Israel vows no let-up over Gaza
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak says Palestinian militant group Hamas has suffered a "hard blow", but insists the offensive in Gaza will continue.
"We still haven’t reached our objectives," Mr Barak told Israeli MPs.
Israel carried out 30 air strikes overnight, with heavy clashes reported east of Gaza City. Palestinian sources say a family of seven was killed.
A top Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Zahhar, said the Islamists were heading for "victory" against Israel.
Intense diplomatic efforts are under way to try to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, with separate missions to the Middle East being led by the French president, and a high-level EU team.
Palestinian medical sources say the numbers of people killed in Gaza now stands at more than 500, with some 2,500 others wounded. These figures cannot be independently verified.
Five Israelis have been killed by Palestinian militant fire since the start of Israel’s military operation, which is now in its 10th day.
Speaking to MPs, Mr Barak said the offensive would continue until "peace and tranquillity" was secured for Israeli civilians, referring to Israeli towns that have come under rocket attacks by militants.
Speaking on Hamas-run al-Aqsa TV, Mahmoud Zahhar praised those fighting for Hamas and hinted that Palestinian militants would try to target more Israeli civilians.
Rocket attacks by Palestinian militants dwindled overnight, with just five missiles being fired.
Israel said it carried out 30 air strikes overnight on Sunday. Heavy clashes were reported east of Gaza City, and gunfire to the north.
Israeli sources say about 4,000 infantry are inside Gaza, backed by tanks. Information about what is happening is limited, as Israel has barred foreign reporters from entering the territory.
Palestinian hospital sources said at least 23 civilians were killed in the latest attacks.
One resident of a refugee camp in the Gaza beach area, Abu Aisha, told the BBC he lost several members of his family in an Israeli attack.
"The attack resulted in the death of my brother, his two wives and four children.
"We took out three bodies and the rest we could not find. There are four or five bodies under the rubble, and we cannot take them out."
Shuttle diplomacy
Away from the frontline, diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting in the Gaza Strip are moving into high gear.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be shuttling across the Middle East, taking in Egypt – which mediated a recent six-month truce between Hamas and Israel – as well as Jerusalem, the Palestinian West Bank town of Ramallah and Syria.
On Monday morning an EU delegation met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Following the talks, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Egypt could play a "fundamental" role in bringing about a ceasefire in Gaza.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said it was vital to get food and medical supplies into Gaza to ensure hospitals were able to function.
She said: "We know fuel, food, water, wheat – all that is missing. We want the hospitals to work, and indeed, for that we know that politically to get a ceasefire as quickly as possible."
Israel has said it will allow more aid into Gaza later, and that 80 trucks would cross from Israel carrying food and medicines.
Story from BBC NEWS
Related posts:
- Israel vows ‘long’ Gaza campaign
- Israel and Hamas agree to Gaza truce
- Fighting erupts as Israeli troops move into Gaza
- Israeli tanks, soldiers invade Gaza Strip
- Israeli Ground Troops Enter Gaza
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Posted by Axxa News Team
on Jan 5 2009. Filed under News.
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