the United States. Thousands gathered in Washington to express outrage over Israel's attacks, marching from the Israeli embassy Friday to the Egyptian embassy to criticize Egypt's handling of the attacks. In Los Angeles, about 350 protesters and counterprotesters demonstrated. The pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the Israeli Consulate, while supporters of Israel lined the opposite side of the street. No incidents were immediately reported. Ex-Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox and other celebrities, including activist Bianca Jagger, comedian Alexei Sayle and former London mayor Ken Livingstone, held a news conference in London demanding Israel halt the onslaught. In Sao Paulo, Brazil almost 200 people led by local Muslim leaders gathered outside the Sao Paulo Art Museum to protest the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Several demonstrators carried Palestinian flags, and banners reading End the Genocide in Gaza.In Bern, Switzerland, hundreds of people marched, calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and demanding the international community impose sanctions against Israel. Russian authorities detained about 37 people after a small protest outside the Israeli Embassy in Moscow demanding an end to attacks on the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of Muslims held a rally at the main mosque in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, hoisting banners that said Palestinian Blood Is Human Blood and shouting for Kenya to sever ties with Israel. Meanwhile, Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, the leader of al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, an offshoot of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, has issued a message urging Muslims to attack Jews everywhere, according to the SITE Intelligence, a group which monitors extremist Web sites. The message was issued on jihadist forums on Thursday, SITE said.

Israel keeps ban on foreign journalists in Gaza By DIAA HADID, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 2, 3:54 pm ET

EREZ CROSSING, Israel – Israel maintained its ban on foreign journalists entering the Gaza Strip Friday despite a recent Supreme Court order to allow a limited number of reporters to enter the territory.The ban has been in place since a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas began to fray on Nov. 5. Israel eased the ban last month but tightened it again after launching its air offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers a week ago.A legal challenge by the Foreign Press Association, which represents foreign media in Israel, prompted the court ruling this week to allow groups of up to 12 foreign journalists to cross the border whenever the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza is open for humanitarian cases.That was the case on Friday, when Israel opened the crossing to allow nearly 300 Palestinians with foreign passports to leave Gaza. But authorities defied the court order and kept reporters out.We call on the Israeli government to immediately honor the will of the court and allow foreign journalists access to Gaza, the Foreign Press Association said in a statement. The authorities' position that there was not enough time to coordinate and allow the journalists to enter does not seem reasonable.A military spokesman said Israel kept the journalists out because authorities at the crossing point were focused on processing the hundreds of Palestinians exiting Gaza.

The crossing today was overwhelmed dealing with the emergency evacuation of people, said army spokesman Peter Lerner. He said journalists might be allowed to cross on Sunday, when Israel plans to open the crossing for injured Palestinians to enter Israel for medical treatment.The ban on foreign journalists has made it more difficult for news organizations to verify the extent of damage from the offensive, the number of civilian casualties or the seriousness of humanitarian problems such as shortages of food and medicine.Some organizations, such as The Associated Press, are relying on journalists who live in Gaza and cover the conflict full-time but would normally have sent in reinforcements to cover the story more extensively.The Israeli government has long banned Israeli journalists from entering Gaza because of fears for their safety, but foreign reporters have been permitted to go in, even during times of heavy fighting.While Israel has restricted media access to Gaza in the past, a ban this long is unprecedented. Journalists have protested the restrictions as a grave blow to press freedom.

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Islamists call for blood as Israel hammers on
By Nidal al-Mughrabi JAN 2,09

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian Islamists vowed revenge against Israel on Friday for killing a senior Hamas leader and his family, and said all options including suicide bombs were now open to strike at Zionist interests everywhere.On the seventh day of an offensive aimed at stopping Hamas rockets striking southern towns, Israeli warplanes struck 20 targets and Islamist fighters fired rockets at Israel's port of Ashkelon, once again dashing international hopes of a ceasefire.One rocket blew out windows in an apartment building. Stunned residents spilled onto the street and twisted metal window frames dangled from the building.In Gaza City, less than 20 km to the south, a lucky few hundred foreign passport holders boarded buses in the pre-dawn murk to quit the Strip, with the help of the International Committee off the Red Cross, their governments and Israeli compliance.The situation is very bad. We are afraid for our children, said Ilona Hamdiya, a woman from Moldova married to a Palestinian. We are very grateful to our embassy.They left behind 1.5 million Palestinians unable to escape the conflict, a city waking up to another day of bombs, missiles, flickering electricity, queues for bread, tape-up windows and streets littered with broken glass and debris.We will not rest until we destroy the Zionist entity, said Hamas leader Fathi Hammad at the funeral of Nizar Rayyan, who was killed with four wives, eight children and four neighbors by an Israeli missile which hit his house on Thursday.Spokesman Ismail Rudwan said that following this crime, all options are now open including martyrdom operations to deter the aggression and to strike Zionist interests everywhere.

DAY OF PROTESTS

Bracing for protests and retaliatory violence a day after it killed a senior Hamas leader in an air strike on his Gaza home, Israel sealed off the occupied West Bank to deny entry to most Palestinians, and deployed heavy security at checkpoints.A pro-Hamas website urged Palestinians to take to the streets in protest.A statement by Hamas spokesman Ismail Rudwan said Israel's terrorism, massacre and holocaust will not break us and will not force us to raise a white flag ... killing begets killing and destruction begets destruction.Israeli air strikes killed two Palestinians in a house that Israel said concealed a tunnel and a weapons dump.The death toll rose to 421 as some badly wounded succumbed to their injures. A quarter of the dead were civilians, the United Nations estimates.Some 2,000 Palestinians have been wounded. The Gaza rockets, which have killed four Israelis in the past week, injured two people slightly in Ashkelon.Rayyan was the highest ranking Hamas official to be killed in the current offensive. He had called loudly for suicide bombings in Israel.

Israeli armored forces remained massed on the Gaza frontier in preparation for a possible ground invasion, ignoring international calls for a halt to the conflict.
Late on Thursday, Israeli war planes bombed the Jabalya mosque. Israeli security officials said it was a meeting place and command post for Hamas militants and the large number of secondary explosions after the strike indicated that rockets, missiles and other weapons had been stored there.Nine mosques have had been hit since it began on Saturday.I will pray at home. You never know, they may bomb the mosque and destroy it on our heads, said one man buying humus from a street stand. Another was defiant: What better than to die while kneeling before God? he said.
Analysts said Israeli leaders felt under pressure to act ahead of a February 10 national election, and surveys indicate the assaults may boost support for Barak and Livni, against frontrunner Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud party.Livni says the strikes have been effective.I think that even now, after a few days of operation we have achieved changes, she said on Thursday after talks in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. She rejected a proposed 48-hour respite in fighting, saying food aid was being allowed in and there was no humanitarian crisis in the Strip.(Writing by Douglas Hamilton; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Israel pounds Gaza as day of wrath unfurls by Sakher Abu El Oun JAN 2,09

GAZA CITY (AFP) – Israeli warplanes pounded militant targets including a mosque in Gaza on Friday as angry protests unfurled on Hamas's day of wrath against the blistering assault that has killed more than 420 people.Thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and rock-throwing youths faced off with Israeli police in Jerusalem after Hamas called for marches to follow Friday prayers.We will sacrifice our soul and our blood for Gaza, chanted the demonstrators, shouting out pro-Hamas slogans and calling on the Islamists to hit Tel-Aviv.Hamas called for the protests after an Israeli air strike killed Nizar Rayan, a firebrand hardliner, and several of his wives and children. At least 422 Palestinians have now been killed in Israel's seven-day-old blitz, with at least 25 percent of them civilians, according to a UN count.Rayan is the most senior Islamist figure killed by Israel since Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in 2004 and Hamas again warned that it could resume suicide operations against Israel for the first time since January 2005 to avenge his death.Nizar Rayan After the last crime, all options are open to counter this aggression, including martyr operations against Zionist targets everywhere, Hamas official Ismail Radwan vowed after the attack.With Israeli tanks and troops massed around Gaza for a threatened ground offensive and no ceasefire in sight, the army allowed foreigners to leave the battered enclave.The (border) crossing was specially reopened to allow foreign nationals to leave the Gaza Strip, an army spokesman told AFP, adding that more than 400 people, mostly dual nationals, were expected to cross.

The Israeli military pounded the densely populated territory for a seventh day, carrying out some 20 strikes overnight, bombing rocket launching sites and Hamas buildings, the army said.Among the targets was a mosque in the northern town of Jabaliya that the military said was a terror hub, used to stockpile weapons and as a Hamas operations centre.At least two people were killed in the latest raids, which targeted a house in Jabaliya, medics said.The Islamist movement kept firing back, sending a handful of rockets into Israeli territory overnight without causing casualties.Israel unleashed its Operation Cast Lead on Hamas in Gaza on December 27 in response to persistent rocket fire from the territory, which has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since the Islamists seized control in June 2007.Besides the Palestinians killed in the offensive, a further 2,180 have been wounded, according to medics.Gaza militants have fired more than 360 rockets into Israel, killing four people and wounding dozens more. Some of the rockets have reached deeper than ever inside Israeli territory, penetrating some 40 kilometres (24 miles) from the Gaza border.The Israeli offensive -- one of its deadliest-ever on Gaza -- has sparked angry protests in the Muslim world and defied diplomatic efforts to broker a truce.Gaza In the latest protests, tens of thousands took to the streets of Jakarta, thousands demonstrated in Afghanistan, more than 4,000 Muslims demonstrated in Sydney and hundreds of Muslims burnt Israeli flags in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni reiterated that Israel did not think the time was yet ripe for a truce after talks in Paris on Thursday with President Nicolas Sarkozy and other French leaders. Sydney The question of whether it's enough or not will be the result of our assessment on a daily basis, she said. Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Livni and Defence Minister Ehud Barak held talks well into the night and planned to continue their discussions over the weekend, Olmert's office said. UN For the time being the military operation is continuing in accordance with what has been approved by the cabinet, a government official said. Peace moves were also stalled at the UN Security Council. UN The majority of the Israeli public is supporting the Gaza offensive, with some 95 percent of Jewish residents backing the air strikes according to a survey published on Friday in the Maariv daily.

