Israeli airstrike on Gaza goes on as world mounts efforts

 2009-01-16 14:50:51

    GAZA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) --

An Israeli terrorist forces tank shell struck UN's headquarters in the Gaza Strip as Egypt pressed ahead with international efforts to end the Israeli offensive that continued into a 21st day Friday.

    The shell hit the UN refugee agency's main Gaza compound Thursday after UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in Israel to push for a ceasefire in Gaza. The shell injured three employees and set a warehouse on fire.

    Ban, who is on a tour of the region, conveyed his "strong protest and outrage" amidst a chorus of international condemnation.

    U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the incident as "unfortunate," saying she has spoken to Israeli leaders about the "difficulties" caused by the shelling of the UN compound.

    Louis Michel, the European commissioner for humanitarian aid, also expressed "shock and dismay" with the shelling and demanded a "full and independent" investigation into the incident.

    "I am deeply shocked and dismayed to learn of this incident. Since the outbreak of the fighting I have made it very clear that all sides must respect international humanitarian law. It is unacceptable that the UN headquarters in Gaza has been struck by Israeli artillery fire," Michel said in a statement.

    Meanwhile, the leaders of Germany and Britain called for an urgent action to realize a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

    Germany and Britain will support actions designed to stop the flow of arms to Gaza and to improve the humanitarian situation there, Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said after their meeting in Berlin.

    The two leaders promised to provide technical assistance to improve security along Gaza's borders.

    While continuing to carry out airstrikes and the shelling of different targets all over the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Israeli terrorist forces warplanes struck a 3-story building in northern Gaza, killing five, including three senior leaders of Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

    Hamas Interior Minister Sa'id Siyam, the head of its security apparatus, Salah Abu Shreh, and the head of its military wing, Mahmoud Watfah were killed in the airstrike.

    Witnesses said that a US-made Israeli F16 warplane fired two rockets at the building belonging to the brother of Said Siam in northern Gaza City, adding that the building was destroyed.

    Palestine's UN Observer Riyadh Mansour appealed to the international community to pressure Israel to end its military attacks in the Gaza Strip as the UN General Assembly (GA) kicked off an emergency session to discuss the situation.

    "The international community must not shy away from using all of the diplomatic and political tools and legal instruments at its disposal to compel Israel, the occupying power, to end its military campaign ... and to end all of its illegal policies and practices ..." Mansour said.

    The GA session was convened one week after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1860 urging an immediate ceasefire.

    The European Parliament (EP), in an adopted a resolution on the situation in the Gaza Strip, called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, including the halt to rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel and the end of Israel's military action.

    It also urged a negotiated truce that should be guaranteed by a mechanism that should be set up by the international community with coordination by the Quartet and the Arab League and could include the dispatching of a multinational presence.

    The resolution encourages the diplomatic efforts so far undertaken by the international community, especially by Egypt and the European Union (EU).

    The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) demanded implementation of the UN Security Council resolution, which calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israeli terrorist state has launched unprecedented intensive airstrikes on Hamas targets since Dec. 27. The offensive so far has killed more than 1,115 Palestinians and wounded more than 5,130 others and sparked world-wide condemnation.

Ban says "no time to lose to reach ceasefire"

2009-01-16 18:47:17  

     RAMALLAH, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) --

Visiting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday said in the West Bank City of Ramallah that "no time to lose to reach cease fire" in the Gaza strip.

    During a joint news conference with Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad, Ban said the casualties and the humanitarian situation in Gaza are "unbearable" and called on an immediate halt of fighting.

    It's close to reach an agreement of ceasefire, Ban said, adding that there are "no time to lose" for an immediate halt of the military operations in Gaza.

    He said he understood that the Palestinian people have experienced very difficult time and suffered from the fighting in Gaza.

    Ban, who arrived in the Palestinian territories on earlier Friday, was bid to promoting a ceasefire between the invading Israeli terrorist forces and the Palestinian resistance fighters that would end the 21-day Israeli aggression.

    Ban stressed that a durable, sustainable and respectable ceasefire should be achieved by all sides, adding that the United Nations and himself are working hard on it.

    Ban also urged PNA to work with the international community to achieve the ceasefire and promised to provide "all the necessary technical assistance for unity."

    Finally, Ban emphasized that "what we have to do is to achieve a durable, long-lasting and sustainable cease fire", so that "the Palestinian and Israeli people can live side by side in peace."

    Ban's week-long Middle East tour came as part of the UN efforts to push for the implementation of the latest UN Security Council resolution on Gaza. On Jan. 8, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1860, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza " leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces."

    Before the trip to the Palestinian territories, the UN chief visited Egypt, Jordan and Israel. He is also scheduled to visit Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Kuwait to strengthen the joint diplomatic efforts to strive for an early end to the Gaza fighting.

Editor: Zhang Xiang

Fresh Israeli strike kills three children in Gaza

2009-01-16 17:45:35  

    GAZA, Jan.16 (Xinhua) --

Ongoing Israeli military attack killed three children in the Gaza Strip on Friday morning, local witnesses and medical sources said.

