Israel rejects Gaza truce calls
Gaza wakes up to another day of air strikes
Israel has rejected international calls for a 48-hour truce in the Gaza Strip to allow in humanitarian aid, says a government spokesman.
Mark Regev said that Israel was not looking for a "band aid", or something that would expire a month from now. But he said dialogue would continue.
The truce is among issues being discussed by the Israeli cabinet.
Israel has launched air strikes on Gaza for a fifth day, and more Palestinian rockets landed in south Israel.
A foreign ministry spokesman earlier said a unilateral 48-hour halt was "unrealistic", as long as Hamas continued to fire at Israel.
The 48-hour ceasefire plan to allow aid into Gaza, proposed by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, was raised during an Israeli leadership meeting late on Tuesday.
Reports of the discussions - involving Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his defence and foreign ministers - suggested any pause in fighting would be accompanied by a threat to send in ground troops if rocket fire into Israel continued.
Mr Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni were reportedly opposed to the ceasefire plan, while Ehud Barak, the defence minister, was said to be inclined to examine it.
A Hamas spokesman quoted by AFP news agency criticised the current international truce proposals as unbalanced.
"The current efforts aimed at ending the combat and installing a ceasefire put the executioner and victim on equal footing," Fawzi Barhum said.
He said international and Arab efforts had to focus on "ending this aggression".
A European Union statement had called for an "unconditional" halt to Hamas rocket attacks.
The Arab League is also meeting in Cairo to discuss the crisis.
Extra reservists
The ceasefire request is being discussed at a cabinet meeting, along with the possibility of widening and deepening this campaign, says the BBC's Mike Sergeant in Jerusalem.
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said that dialogue with the international community would continue.
 The Israeli bombardment began on Saturday |
An extra 2,500 reservists have been called up by the Israeli army and, on the frontier with Gaza, preparations continue for a possible Israeli ground operation.
A statement by Hamas has warned any invasion would see "the children of Gaza collecting the body parts of Israeli soldiers and the ruins of tanks".
On Wednesday, Israeli missiles pounded tunnels along Gaza's Egyptian frontier, as well as an office of former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and other buildings linked to his Hamas movement.
Palestinian officials say about 374 Palestinians have died in Israeli air strikes since Saturday; four Israelis have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza, which is under Hamas control.
Israel has warned it is ready for weeks of action to end the threat posed by rockets, which on Wednesday and Tuesday landed in and around Beersheba, 46 km (28 miles) from the Gaza Strip. No serious casualties were reported there.
 |
A police spokesman said 860,000 Israelis were now in range of Palestinian rockets.
The UN says at least 62 Palestinian civilians have died since Saturday.
Red Cross spokesman in Gaza Iyad Nasr said Gaza badly needed more supplies bringing in.
"In particular the hospitals have been depleted and stretched to the maximum because of the closure imposed," he told the BBC.
A spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency - the largest aid agency operating in Gaza - says it will resume food distribution on Thursday after a two-week suspension because of a shortage of supplies.
Eighty-four UNRWA trucks carrying mostly food and some medicine are due to go into Gaza today.
It says its employees will take whatever risks involved because of the sheer intensity of humanitarian need.
Ground operations?
The Mid-East Quartet - which comprises the US, UN, EU and Russia - called for a ceasefire "that would be fully respected" and for all parties to address "the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza", a UN spokeswoman said.
 |   |
The EU foreign ministers echoed that call following a meeting in the French capital, Paris.
A separate proposal from Egypt and a number of other Arab countries has called on Israel to re-open its border with Gaza.
The US - Israel's strongest ally - has called for a long-term solution beyond any immediate ceasefire. But the White House reiterated that the onus was on Hamas to act first to end the violence.
Mr Olmert said earlier that the air assault on Gaza was "the first in several stages" of operations against Hamas.
Israel has massed forces along the boundary with Gaza and has declared the area around it a "closed military zone".
Correspondents say the move could be a prelude to ground operations, but could also be intended to build pressure on Hamas.
The Israeli air strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but has kept tight control over access in and out of Gaza and its airspace.
| GAZA VIOLENCE 27-30 DECEMBER  1. Ashdod: First attack so far north, Sunday. Woman killed in second rocket attack, Tuesday 2. Ashkelon: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Monday3. Sderot: rocket attacks4. Nevitot: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Saturday5. Civilian family reported killed in attack on Yabna refugee camp, Sunday 6. Israeli warplanes strike tunnels under Gaza/Egypt border, Sunday7. Three brothers reported killed in attack on Rafah, Sunday8. Khan Younis: Four members of Islamic Jihad and a child reported killed, Sunday. Security officer killed in air strike on Hamas police station, Tuesday 9. Deir al-Balah: Palestinians injured, houses and buildings destroyed, Sunday 10. Tel al-Hawa - Interior ministry and Islamic University badly damaged, Monday. At least three buildings in ministry compound hit, Tuesday11. Gaza City port: naval vessels targeted, Sunday 12. Shati refugee camp: Home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya targeted, Monday 13. Intelligence building attacked, Sunday14. Jebaliya refugee camp: several people killed in attack on mosque, Sunday 15. Beit Hanoun - two girls killed in air strike, Tuesday16. Israeli soldier killed at unspecified military base near Nahal Oz border crossing - five other soldiers wounded in same rocket attack, Monday night. |
No comments:
Post a Comment