Hamas calls for revenge as Israel hits Gaza again By Nidal al-Mughrabi JAN 2,09

Reuters GAZA (Reuters) – Palestinian Islamists vowed revenge on Israel on Friday for killing a senior Hamas leader and his family, and said all options including suicide bombs were now open to strike at Zionist interests everywhere.There was no sign of a ceasefire on the seventh day of the conflict, in which at least 424 Palestinians have been killed and 2,000 wounded. Four Israelis have been killed by Palestinian rockets.Israel pressed on relentlessly with more than 30 air strikes, one of which killed three Palestinian children aged between eight and 12 as they played on a street near the town of Khan Yunis in the south of the Strip. One was decapitated.

These injuries are not survivable injuries, said Madth Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor at Gaza's Shifa hospital who could not save another boy who had both feet blown off. This is a murder. This is a child, he said.Islamist fighters fired rockets at Israel's port of Ashkelon one of which blew out windows in an apartment building.In Gaza City, a lucky few hundred foreign passport holders boarded buses in the pre-dawn murk to quit the Strip, with the help of the International Committee off the Red Cross, their governments and Israeli compliance.The situation is very bad. We are afraid for our children, said Ilona Hamdiya, a woman from Moldova married to a Palestinian. We are very grateful to our embassy.They left behind 1.5 million Palestinians unable to escape the conflict, a city facing another day of bombs, missiles, flickering electricity, queues for bread, taped-up windows and streets littered with broken glass and debris.We will not rest until we destroy the Zionist entity, said Hamas leader Fathi Hammad at the funeral of Nizar Rayyan, who was killed along with four wives and 11 children by an Israeli missile which hit his house on Thursday.Spokesman Ismail Rudwan said that following this crime, all options are now open including martyrdom operations to deter the aggression and to strike Zionist interests everywhere.

PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT

Bracing for protests and retaliatory violence, Israel sealed off the occupied West Bank to deny entry to most Palestinians and beefed up security at checkpoints.There were protests by Palestinians in major West Bank cities. In Ramallah, Hamas supporters scuffled with the Fatah faction of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, taunting them as collaborators. Elsewhere, protesters stoned soldiers at checkpoints and some were wounded by rubber bullets.In the Jordanian capital, Amman, riot police fired teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters marching on the Israeli embassy, chanting: No Jewish embassy on Arab land.A statement from Gaza by Hamas spokesman Ismail Rudwan said Israel's terrorism, massacre and holocaust will not break us and will not force us to raise a white flag ... killing begets killing and destruction begets destruction.The death toll rose to 424 as some badly wounded succumbed to their injuries and a morning strike killed two Palestinians in a house Israel said concealed a tunnel and a weapons dump.A quarter of the dead are civilians, the U.N. estimates, and some 2,000 Palestinians have been wounded. Gaza rockets have killed four Israelis in the south over the past week.The bearded cleric Rayyan, who mentored suicide bombers and sent one of his sons on a martyrdom mission, was the highest ranking Hamas official to be killed in the current offensive. He had called loudly for bombings in Israeli cities. Israel's armored forces remained massed on the Gaza frontier in preparation for a possible ground invasion, despite international calls for a halt to the conflict. An Israeli naval vessel lying offshore fired at a greenhouse in southern Gaza. Late on Thursday, Israeli war planes bombed the Jabalya mosque. Israeli security officials said it was a meeting place and command post for Hamas militants and the large number of secondary explosions after the strike indicated that rockets, missiles and other weapons had been stored there. Nine mosques have had been hit since last Saturday. I will pray at home. You never know, they may bomb the mosque and destroy it on our heads, said one man buying humus from a street stand. Another was defiant: What better than to die while kneeling before God? he said. (Writing by Douglas Hamilton; Editing by Keith Weir)

Kashmiris condemn Israeli attacks on Gaza JAN 2,09

SRINAGAR (AFP) – Hundreds of Muslims burnt Israeli flags Friday and chanted anti-Israel and anti-US slogans as they staged a protest in insurgency-hit Indian Kashmir against the attacks on Gaza.Carrying pro-Palestinian banners and portraits of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, hundreds of Kashmiri Muslims marched through the streets of the summer capital Srinagar chanting, death to Israel and death to US.
Look how they are killing Muslims and no one seems to be bothered, said Akbar Ali, one of the protesters.Kashmir is in the grip of a nearly two-decade old insurgency against Indian rule that has so far left more than 47,000 people dead by official count.At least 420 Palestinians have died in a seven day blitz by Israel, while rockets fired from Gaza have claimed four Israeli lives.Israel on Wednesday rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire to help humanitarian efforts, and tanks and troops are now massed for a threatened ground offensive.Hamas has called for a day of wrath on Friday in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, with massive marches after weekly Muslim prayers.

Captured Israeli soldier's fate becomes murky By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 2, 5:09 am ET

JERUSALEM – The fate of an Israeli army sergeant captured by Hamas and being held in Gaza has become murkier with the massive Israeli assault on the Palestinian territory.Gilad Schalit, 22, was captured in June 2006 in a deadly cross-border raid by Hamas-allied militants on an outpost guarded by his tank unit.Since then, he has become an Israeli national obsession. Musicians have composed songs in his honor, activists have staged a permanent demonstration outside the prime minister's house and world leaders have tried to mediate his release.Although Israel has no direct political contact with the Islamic militant group, it has bargained fiercely for Schalit's freedom. Israel is willing to trade several hundred of its more than 8,000 Palestinian prisoners for Schalit, but negotiations have been bogged down by sharp disagreements over which prisoner would be freed.After launching an intensive aerial bombardment against Hamas on Saturday, a senior Israeli military officer said Israel was not prepared to let Schalit's safety drive its strategy. He spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss policy issues.The officer indicated Israel would demand Schalit's release as part of any deal to end the fighting in Gaza, but it was not likely to be a deal-breaker. His name barely has been mentioned as Israeli leaders list their minimum conditions for a new cease-fire.Photographs of Schalit, who also holds French citizenship, show a fresh faced teenager — he was 19 when captured — and he is described as polite, a sports enthusiast and a good student.Nothing has been heard from him in six months, his father Noam told The Associated Press Thursday. Noam Schalit declined to be interviewed further, while the Israeli attacks on Gaza were continuing.As Israeli planes hammered Gaza's infrastructure and targeted its leaders and fighters, Hamas invoked Schalit's name to taunt its enemy.

Of course, Gilad is now frightened, he's terrified, an anchor on Hamas television said Thursday. He must be asking himself, What's happening right now? What will happen to me? A Hamas statement broadcast on radio challenged the Israelis to send ground troops into the Gaza. We are waiting for you to enter Gaza to kill you or make you into Schalits.Winning the return of Israeli captives — or even their corpses — is a cardinal tenet of the Israeli military, and lopsided prisoner exchanges have been common in the past. Soldiers are trained never to abandon comrades on the battlefield. The capture of two Israeli soldiers on the Lebanese border by Hezbollah, a Shiite Islamic militia allied to Hamas, was the trigger that set off the 2006 Israeli war in Lebanon.Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a candidate for prime minister in next month's elections, angered many Israelis recently when she appeared to waver on Israel's commitment toward Schalit.Although everyone wanted to see Schalit return safely, she said, it is not a question of what we want or don't want. It is a question of what is and isn't possible. Not everything can be done.Vice Premier Haim Ramon, indicating frustration at failing to free Schalit during a six-month truce with Hamas, said Thursday the Israeli assault on Gaza could only improve his chances. The truce brought us no closer to returning Gilad Schalit. I am convinced that if there is a different reality at the end of this operation it will assist to bringing Gilad Schalit home.

Thousands of Australian Muslims rally for peace in Gaza Fri Jan 2, 2:08 am ET

SYDNEY (AFP) – Thousands of Muslims staged a protest in Sydney Friday against Israeli attacks on Gaza after several local mosques urged worshippers to attend the rally rather than traditional prayers.Bearing pro-Palestinian flags and banners, a crowd of more than 4,000 flocked to Parry Park in the city's Islamic heartland to demonstrate and pray for the victims of renewed violence in the Middle East.Five local mosques had closed their doors on the first traditional day of worship in the new year, asking Muslims to attend the vigil instead.Local imam Ibrahim Abu Mohammad led the service, urging Israel to recognise a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and agree to a ceasefire.Israel is committing an act of terrorism. It's the duty of all the free people in the world to stand against it and stop this evil, he said.This nation has many greeds, it is built on a philosophy of transgression. Their hearts do not have any mercy.A makeshift coffin draped in the Palestinian flag was carried before the crowd, followed by a procession of eight imams.Women and men were separated by an expanse of grass, but they moved as one, folding to their knees with foreheads pressed to the ground in supplication.At least 420 Palestinians have died in a seven day blitz by Israel, while rockets fired from Gaza have claimed four Israeli lives.