    Paramedics said that two children were killed and ten people were injured during an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah and another girl was killed by Israeli tank shelling in the northern area of Jabaliya.

    Local witness said Israeli airplanes struck some 40 targets throughout the Gaza Strip overnight Friday, including a mosque. The Israeli gunboat also bombarded western Gaza Strip from the sea, added the witnesses.

    The Israeli airstrikes and tank shelling is still going on across the strip, but the tanks have withdrawn to the outskirts of Gaza City, witness said.

    Medical sources in Gaza reported that 23 bodies have been found under the rubble of a building in Gaza City's Tel Hawwa neighborhood which was heavily bombarded by Israeli ground forces on Thursday.

    Gaza emergency chief Mo'aweya Hassanein said that the death toll since the beginning of the Israeli massive attack on Gaza has exceeded 1,100, with an addition of 5,000 wounded.     

Editor: Lin Liyu

Israeli tanks withdraw from Tel Al-Hawa after 24 hours of shelling

Date: 16 / 01 / 2009  Time:  09:36
Gaza – Ma'an –

The Israeli terrorist forces tanks withdrew on Friday from the Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City after 24 hours of constant shelling, leaving behind the corpses of Palestinian civilians and fighters.

The incursion into Tel Al-Hawa was the farthest Israeli forces have entered into Gaza City since the beginning of the offensive. While in Tel Al-Hawa, Israeli terrorist forces attacked a Red Crescent hospital, setting it on fire.

Witnesses also reported that Israeli soldiers invaded residential buildings, ordering locals to leave. Hundreds fled to other parts of the city.

Witnesses said that Israeli terrorist soldiers kidnapped a number of residents, abducting them as they left the area.

Mu’awiya Hassanain, the director of Ambulance and Emergency Services in the Ministry of Health, reported from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City that at least 23 people had been killed in the Tel Al-Hawa invasion.

Hassanain said the overall death toll has reached 1,133. Another 5,150 have been injured.

Separately, in the southern Gaza Strip, medical officials said that 14-year-old Issa Ermelat was killed when Israeli forces shelled the area near the near An-Nejma market in Al-Shaboura refugee camp in the city of Rafah. Another person was injured in the attack.

At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, medics said that 22-year-old Mamdouh Abdul Latif Abu Rock was seriously injured by Israeli forces in the town of Abassan.

Before dawn on Friday, the Israeli air force said it attacked 40 targets across the Gaza Strip, including a mosque.

Ban: "A few more days" needed to negotiate Gaza ceasefire

Date: 16 / 01 / 2009  Time:  11:24
Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies –

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said on Thursday that Israel and Hamas could agree on a ceasefire in “a few more days.”

"It may take a few more days to agree to a few more technical issues," Ban told reporters after a series of meetings with Israeli leaders. He added that he was "reasonably optimistic" the Israelis would decide to accept a ceasefire.

Ban said he discussed Gaza in telephone calls with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has been negotiating a truce with Israel and Hamas, as well as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Both Israel and Hamas rejected a binding Security Council resolution passed on a near unanimous vote a week ago.

On Wednesday, a ceasefire appeared closer when Hamas said it views Egypt’s proposal for a truce “positively.”

However, news reports on Friday indicated that Israel had rejected ceasefire terms offered by Hamas.

According to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, Israeli officials oppose attaching a specific timetable to a truce. Hamas reportedly offered a 12-month renewable ceasefire.

"A time limit on any period of quiet is a mistake," a senior Israeli source said, according to the report. "We saw that when the previous calm ran out of time, it was just an excuse for some to escalate the violence. An open-ended calm is what is needed."

70 Palestinians killed on Thursday, death toll in Gaza exceeds 1,100 after 20 days

Friday January 16, 2009 01:36 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

As the Israeli offensive continued against the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Israeli terrorist soldiers killed 70 Palestinians in different areas of Gaza. Since Israel launched its offensive on Gaza  twenty days ago, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed and over 5,100 wounded.  At least 400 of the wounded are in serious conditions. .

Thursday's shelling was no different from earlier attacks, targeting homes, UN facilities, hospitals and several other residential areas.

In Tal al-Hawa , in Gaza City, the Israeli terrorist army shelled and burned the al-Quds Hospital, which belongs to the Palestinian Red Crescent, along with several branches connected to the hospital. The Israelis also shelled Tal al-Hawa Hospital, which was crowded with at least 500 wounded Palestinians and medics.

Dr. Bashar Murad, head of the Emergency Unit at the Hospital, said that the Israeli terrorist army fired at least three shells, including two loaded with phosphorous, at the hospital causing excessive damage. The shells detonated around the hospital, but inflicted no direct injuries.

Dr. Murad added that nearly 600 residents left their homes and took shelter at the hospital after their homes where previously shelled by the Israelis.

Tanks and armored vehicles invaded Tal al-Hawa firing mostar and artilery shells, while the Israeli terrorist air forces fired missiles to clear the area for the invading ground forces.