Israel on Wednesday rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire to help humanitarian efforts, and tanks and troops are now massed for a threatened ground offensive.Hamas has called for a day of wrath on Friday in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, with massive marches after weekly Muslim prayers.

Saudis arrest two over Riyadh pro-Gaza protest: report Thu Jan 1, 6:44 pm ET

RIYADH (AFP) – Two activists who attempted to stage a demonstration against the Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip were arrested in the Saudi capital on Thursday, a Saudi rights groups said.Human Rights First Society said that the two activists, Khalid al-Omeir and Mohammed al-Otaibi, were arrested by police as they arrived at the site of the planned protest in south Riyadh.The arrests came a day after the interior ministry denied organisers permission to hold the rally on the grounds that demonstrations are banned in Saudi Arabia.A member of the group also told AFP that a prominent Saudi cleric who called for attacks on Israelis had also been arrested on Tuesday in the southern city of Abha.Sheikh Awad al-Qarni had on Sunday issued a religious edict encouraging attacks on Israelis everywhere in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip.All (Israeli) interests, and anything else related to Israel, are a permitted target for Muslims everywhere, Qarni said in the fatwa.On Monday police fired rubber bullets to break up rare protests involving hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Qatif and Safwa in the eastern part of the country.According to Human Rights First, 10 people were arrested in the Qatif protest.Saudi Arabia has strongly criticised Israel for its six-day-old bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip, which has left more than 400 people dead.

On eve of his death, Hamas leader in Gaza predicted victory by Adel Zaanoun Adel Zaanoun – Thu Jan 1, 3:52 pm ET

JABALIYA, Gaza Strip (AFP) – The day before a powerful blast sent his headless body flying out of his Gaza home on Thursday, senior Hamas leader Nizar Rayan predicted that the Islamist movement would defeat Israel.God willing, Hamas will win, Rayan said in a vitriol-laden speech that the movement's television broadcast just after he, his four wives and 10 of his children were killed in the Israeli blitz of the Gaza Strip on Thursday.Rayan, 51, was among the top ranked leaders in Hamas and was its most senior figure to have been killed since Israel unleashed a massive bombardment on Saturday in response to persistent rocket fire from the enclave.

Israeli F-16 jets fired two missiles at Rayan's five-storey house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. The powerful explosion hurled his decapitated body out into the street, according to witnesses.It was like an earthquake, a neighbour said of the massive blast.A dozen neighbouring houses were destroyed or damaged in the blast which also killed two neighbours and brought to 420 the death toll since Operation Cast Lead started.The Israeli air force said the secondary blasts demonstrated the house was used for weapons storage, and claimed it was also a communication centre. In addition, a tunnel was located under the house and was used for the escape of terror operatives, it said.In the minutes following the strike, dozens of people rushed to the scene, pulling bodies from the rubble including those of the two girls, aged seven and 10.A neighbour, Mohammed Al-Madhun, 75 watched flames emerging from his building but refused to leave.I want to die like Sheikh Nizar, he said, using the bearded Hamas commander's honorary title.Rayan was a hardliner within the Islamist movement.A few months after Hamas seized control of Gaza in June 2007, Rayan vowed at a Gaza City rally that the Islamists would also seize control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank which is administered by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.A skilled orator, he was known for his vitriolic attacks against both Israel and the Western-backed Abbas he claimed colluded with the Zionist enemy.In his latest speech delivered on the eve of his death and broadcast by Al-Aqsa TV on Thursday, Rayan insisted Hamas would never cave in.With tanks massed just outside Gaza and Israel threatening a ground offensive, he defiantly declared: We will know how to kill and capture soldiers and how to rout them.

Egypt FM: Hamas must stop rockets in any truce By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 1, 3:23 pm ET

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt's foreign minister said Thursday that Hamas must ensure rocket fire stops in any truce deal to halt Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip, criticizing the Palestinian militants for giving Israel an excuse to launch the bombardment.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit's comments came as Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Egypt's president, part of a tour by the Turkish leader to work out an Egyptian-Turkish initiative to end the violence.The initiative calls for a halt to Israel's assault, a return to a Hamas-Israel truce and an international mechanism to ensure the opening of Gaza's border crossings.The Turkish leader, speaking in a news conference in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheik after meeting with Hosni Mubarak, called on Israel to halt its attacks and on Hamas to stop firing rockets on Israel.Erdogan said there must be a cease-fire now before it is too late.The Turkish leader met a day earlier with Syrian President Bashar Assad and was expected to be in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Erdogan also said he sent a representative to meet Hamas leaders, but did not elaborate.Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of Hamas, told The Associated Press that Hamas officials met with Erdogan's representative Thursday in Damascus, Syria to discuss Gaza. Marzouk also emphasized that Hamas will not agree to a cease-fire that doesn't include lifting the siege of Gaza and opening the border crossings.The Egyptian foreign minister said any eventual truce agreement should include a mechanism to oversee that everything proceeds without one side causing problems with the other. He told journalists that the mechanism could involve international forces or Arab forces or just observers.It was not clear whether the monitors proposed by Aboul Gheit would be to ensure the truce or be limited to observing border crossings, one of the central issues in the dispute over Gaza because of Israeli fears of smuggling of weapons.Israeli officials have said they want international monitors to ensure compliance with any truce.Aboul Gheit said Israel must immediately stop its offensive, but he insisted Hamas must commit to enforcing a halt to rockets. We expect the Palestinian side to say that if a cease-fire is announced, we'll stop firing rockets, he said, although he warned that some loose group can decide to continue firing rockets and make it difficult to have a cease-fire.

He criticized Hamas, saying Egypt had seen the signals that Israel was determined to strike Hamas in Gaza for the past three months. They practically wrote it in the sky.
Unfortunately, they (Hamas) served Israel the opportunity on a golden platter to hit Gaza,he said.U.S. allied governments such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which have been critical of Hamas, are worried its control of the Gaza Strip gives their regional rival Iran, which has supported Hamas, a foothold in the region.The Israeli onslaught, which has killed some 400 Palestinians since last Saturday, had hiked tempers between pro-U.S. countries on one side and Hamas' supporters, Syria and Iran, on the other.Egypt in particular has come under harsh criticism for not opening up the Rafah crossing, the only access to Gaza that does not go through Israel. Its opponents accuse Egypt of joining Israel in blockading the territory in an attempt to remove Hamas, which took control in the tiny coastal strip in 2007 in fierce battles with loyalists of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Aboul Gheit repeated Egypt's argument that it cannot open Rafah unless Abbas' Palestinian Authority — which runs the West Bank — controls the crossing and international monitors are present. Egypt has opened Rafah during the Israeli attacks to allow some Palestinian wounded and medical supplies in and out of Gaza.He said Hamas wants Rafah opened permanently because it would represent implicit Egyptian recognition of the militant group's control of Gaza. Of course this is something we cannot do, Aboul Gheit said, because it would undermine the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority and consecrate the split between Gaza and the West Bank.Aboul Gheit said Egypt had proposed that Arab foreign ministers who gathered in Cairo Wednesday request Hamas allow Palestinian Authority control of Rafah. But Syria rejected the proposal, he said. Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria contributed to this report.

Israelis feel empowered by attacks against Hamas By MATTI FRIEDMAN and ARON HELLER, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 1, 3:22 pm ET

JERUSALEM – Israel's crushing aerial assault on Gaza has caused a significant shift in the country's mood, replacing lingering helplessness and frustration over Hamas rocket attacks with a sense of might and vindication.Leaders who were unpopular only a week ago have suddenly surged in the public's esteem. But that could change quickly if the fighting drags on or Israel starts taking heavy casualties.In downtown Ashkelon, a southern Israeli city that has come under rocket fire, a pair of plumbers hung up a handwritten sign praising the Gaza operation's mastermind, Defense Minister Ehud Barak.That's a dramatic change for Barak, a former prime minister whose approval ratings were until recently so dismal that his own election slogans acknowledged he was unpopular.We've got a great defense minister. Everyone thought he wasn't going to do anything but he tricked them and gave them a blow they won't forget, said Ziv Barda, 28, who works for a car rental company in Ashkelon. Finally someone decided enough is enough.With rockets exploding across Israel's south and at least an eighth of the country's population now within rocket range, Israelis appear to be coming together behind the country's leadership and the military as jets, helicopters and navy vessels continued to pound Gaza for a sixth straight day.A poll Thursday showed that 52 percent of Israelis want to continue the aerial campaign, while only 20 percent would like to see a cease-fire. Just 19 percent want to see a threatened ground offensive take place, presumably because that would mean casualties in the army's ranks.Four Israelis have been killed by rocket fire since the offensive began Saturday. Gaza officials now say more than 400 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory.In Sderot, a working-class border town that has been bombarded by thousands of Hamas rockets in recent years, residents said they haven't been this satisfied in a long time. On Wednesday, they cheered to each sound of distant explosions from Israeli airstrikes.

You see people walking with their heads up in the air again. Finally there is some hope, said Itzik Biton, 38, who sells falafel at a fast-food stand.Tammy Hovel, 31, said her children were cramped in shelters and that her bakery was suffering, but she was nonetheless encouraged.We're going to get hit either way, so at least they are doing something, Hovel said. And people elsewhere are starting to understand what we've had to deal with.With national elections approaching on Feb. 10, the Israeli assault on Gaza has boosted support for Barak's Labor Party, the standard-bearer for Israel's peace camp, by making it look tough.The poll showed overall support for moderate and centrist parties going up, while support for hard-line and religious parties went down — leaving each side with half the seats in parliament if elections were held today.The survey, carried out by the Dialog company, showed jumps in the approval ratings for Israel's top three leaders — Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.We feel that the government is finally supporting us, Biton said. True, rockets are falling and we are losing money. But we'll suffer for a month and then we'll be done with this.The poll appeared Thursday in the daily Haaretz newspaper. It surveyed 472 people and had a margin of error of 4.6 percentage points.But the opposition Likud Party, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, is still the front-runner, and the government's popularity might be brief. A good mood is to be expected at the beginning of a war, said Tel Aviv University pollster Camil Fuchs, who oversaw the survey. When Israel went to war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon in the summer of 2006, the government's initially sky-high approval ratings evaporated when deaths mounted. Some 159 Israelis were killed during the monthlong war. It's very fluid — it could change in a day if a missile hits somewhere and we have more casualties, Fuchs said.

Along the Gaza border, Israeli bystanders and police officers stopped their vehicles on the side of the road Thursday to watch Israeli helicopters, drones and fighter jets strike targets in Gaza, cheering with each deafening explosion. But the cheers would die out fast if ground forces go in, get bogged down in Gaza's densely populated urban areas and start taking casualties, or if rocket fire continues to paralyze life in the south. Israel's army declared Thursday that its ground troops are ready to invade. We are spoiled and impatient — we like our wars short, said Israeli historian Tom Segev. If fighting goes on too long, or if it ends with an inconclusive cease-fire, Segev said, Israelis will turn on the government as they did after the Lebanon war. The mood will change fast, he said. Matti Friedman reported from Jerusalem. Aron Heller reported from Sderot and Ashkelon, Israel.

Israeli minister: Gaza decisions made day-by-day By JOELLE DIDERICH, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 1, 1:38 pm ET

PARIS – Any decision by Israel to end fighting in Gaza will depend on a daily assessment of its military operations against the militant Islamic group Hamas, the Israeli foreign minister said Thursday in Paris.Tzipi Livni reiterated that a pause in Israel's six-day assault on Gaza would depend on Hamas suspending rocket attacks on southern Israel.We affected most of the infrastructure of terrorism in Gaza Strip, and the question (of) whether it's enough or not will be according to our assessment on a daily basis, Livni told reporters after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and her French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner.Sarkozy, who made no statement after meeting Livni, has been vocal in the diplomatic push for peace in Gaza and is set to travel to the Middle East next week.Livni said the violence could only stop completely once Hamas showed an understanding that enough is enough.She said Hamas had taken advantage of a six-month truce with Israel that expired last month to build up its arsenal.Even when we accept something in order to have a peaceful period of time, they abuse it in order to get stronger and to attack Israel later on, Livni said at the news conference in the courtyard of the Elysee presidential palace.The minister gave no details of her hourlong meeting with Sarkozy, but thanked him for "standing for the right thing.France chaired an emergency European Union meeting Tuesday to discuss the Gaza conflict.Sarkozy plans to meet Monday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah before dining with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem. On Tuesday, the French president will travel to Syria and Lebanon for further talks.Livni also said Israel was doing its best to help Gaza civilians caught in the cross fire.More than 400 residents have been killed and about 1,700 wounded in the renewed fighting, Gaza health officials said. Israeli officials rejected calls for a 48-hour pause in fighting, which France had campaigned for to ensure humanitarian aid could get to victims.Israel distinguished the war against terror, against Hamas members, from the civil population in Gaza Strip and in doing so, we keep the humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip completely as it should be. The crossings are open, more than it used to be before the military operation, she said.(This version CORRECTS time element in lede)

Bush stance on cease-fire shows support for Israel By ROBERT BURNS, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 1, 4:23 am ET

WASHINGTON – By insisting that Hamas go first in any cease-fire with Israel, the Bush administration is sticking to its support for the Jewish state's right of self-defense while stopping short of encouraging an Israeli ground assault aimed at fully reoccupying the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.The Bush administration on Wednesday asserted its desire for a halt to the fighting but also made clear its view that the first step in any cease-fire will require Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rejects Israel's right to exist, to agree to stop firing rockets from Gaza into Israel now and in the future.From his ranch in Crawford, Texas, President George W. Bush telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for the first time since the conflict escalated last weekend. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice worked the phones with other leaders in the region.I think President Bush thinks that Hamas needs to stop firing rockets and that is what will be the first step in a cease-fire, White House deputy press secretary Gordon Johndroe told reporters. He said Hamas also needs to stop smuggling weapons into Gaza — a move that would show they don't intend to continue to target Israel.So I think they're certainly on the same page on that, Johndroe said of Bush and Olmert, briefing reporters on their phone call.Israel so far has resisted mounting international pressure to suspend its devastating air offensive in Gaza, which has enraged the Arab world. It sent more troops and tanks to the border as signs of an impending ground invasion multiplied.

The U.N. Security Council met Wednesday night to consider an Arab request for a legally binding resolution that would condemn Israel and halt the attacks. But the U.S. called a draft resolution unacceptable because it made no mention of halting the Hamas rockets. A vote on a resolution was not expected before Monday, Sudan's U.N. ambassador said.Although the Bush administration has only three weeks left in office, the Gaza crisis could look considerably different by the time President-elect Barack Obama and his designated secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, take office. And it is only one element of the broader challenges in the Middle East.

Two prominent Mideast analysts, Martin Indyk and Richard N. Haass, argued in an essay published this week by the Council on Foreign Affairs and the Brookings Institution that the Obama administration should push for a peace deal between Israel and Syria as a way of diminishing Iran's influence in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon.The Israeli air offensive is a response to rockets fired by Hamas militants. At least four Israelis have been killed, including three civilians. Gaza officials put the death toll from the Israeli retaliatory strikes at more than 390 dead and 1,600 wounded.France has urged Israel to halt its operation for 48 hours, but that proposal seemed to be overcome by events. Olmert discussed the idea with his defense and foreign ministers, but the trio decided to pursue the aerial bombing campaign.Calls for an immediate cease-fire that would be fully respected by Hamas and by Israel have also come from the U.S., the European Union, the United Nations and Russia, the group known as the Quartet.Asked if the president was disappointed that Israel hadn't accepted or responded to the international calls for a cease-fire, Johndroe put the onus squarely on Hamas.President Bush is disappointed that Hamas continues to fire rockets onto the innocent people of Israel, he said.

I think, probably, from the prime minister's perspective, an end to the violence first means that Hamas stops firing rockets into Israel. And then Israel won't need to go after the rocket launchers.Johndroe blamed Iran and Syria for supplying weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah.I'm not going to get into any specifics on supplies from Iran and Syria that we've seen over the last few days, he said. But there is no doubt that Iran and Syria are the ones who have assisted Hamas with their weapons acquisition, and that's a problem.Rice, meanwhile, continued her telephone diplomacy with officials in the region, pressing them on the need for a durable and sustainable cease-fire. Rice has said she plans a final diplomatic trip early next week to Beijing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of U.S-Chinese relations. U.S. officials say there will be other stops but have not disclosed them. Rice spoke Wednesday with Jordanian Foreign Minister Salaheddine Al-Bashir, their third conversation since Tuesday, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said. Rice spoke three times on Tuesday with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates and once each with Olmert, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Ahmed Aboul Gheith, the foreign minister of Egypt, he said. Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann in Crawford, Texas, Ibrahim Barzak and Matti Friedman in Gaza City, Gaza, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

UN Security Council takes up Arab resolution on Gaza by Herve Couturier Herve Couturier – Thu Jan 1, 3:00 am ET

UNITED NATIONS, (AFP) – Libya presented a draft resolution from the Arab League to a UN Security Council emergency meeting that calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.The draft resolution strongly condemns all military attacks and the excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by Israel, the occupying power, which have led to the death and injury of scores of innocent Palestinian civilians, including women and children.It calls for an immediate ceasefire and for its full respect by both sides.It also calls on Israel to scrupulously abide by all of its obligations under international humanitarian law, particularly under the Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilians in time of war.The 15-member council is now expected to convene a public debate on the draft resolution that includes representatives from Israel, Egypt, the Arab League and the Palestinian territories.The resolution makes no mention of the ongoing Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli territory that Israel said prompted its retaliatory offensive against Gaza.At the start of the emergency council meeting -- requested by Egypt and Libya on behalf of Arab nations at the UN -- the British and American ambassadors to the United Nations said the draft resolution seemed too partial at first reading.This resolution as currently circulated by Libya is not balanced and therefore, as currently drafted, it is not acceptable to the United States, US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters.

Israel's closest ally, Washington has regularly vetoed Security Council resolutions seen as too critical of Israel.We will study the text carefully but ... any resolution will need to reflect the responsibilities of all parties, said Britain's UN Ambassador John Sawers, adding: There is no mention so far of the rocket attacks that have triggered the Israeli offensive.Sudan's UN ambassador Abdalmahmud Abdalhaleem Mohamad and Arab League representative Yahya Mahmassani said the Council would likely meet at the foreign minister-level in the coming days, with at least eight Arab countries participating.Foreign ministers from Arab League nations meeting in Cairo Wednesday called for a binding UN resolution requiring an immediate halt to hostilities.A delegation headed by chief Saudi diplomat Prince Saud al-Faisal with foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Qatar and Syria, a Palestinian representative and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa will likely come to UN headquarters to argue the Arab League's case, Mohamad said.

The Sudanese ambassador said a Security Council meeting with these representatives could be held Sunday or Monday.The draft resolution also calls for the immediate and sustained opening of the border crossings of the Gaza Strip, and the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries to its population.It stresses the need for restoration of calm in full in order to pave the way for resolving all issues in a peaceful manner within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.The text appears to have been amended since an initial version was released to the press in Cairo. It no longer includes a call for Israel to stop its barbaric aggression, lift its blockade of Gaza and stop the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas also appealed Wednesday for a UN resolution imposing a ceasefire. Abbas is set to meet Monday with the UN Security Council to discuss the situation. Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since ousting Abbas loyalists in June 2007. Despite winning Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, Hamas has since been boycotted by much of the West for refusing to recognize Israel.

Israel's pounding of Gaza began after the December 19 expiry of a six-month truce with Hamas brokered by Egypt and a resumption of rocket fire by Gaza-based militants. The Arab League talks were taking place as Israel rejected world calls for a truce and vowed to press ahead with its deadly Gaza offensive. Hamas on Wednesday vowed to fight until the last breath if Israel makes good on threats to send ground troops into Gaza. The Israeli attacks have so far lasted five days, killing 398 Palestinians, including 180 civilians, and wounding close to 2,000, according to Gaza emergency services.

Israel targets Gaza mosques used by Hamas By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 1, 2:34 am ET

JERUSALEM – Mosques and Muslim prayer halls have not escaped the relentless bombardment of Hamas targets in Gaza by Israel, which claims the Islamic militants misuse some of the holy sites as weapons depots and command centers.Yuval Diskin, the head of the Shin Bet security service, told the Israeli Cabinet Wednesday that Hamas leaders were taking shelter in the mosques on the assumption that Israel will not attack.Israeli bombs have damaged at least five mosques and two prayer halls during the five-day air campaign against Hamas facilities, according to a count by The Associated Press in Gaza.Israel historically has struck mosques when it deems them legitimate targets, although it is wary of the potential outrage from the Muslim world and sensitive to its own painful history of the desecration of synagogues.But Wednesday's air strike that left Gaza City's Tel Al-Hawa mosque in ruins, with only its minaret remaining upright, was deliberate.A security official said Israeli intelligence — probably surveillance aircraft — saw missiles being fired outside the mosque and the men who launched them running inside the building. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss intelligence operations.Worshippers denied the mosque was a military outpost.

This is a slap on the face of all Muslims, said area resident Iyad Akram, who prayed there just hours before it was leveled. This is a mosque, a holy site, and not the first one in this ugly war to be targeted by the Jews.The Israeli army spokesman's office said the mosque was hit because terrorists were hoarding weapons inside and using the compound to launch missiles.The strike set off numerous secondary explosions, caused by the munitions stockpiled in the mosque, the spokesman said. Israel would continue to attack militant targets, even if they (Hamas) cynically choose to operate from locations of religious or cultural significance.The small neighborhood mosque was built six years ago near the site of a Jewish settlement that was abandoned when Israel evacuated its civilians from Gaza in 2005.It's a mosque. You can't hide a tank. You can't hide anything inside, said Akram, a 38-year-old technician.Hamas' bitter Palestinian foe, the Fatah movement, also has accused the Islamists of storing weapons in the basements of mosques. Mosques also are commonly used as community centers and meeting halls, and a convenient place for Hamas leaders to gather.Hamas has controlled all the mosques in Gaza since it expelled Fatah in a fratricidal war in 2007.Even when not targets themselves, mosques have suffered collateral damage during Israeli air strikes. On Wednesday, windows were shattered at the Al Nasr mosque northwest of Gaza when an Israeli warplane bombed a money exchange office. Israel accused the money changers of laundering illicit funds.

Canada calls for sustainable and durable ceasefire in Gaza Wed Dec 31, 9:53 pm ET

OTTAWA, (AFP) – Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon called for a sustainable and durable ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip after nearly 400 Palestinians have died since Israeli air raids began Saturday.Cannon spoke to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and several of his counterparts, including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Tzipi Livni of Israel, Palestinian diplomatic chief Riyad al-Maliki, France's Bernard Kouchner and Egypt's Ahmed Abul Gheit.

Minister Cannon repeated Canada's call to all parties to reach a sustainable and durable ceasefire. The Minister reiterated his grave and growing concern with the loss of lives and suffering, and the disturbing humanitarian situation, the ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.He also called on all parties and the international community to commit to the peace process.Cannon also repeated that the deliberate and constant targeting of civilians by Hamas was the main reason for these unfortunate events.The Canadian diplomatic chief urged his counterparts to take additional steps to ensure humanitarian access to those in need in Gaza.The ministry advised against all travel to Gaza.As diplomats scrambled to find a way to stop one of Israel's deadliest ever offensives against the Gaza Strip -- which has so far killed nearly 400 Palestinians -- the UN Security Council began consultations on a draft resolution about the Gaza conflict proposed by Libya on behalf of a group of Arab countries, diplomats said.The Islamist movement Hamas, which has controlled the Palestinian enclave since June 2007, vowed to fight until the last breath if Israel makes good on threats to send ground troops into Gaza after rejecting calls for a truce and pressing on with its air assault.

Israelis detail combat sorties over Gaza By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 31, 8:54 pm ET

JERUSALEM – Israeli jet fighters have flown 500 bombing missions in its offensive against Gaza-based Hamas, a senior officer said Wednesday. There have also been hundreds of combat sorties by helicopter gunships and surveillance aircraft, both manned and unmanned.The targets included command posts of the Islamic militant movement, some 130 missile launch sites, munitions dumps and individuals who appeared to be carrying weapons. Also among them was a Hamas center, the Islamic University, which the officer described as a weapons research facility.He said 95 percent of the targets were hit, and no major targets remained standing.Now the objective is to hunt down missile launchers and fighters one-by-one, said the officer, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

Describing a typical mission, the officer said it often begins when spy planes identify trucks or fighters transporting what could be a missile launcher.
Information on the target is fed into the command center, where a commander clears the mission. The data is relayed to the weapons system on board an F16 jet fighter, which plots the target. The pilot flies into position, and the bomb is released automatically, guided by laser beam onto the missile launcher.Just like a GPS telling you exactly where you are, we know exactly where the target is, he said.As the officer outlined the precision bombing, the reach of Israeli intelligence became apparent.Seeking to avoid civilian casualties, he said, an automated telephone service dials the phones of residents of a targeted building, warning them to evacuate. He shrugged when asked how Israel obtained the numbers.Since the air strikes began Saturday, most of the nearly 400 casualties have been Hamas fighters or officials, but dozens of civilians also have been killed.

Short-term goal is not to overthrow Hamas: Israeli FM Livni Wed Dec 31, 7:40 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told ABC television Wednesday that Israel's short-term goal in Gaza is not overthrowing Hamas.The only way that the Palestinians can create a state is also by changing the situation in Gaza ... So the changes in Gaza and the changes of regime are needed also to create this vision of two states ... or to translate it into reality, she said.Overthrowing Hamas, she added, is not the goal of the current operation, but at the end of the day, Gaza controlled by Hamas is a problem to Israel, a problem to the Palestinians and a problem to the entire region.Livni justified Israel's rejection of a truce in the fighting in Gaza because the humanitarian situation is not dire, and because knowing Hamas ... they are going to abuse any kind of ceasefire in order to put ... themselves in a better position for the next attack.Asked about the likelihood of a ground assault on Gaza by Israeli forces, the foreign minister said: I don't know yet. Everything is prepared. We started with the air force ... and we are making our decisions on a daily basis.And now it depends on the ability of Hamas and the willingness of Hamas to stop and to give the Palestinians also hope for a better life, she added.The actions in Gaza have so far lasted five days, killed nearly 400 Palestinians and left more than 1,900 wounded, according to Gaza emergency services.

Hezbollah-like tactic used by Hamas against Israel By PAMELA HESS, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 31, 5:43 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Since taking control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Hamas has adopted the rocket tactics used by Lebanese Hezbollah, shifting away from its reliance on suicide bombers in attacks on Israel.Part of that shift may be attributable to Hamas' arsenal of longer-range rockets. Several Israeli towns that had previously been out of reach of Hamas' rockets now are being hit by them.Hamas rockets have struck the large southern cities of Beersheba and Ashdod, home of Israel's largest port, for the first time since the militant group broke its cease-fire with Israel on Dec. 19.A former U.S. intelligence official said Hamas is now using Iranian versions of the Katyusha and Grad rockets with a range of 18.6 to 21.7 miles. The new rockets dramatically extend Hamas' reach.Hamas had relied heavily on the shorter-range homemade Qassams that fly only up to 1.8 miles, the former official said. He spoke anonymously in order to discuss Israeli intelligence.The rockets do not have guidance systems so are indiscriminate in targeting. But that makes them well suited for a barrage on a town or a dispersed battlefield of soldiers, particularly if fired in great numbers.National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe on Wednesday told reporters in Crawford, Texas, that there is no doubt both Iran and Syria are supplying Hamas with weapons. Iran has long been suspected of providing financial support to the militant Palestinian group.A U.S. counterterrorism official, however, said many of Hamas' rockets are cobbled together in a rudimentary way by militants in Gaza from parts smuggled into the region. The official, who declined to discuss numbers, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss foreign intelligence.In the monthlong 2006 conflict with Israel, Lebanese Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 missiles into Israel, about a third of its missile stores at the time. Most were Katyusha-type rockets, which are quick to set up and have ranges of about 12 miles.

The Israeli government said in 2006 that Hezbollah also wielded Iranian-made missiles with ranges of up to 50 miles.Hamas does not appear to have used those longer-range tactical missiles.Four Israelis have been killed by Hamas' rocket fire in recent days, including three civilians, since the cease-fire broke on Dec. 19.
Gaza officials say Israel's retaliatory airstrikes have killed about 390 and wounded about 1,600. Hamas says some 200 uniformed members of Hamas security forces have been killed. The U.N. says at least 60 Palestinian civilians have died.

Gaza's tunnel economy collapses in bombing raids By IBRAHIM BARZAK and DIAA HADID, Associated Press Writers – Wed Dec 31, 5:11 pm ET

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – The Gaza Strip has lost its last lifeline after five days of Israeli bombing raids that destroyed dozens of smuggling tunnels under the sandy border with Egypt.The passages did not just supply Hamas with arms, but brought in flour, fuel and baby milk. For Gazans, already used to blackouts and shortages from an 18-month border blockade, the daily hunt for basics is ever more desperate — though there are no reports of outright hunger.I fed the children cooked tomatoes today, I can't find bread, Nima Burdeini, a mother of 11, said Wednesday at the Rafah refugee camp on the Gaza-Egypt border.Israeli warplanes pounded the illicit tunnels as a part of the heavy bombardment of Hamas targets in Gaza that began Saturday. The hundreds of tunnels were seen as key to keeping Hamas in power.After the Islamic militants seized Gaza by force in June 2007, Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on the territory, allowing in only basic goods and humanitarian supplies.

Most of Gaza's 3,900 factories have closed, unable to import raw materials or export products. Construction halted and thousands of people were thrown out of work, deepening poverty in an area where most of the 1.4 million residents rely on U.N. food aid to get by.At times, Israel tightened the closure, restricting the inflow of fuel, cash and other key supplies. The blockade caused frequent power outages and interruptions in the water supply.In the two months leading up to Israel's offensive, Israel kept Gaza tightly sealed in an attempt to force Gaza militants to stop firing rockets at southern Israeli towns.The tunnels became a lifesaver for Hamas — and for Gaza. Some were used to sneak in arms, including rockets that militants are now firing into Israel. But most of the underground passages were used to haul in consumer goods, from motor bikes to goats, refrigerators, flour and chocolates.The tunnel area that residents once jokingly referred to as Gaza's duty-free zone is now a wasteland of smashed concrete and deep craters, churned up by Israeli bombs.Late Wednesday, the tunnel area was struck by 19 times within a half hour, residents said. A Gaza health official, Moawiya Hassanain, said two people were killed and 42 wounded, including at least four children.Before that report, Israeli air force officials said the bombing campaign had demolished more than 80 tunnels. Egyptian officials said the number was at least 120.

Residents say there are several hundred tunnels under the 9-mile border. Owners said they believe many tunnels are badly damaged, but tunnel workers fear going near the area to check because of the attacks.The tunnels are not visible from the air, but their locations are well known — brazen owners put up colorful tents over tunnel entrances.Economist Omar Shaban estimated some two-thirds of goods sold in Gaza came through the tunnels. From diggers, drivers and haulers, the passages employed around 12,000 Gazans, Shaban said.It was Gaza's new economy, even if it was just importing commercial goods, Shaban said.Tunnel owner Abu Sufian said he and his colleagues lost millions of dollars in merchandise that they had paid for, but that cannot be delivered now from the Egyptian side.Shaban said destroying the tunnels would bruise, but not bloody Hamas' Gaza rule. The militant group also funds itself through local taxes and a network of businesses controlled by loyalists, he said.

But demolishing the tunnels has deepened civilian suffering.

Throughout Gaza, Israel's bombings have brought Gaza's dwindling economic activity to a halt. For fear of getting caught in an airstrike, wholesalers aren't distributing their goods and many shopkeepers stay home. Shelves are emptying at grocery stores. In most areas, the few shops open are those whose owners live nearby. People don't venture beyond their own streets, leaving them hostage to shortages and rising prices. Flour for baking is in short supply, and there is little cash to buy goods because banks are closed. Burdeni, 45, the mother of 11, relies on U.N. aid to feed her children, but officials halted food distribution Dec. 18, citing shortages caused by the border closure. People are doing pretty badly. Everyone we know is sharing whatever they have, not just with their families but with their neighbors, said Karen Abu Zayd, commissioner of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which helps needy Palestinians. We haven't seen widespread hunger. We do see for the very first time — I've been here for eight years and seeing new things nowadays — people going through the rubbish dumps looking for things, people begging, which is quite a new phenomenon as well, she said by video link to reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. Chris Gunness, a U.N. spokesman, said aid distribution should resume Thursday as Israel allows humanitarian aid into Gaza. The United Nations issued a new emergency appeal Wednesday for $34 million to deal with the new crisis. Burdeni's brother gives her small amounts of cash, but the search for food is becoming tougher. Burdeni found tomatoes Wednesday, cooking them when electricity flickered on in her area. My children ate it with spoons, she said bitterly. In Gaza City, Hiba Dahshan, 22, said the price for a 110-pound bag of flour had jumped from $30 to $100. Her family can't afford it, but the local shop still has cheese and canned meat — their menu the past three days. She can't find vegetables on her street. Despite the shortages, some people said they are eating more than usual — because they're pinned down at home and gripped with anxiety from the sounds of bombs exploding around them. I'm eating like a savage, Dahshan said.

Bader Tulbeh, 46, described his eight children as locusts with newly enlarged appetites. They are an army, Tulbeh said while purchasing vegetables from a vendor in central Gaza City. Maher Lubad, 45, a salaried worker in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya, bought lentils on credit from his cousin's grocery shop because he couldn't withdraw any money from the bank. Meanwhile, tunnel owners watch and wait. Even as they bomb us, we are thinking of how to make new tunnels. Maybe we'll try go under the sea, said tunnel owner Abu Sufian. Associated Press writers Ibrahim Barzak reported from Gaza City and Diaa Hadid from Jerusalem. AP writer Edith M. Lederer in New York contributed to this report.

Israel takes battle with Hamas to YouTube By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 31, 3:41 pm ET

JERUSALEM – Israel's bruising war on the Islamic militants who control Gaza has moved online, where sites like YouTube and Facebook are the new battlegrounds.Israel posted video of its attacks on militants firing rockets over the past five days on a new YouTube channel to try to show the world the threat against it.YouTube temporarily yanked the clips on Tuesday after viewers, apparently supporters of Hamas, flagged it as objectionable and asked that it be taken down. The video-sharing Web site restored the video a few hours later, labeling it inappropriate for minors.Supporters of Gaza's Hamas rulers, meanwhile, have posted images of the devastating Israeli offensive on both YouTube and Facebook and on blogs, uploading images of the carnage and suffering in the tiny seaside territory.The militants themselves regularly update their Web sites in Arabic and English. In addition, they broadcast images of masked, uniformed fighters on Hamas TV, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes but continues to broadcast from a mobile unit.The blogosphere and the new media are basically a war zone in a battle for world opinion, an Israeli military spokesman, Maj. Avital Leibovich, said Wednesday.Gideon Doron, former chairman of the Israeli agency that oversaw the privatization of the country's television and radio services, said today's warfare includes fighting through the media.Many of the victories of modern warfare are mediated by the media, Doron said. We have Internet and all kinds of modern communication, and the Israeli military apparently decided that it has to broadcast its message through these tools.

Leibovich said the new YouTube channel and a new blog the military is launching are an important part of Israel's attempt to explain its actions abroad.One of the aerial surveillance videos Israel posted shows about a dozen figures that the military says are militants loading rockets onto a truck. They are eventually targeted by an air-launched missile and disappear in a white cloud as the truck explodes.We were saddened on Dec. 30, 2008 when YouTube took down some of our exclusive footage, the military wrote on its YouTube channel page. Fortunately, due to blogger and viewer support, YouTube has returned the footage they removed.In the past, YouTube has been pressed to take down videos depicting violence. The site has no automatic review, however, so anything posted runs until a viewer flags it and asks that it be taken down.YouTube, which is owned by Google Inc., said it counts on community members to flag content that violates the community's guidelines.We review all flagged content quickly, and if we find that a video does violate the guidelines, we remove it, on average in under an hour, Victoria Grand, Head of Policy at YouTube, said in a statement.Occasionally, a video flagged by users is mistakenly taken down. When this is brought to our attention, we review the content and take appropriate action, which may include restoring videos that had been removed.YouTube said it would not comment on individual videos or answer questions on the Israeli postings.In May, Sen. Joseph Lieberman complained that the process was flawed because al-Qaida recruitment videos could still be seen on the site.The Israeli military says its clips have attracted more than 230,000 views since going online Monday. Israel launched the air assault on Saturday in response to rocket barrages launched from Gaza at Israeli towns. Hundreds of airstrikes across the Palestinian territory have caused huge damage and Gaza officials say some 390 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas says some 200 were members of its security forces, and the U.N. says at least 60 were civilians. Militant rockets have reached farther into Israel than ever before, killing three Israeli civilians and a soldier.
On the Web: http://www.youtube.com/idfnadesk Associated Press Business Writer Andrew Vanacore contributed to this report from New York.

Turkey in Syria talks on ruthless Israel Gaza assault Wed Dec 31, 1:36 pm ET

DAMASCUS (AFP) – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday on the first leg of a tour aimed at tackling what he called Israel's ruthless assault on Gaza.The two leaders agreed that the Israeli aggression against Gaza had shattered all efforts to achieve peace in the region and that in consequence it was impossible to speak of peace in the face of Israeli obstinacy.Turkey had already announced on Monday that it had suspended efforts to broker preliminary peace talks between Israel and Syria, saying that the onslaught on Gaza had led to deep disappointment in Ankara.Erdogan and Assad said it was essential that Arab and Islamic countries intervene to force Israel to immediately halt this holocaust against an unarmed population, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reported.They warned of the consequences of the continuation of the Israeli aggression on the security and stability of the region, it said.Before leaving Ankara, the Turkish premier said he was deeply concerned over the developments in Gaza since this ruthless operation began on Saturday. The objective of my tour is to help stop these dangerous developments.Erdogan called for an immediate halt to the Israeli attacks on Gaza, and said a permanent ceasefire should be urgently secured to prevent irreversible developments in the region.Assad on Tuesday underlined the necessity for halting the Israeli massacres which are being committed against the unarmed Palestinian people, lifting the unjust siege on them and opening all the crossings permanently, SANA said.

On Thursday the Turkish premier is to hold talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh and on Saturday he will be in Saudi Arabia to meet King Abdullah.Turkey is Israel's main Muslim ally but also has close ties with the Palestinians, whose plight has drawn widespread sympathy around the world.The two countries, which remain technically at war from the first Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948, have held four rounds of Turkish-brokered indirect talks since May.Direct negotiations were halted eight years ago over the thorny issue of the Golan Heights.

Arabs tone down New Year fests amid Gaza violence By ADAM SCHRECK, AP Business Writer – Wed Dec 31, 12:38 pm ET

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai hotels scrambled to rework New Year's Eve plans Wednesday following a last-minute order to mute holiday festivities as Arab states sought to tone down celebrating amid the violence in Gaza.Beachfront fireworks and live music acts at the recently opened Atlantis hotel were canceled as the tourist spot followed Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's ban on all forms of celebrations.Concerts were also canceled elsewhere in the region, including in Israel's neighbors Egypt and Jordan. A much-publicized concert by Shakira, the Colombian singer of Lebanese descent who is widely popular across the region, appeared to be going ahead in the United Arab Emirates' capital, Abu Dhabi.Dubai's order, announced by state news agency WAM late Tuesday, called for a somber tone as a token of solidarity with the Palestinian people and with the Gaza Strip in particular.It was unclear if the ban marked a halt to the city-state's famous New Year's Eve champagne dinners and raucous bar bashes. Many hotels, which are generally the only places licensed to serve alcohol, said they planned to keep food and drink sites open, but low key.Habib Khan, manager of the four-star Arabian Courtyard Hotel & Spa, said he supported the move.One night (of) business does not make us rich or poor, he said when asked if business would be hurt by the decision.

New Year's Eve is one of the busiest times of the year for Dubai's hotel bars and restaurants, which typically offer lavish dinner packages at steep prices. The iconic sail-shaped Burj al-Arab offered one of the dearest: a gala post-cocktail feast followed by live music and dancing for 9,900 dirhams a person, about $2,700.The hotel's parent, Jumeirah Group, which is controlled by Dubai's ruler, did not respond to requests for comment about possible changes to its New Year's plans.A number of celebrations were also canceled in Jordan, where roughly half of the 5.8 million people are of Palestinian descent from families displaced in two wars with Israel since 1948.Hotels, restaurants, malls and private parties in the capital, Amman, the Red Sea resort of Aqaba and the ancient rose-rock city of Petra, announced celebration cancellations in the local press.In Amman, concerts featuring renowned singers May Hariri from Lebanon and Ahmad Sharif of Tunisia were called off. Organizer Elias Nehme said the singers initially planned to go ahead with their concert to benefit the war-stricken strip but later reconsidered, saying it is a shame to have a party while people are dying in Gaza.

Egypt's culture and information ministries canceled official celebrations, including a concert by Egyptian superstar Mohammed Mounir at the Cairo Opera House.However, most private hotels and clubs appeared to be going forward with events.At one of the two Four Seasons hotels in Cairo, guests paying 1,500 Egyptian pounds ($270) a person could be treated to a five-course celebratory dinner set to classical music.We are not canceling any reservations, said Ahmed Ghany, the restaurant manager. He added that no prospective guests had canceled their reservations. The situation is far from us, he said.Bahrain News Agency said all New Year's concerts in the Persian Gulf island state were canceled in support of Gaza following a directive by the king. Hotels were also asked to abide by the ruling.In Lebanon, hardened by a devastating 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 and a fierce power struggle by rival factions, preparations to celebrate the New Year went ahead. Paul Ariss, president of the Restaurant Owners' Association, said there was a festive mood in the country despite the Gaza attacks. More than 60 percent of restaurants in the capital, Beirut, were fully booked, he said. Although our hearts are with the victims in Gaza life must go on after all, Ariss said. In Syria, celebrations at the country's major hotels were postponed until Friday, organizers said. Churches also canceled New Year's celebrations and kept only prayers for the event. Teams from the Syrian Red Crescent stood at traffic lights in downtown Damascus to collect donations for victims of the Gaza airstrikes. In Baghdad, normal New Year's celebrations already had been shelved due to the Islamic holiday of Muharram, and hotels and private clubs that usually host parties called them off. Muharram is important to Shiite Muslims, who dominate the government. Parties were still being held in the predominantly Sunni northern Kurdish region. Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana in Cairo, Dale Gavlak in Amman and Patrick Quinn in Baghdad contributed to this report.

Volunteer suicide bombers seek to attack Israel By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 31, 12:08 pm ET

TEHRAN, Iran – Hard-line Iranian student groups have asked the government to authorize volunteers to go carry out suicide bombings in Israel in response to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had not responded to the call by Wednesday. Volunteer suicide groups have made similar requests in the past and the government never responded to their calls. The groups' activities appear to be mainly for propaganda purposes, and there has been no sign of Iranians carrying out suicide attacks in Israel.Five hard-line student groups and a conservative clerical group launched a registration drive on Monday, seeking volunteers to carry out suicide attacks against Israel.In an open letter to Ahmadinejad, the students said volunteer student suicide groups ... are determined to go to Gaza. You are expected to issue orders to the relevant authorities to pave the way for such action. A copy of the letter was made available to The Associated Press on Wednesday.The hard-liners started signing up volunteers after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a religious decree Sunday saying anyone killed while defending Palestinians in Gaza against Israeli attacks would be considered a martyr.The groups claim that more than 10,000 people throughout Iran have registered as volunteer suicide bombers in the past three days. At a gathering Tuesday in Tehran, hard-liners were distributing registration forms to volunteers.

How can I remain indifferent while defenseless Palestinians are being butchered, said one volunteer, Ali Reza Takrim Namini, as he filled out the registration form.
The volunteers wore white shrouds symbolizing their willingness to die and headbands with the slogan Defenders of Gaza and Ready for Martyrdom. Most of those registering were members of the Basij militia, a hard-line paramilitary group that has tens of thousands of members and is often involved in drumming up popular fervor against Israel and the West.Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has killed hundreds of Palestinians, has sparked outrage in Iran and throughout the rest of the Muslim world. Israel says it launched its campaign in retaliation for rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns by Hamas. Iran is Hamas' main backer, providing it considerable financial aid, though Tehran denies sending it weapons.Protesters have held daily rallies outside the Egyptian interests section in Tehran, as well as the Jordanian and Saudi embassies, protesting what they call inaction by Arab nations. On Thursday, hard-line students threatened to storm the Egyptian mission unless Egypt open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza, a step Cairo has refused.

Late Tuesday, a branch of the Italian clothing retailer Benetton in northern Tehran was set fire, apparently as part of a protest. The branch showed minor damage, with some burned clothes and scorch marks.Criticism of Hamas is rare in Iran and on Wednesday, the government ordered shut a leading reformist daily, Kargozaran, for publishing a statement by a student group that blamed Hamas for provoking the Israeli offensive.The paper's editor Mehran Karami said the student statement condemned the Israeli attacks but also called Hamas a terrorist organization that hides in schools and draws civilian casualties.

Hamas must stop firing rockets as first step: White House Wed Dec 31, 11:30 am ET

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) – President George W. Bush believes the militant group Hamas needs to stop firing rockets at Israel as a first step to a ceasefire and he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the White House said on Wednesday.

President Bush thinks that Hamas needs to stop firing rockets and that is what will be the first steps in a ceasefire, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in Texas where Bush was on holiday.During the phone call with Olmert, Bush received assurances from the Israeli leader that Israel was only targeting Hamas and working to minimize civilian casualties, Johndroe said. The two did not discuss a timetable for halting Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, he said.(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria, writing by Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Israeli security cabinet rejects Gaza truce proposals: official Wed Dec 31, 8:57 am

JERUSALEM (AFP) – The Israeli security cabinet has rejected international proposals for a truce in its offensive on Hamas in Gaza, a senior government official told AFP on Wednesday.The cabinet decided to continue with the military operation, now in its fifth day, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The government decided to adopt a success strategy. The government wants to reach the goals of halting terror from Gaza. Once we reach this goal we will be ready to discuss the possibility of a ceasefire.Quoting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, he added: We did not launch the Gaza operation only to end it with the same rocket firing that we had at its start.Imagine that a few days after we unilaterally stop the operation, a barrage of rockets hits Ashkelon, he quoted Olmert as telling the cabinet, referring to a southern Israeli town hit several times recently by rockets fired from Gaza.

Olmert chided those calling for a halt in Israel's massive bombing campaign of Hamas targets in Gaza and said the time was not yet ripe for a ceasefire.Do you realise the ramifications this would have in the country and the region and on Israel's deterrence? the official quoted him as saying.If the conditions are ripe and we think that they might offer a solution that will guarantee a better security reality in the south then we would weigh the issue.We are not there yet.

Hundreds in Mich., NYC, LOS protest Gaza attack By BEN LEUBSDORF, Associated Press Writer – Wed Dec 31, 8:21 am ET

DEARBORN, Mich. – Israel's military strikes on the Gaza Strip prompted pro-Palestinian protests in America, with marchers denouncing the violence in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, New York City and Los Angeles.Hundreds of protesters braved 30-degree weather Tuesday and filled eight blocks of a major thoroughfare in Dearborn, widely seen as the heart of Arab America. They waved flags and carried signs condemning Israel and showing pictures of casualties.One group of protesters carried a mock coffin decorated with pictures of dead and injured children and labeled U.S. Tax Dollars at Work and Victims of Zionism. Some marchers chanted in English, Gaza, Gaza don't cry, Palestine will never die! and Israel is a terrorist state! Hundreds more gathered in New York City and Los Angeles outside the Israeli consulates, with rallies also reported in two cities in Florida.Since Saturday, hundreds of Palestinians have died in the Israeli air onslaught against Gaza militants. Most of the dead were members of Hamas security forces but the United Nations says at least 60 civilians have been killed. Four Israelis have been killed by militant rocket fire, including three civilians.Outside the Israeli consulates in Manhattan and Los Angeles, protesters Tuesday waved Palestinian flags and chanted Free Palestine.New York demonstrator Dalia Mahmoud said she was shocked at Israel's actions and that it was punishing an entire population for the actions of a few.

Police barricades separated the protesters from a smaller pro-Israel rally across the street, where one demonstrator carried a sign reading Israel must defend itself.
A few miles south at City Hall, Israeli Consul General Asaf Shariv met with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, displaying for reporters an exploded rocket that killed an Israeli woman out for a walk.We are obligated to defend our people, and that is what we are doing, Shariv said.

Bloomberg voiced his support.

I can only think what would happen in this country if somebody was lobbing missiles onto our shores or across the border, he said.On Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, one pro-Israel sign read, Hamas, stop using children as human shields.A Palestinian supporter's sign declared, End the siege, end the bloodshed.In Florida, demonstrators also lined a Tampa highway Tuesday, waving Palestinian and American flags and yelling through megaphones, The Tampa Tribune reported. Further south in Fort Lauderdale, at least 200 pro-Palestinian demonstrators and a smaller group of pro-Israel protesters lobbed charges at each other Tuesday evening at an intersection, according to the Miami Herald.

Pro-Palestinian protesters at Obama's Hawaii house By Ross Colvin Ross Colvin – Wed Dec 31, 8:19 am ET

KAILUA, Hawaii (Reuters) – A small group of placard-waving pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered near U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's vacation retreat in Hawaii on Tuesday to protest against the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.Obama has made no public comment on the strikes, which Israel launched on Saturday. Aides have repeatedly said he is monitoring the situation and continues to receive intelligence briefings but that there is only one U.S. president at a time.Some critics, however, say Obama did choose to speak out after the attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai in November in which gunmen killed nearly 180 people, condemning them as acts of terrorism.Obama, who takes office on January 20 from outgoing Republican President George W. Bush, has also spoken out on economic issues facing the United States.He is talking about how many jobs he is going to create but he is refusing to speak about this, said one of the protesters, Carolyn Hadfield, 66.Hadfield was one of eight protesters standing with placards reading No U.S. support for Israel and Gazans need food and medicine, not war near Obama's rented vacation home in Kailua, an upmarket suburb on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where Obama is in the second week of a vacation with his family.Obama had not left the compound on Tuesday morning and did not see the protest.Obama has in the past called Israel one of the United States' greatest allies and has vowed to ensure the security of the Jewish state.

He has also said he would make a sustained push to achieve the goal of two states -- a Jewish state in Israel and a Palestinian state.Israel on Tuesday pressed on with air strikes in Gaza that it says are in response to rocket fire by Hamas militants deep inside the Jewish state. Medical officials put Palestinian casualties at 383 dead and more than 800 wounded.The Bush administration has so far backed Israel's actions in Gaza and demanded the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to a lasting ceasefire.We are very upset with what is going in Palestine. There is a very great need for change in U.S. foreign policy toward Israel and Palestine. We need to stop giving Israel a blank check, said another protester, Margaret Brown, 66.The protesters were rebuffed when they tried to hand a letter signed by dozens of U.S. activist groups to a Secret Service agent guarding the access road to Obama's beachfront compound.(Reporting by Ross Colvin; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

India criticises Israeli airstrikes Wed Dec 31, 6:19 am ET

NEW DELHI (AFP) – India on Wednesday urged Israel to halt the air strikes that have killed at least 390 Palestinians and injured thousands in the Gaza Strip.We have strongly criticised that attack and we have urged Israel to stop those attacks, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told reporters.Israeli warplanes hammered Gaza for a fifth day on Wednesday and Islamists retaliated by firing rockets into Israeli territory.

Japan PM Aso tells Israel's Olmert to stop bombings Wed Dec 31, 5:06 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso told his Israeli counterpart Ehud Olmert Wednesday to halt air strikes that have killed at least 390 Palestinians and injured thousands in the Gaza Strip.In a 20-minute telephone conversation, Aso expressed Japan's regret and urged Olmert to swiftly stop the offensives, as many civilians were killed and harmed, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement.

While condemning rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, Aso said it is regrettable that the (Israeli) attacks have caused widespread damages, including deaths and injuries of civilians.He also urged Israel to allow the transportation of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.In response, Olmert stressed that the attacks against Hamas were being made in self-defence and that Israel was making efforts to avoid harming civilians.In the talks that took place around 0600 GMT, Olmert said Israel was committed to the peace talks and promised cooperation over delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to the foreign ministry.Since being launched on Saturday, the Israeli offensive has killed at least 390 people, including 42 children, and wounded more than 1,900 others, according to Gaza medics.The intensive Israeli bombardment has killed several senior Hamas officials and reduced much of the Islamist movement's infrastructure in Gaza to rubble, but have failed to stop rockets being fired into Israel.Gaza militants have fired back more than 250 rockets, killing three civilians and one soldier and wounding several dozen people.

Iranians raid British diplomatic compound in Gaza protest Tue Dec 30, 9:57 pm ET

TEHRAN (AFP) – A group of Iranian demonstrators stormed the British diplomatic compound in Tehran to protest London's stance towards the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, state news agency IRNA reported.A large group of people and students entered the Gholhak gardens, which are occupied by the British embassy to protest at Britain's policies in supporting the Zionist regime and put up the Palestinian flag there, IRNA said Tuesday.A media officer at the British embassy in Tehran confirmed the report adding that diplomatic police had driven the demonstrators out.We do confirm the raid on our premises. We are in contact with Islamic republic authorities to resolve the matter, Mitra Behnam told AFP.Gholhak gardens, a sprawling compound in north Tehran, provides accommodation for British diplomats and their families.

Britain has called for an urgent ceasefire by both sides in Gaza , where Israeli warplanes have launched waves of airstrikes against the Islamist Hamas movement since Saturday, killing at least 368 Palestinians, and Hamas militants have been firing volleys of rockets into Israel.Several kilometres (miles) from the British embassy complex in central Tehran, the Gholhak gardens complex also houses the British Council and a school.Islamist students have frequently protested in front of the British embassy, throwing stones and petrol bombs at the building.In Tuesday's protest, demonstrators torched British, US and Israeli flags in front the Gholhak compound before moving towards the Egyptian interest section where they staged another protest and chanted Death to (Egyptian President) Hosni Mubarak, the Fars news agency said.Egypt has come in for strong criticism from Hamas and their sympathisers around the Muslim world for not fully opening its border with Gaza in the face of Israel's devastating four-day-old air blitz.Fresh protests against the Israeli offensive were Tuesday held across Iran, which is a staunch supporter of the Islamist movement and does not recognise its archfoe Israel.Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei decreed on Sunday that anyone who died in the defence of Gaza would be deemed a martyr.