At least two resistance fighters were killed in clashes with invading Israeli ground forces in Tal al-Hawa.

Sami Msha'shi', head of the Communications Department at the UNRWA, issued a press release stating that several areas surrounding the regional UNRWA office in Gaza were shelled, and that one of the shells had hit a UNRWA office, completely levelling it.

He added that, due to the shelling that targeted UN offices, the UNRWA was unable to move its vehicles, and was unable to receive the humanitarian aid that is currently located at the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

Msha'shi' also said that several UNRWA storage facilities, filled with wheat, food and other humanitarian aid, were set ablaze as a result of the shelling, and that the UNRWA fears that the fire would reach fuel storage facilities intended to be delivered to hospitals in Gaza to keep fuel generators up and running.  Without the fuel generators, hospitals would have no power, meaning patients on life support would not make it.

Also, a UN Vocation Rehabilitation Center, adjacent to the Palestinian President's office, was hit with a shell on Thursday morning; at least three Palestinians were wounded in the attack.

Soldiers shelled a building which includes offices for a number of TV Stations; two employees were wounded.

Also on Thursday, the Israeli terrorist army killed Said Siyam, member of Hamas' political bureau, after shelling his home. His son. nephew, the nephews' wife, their son, and four members of the family living next door were killed in Israel's latest political assassination.

Tens of thousands mourn Hamas interior minister at Gaza funeral

Date: 16 / 01 / 2009  Time:  14:25
Gaza – Ma’an –

Tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them Hamas supporters, attended a mass funeral procession in Gaza on Friday for de facto Interior Minister Said Siyam, who was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday.

The funeral is also in honor of Siyam’s son Muhammad, his brother Iyad, his sister-in-law and her son, all of whom were killed in the same airstrike. The strike left a massive crater where Iyad Siyam's house had stood.

A member of Hamas' senior leadership, Siyam is the highest-ranking Palestinian figure to be killed in the current Israeli offensive.

Hamas hardliner turned Palestinian Martyr

Considered a hardliner within the Hamas movement, Siyam formed the Executive Forces, a parallel, Hamas-controlled security apparatus, after Hamas was elected to power in 2006.

While he took a hard line against Fatah in internal Palestinian politics, his assassination is likely to retroactively increase his stature among Palestinians of all political factions.

“Israel has a remarkable way of turning villains into heroes, into Gods,” said one Palestinian on Thursday, a resident of Bethlehem whose family is close to Fatah. He compared Siyam’s death to the assassination of Hamas’ wheelchair-bound spiritual leader, Ahmad Yasin, in 2004.

Born in 1959 in the squalor of Gaza's Ash-Shati Refugee Camp, Siyam worked as a math and science teacher at local United Nations-run schools. He joined Hamas in the 1980s, one of its earliest members. Siyam quickly assumed leadership of the local teacher's union.

He was active in the first Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, against the Israeli occupation, which began in late 1987.

Israeli forces jailed Siyam several times in the 1990s, and in 1992 exiled him for a year to southern Lebanon with hundreds of other Palestinians.

In the mid-1990s, Hamas' rival, the Fatah movement of then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, established the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza, as part of interim peace deals with Israel. Siyam was jailed by Fatah-controlled PA security forces during this period.

He was elected to the Palestinian parliament in 2006, winning the most votes of any candidate.

As interior minister, Siyam had trouble controlling security forces that had been formed during Arafat’s rule, and were loyal to Fatah. It was then that he set up the Executive Force, which became the core of the Hamas police force in Gaza after the takeover of Gaza in June 2007.

After the takeover, Siyam’s forces established tight, if repressive control over the Gaza Strip, shutting down militias perceived to be loyal to Fatah.

On Thursday, Muhammad Nazzal a member of the Hamas political bureau, lamented the death of Siyam in as speech broadcast from Damascus.

Aluf Benn, an Israeli military correspondent, said Israeli intelligence confirmed the presence of Siyam and his staff near his brother’s home before ordering the assassination.

Hamas announced a period of mourning over the assassination of Syam, who was a member of the movement’s politburo, in addition to his role at the de facto Interior Ministry. Syam was appointed to the post shortly after Hamas won legislative elections in 2006.

Hamas condemned the killing of Syam’s son, brother Iyad and sister-in-law, as well as her son, who was killed along with four other neighbors near the home. Ten Palestinians were killed in the airstrike, including Syam and five of his family members.

Date: 16 / 01 / 2009  Time:  14:25
Gaza – Ma’an –

Tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them Hamas supporters, attended a mass funeral procession in Gaza on Friday for de facto Interior Minister Said Siyam, who was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday.

The funeral is also in honor of Siyam’s son Muhammad, his brother Iyad, his sister-in-law and her son, all of whom were killed in the same airstrike. The strike left a massive crater where Iyad Siyam's house had stood.

A member of Hamas' senior leadership, Siyam is the highest-ranking Palestinian figure to be killed in the current Israeli offensive.

Hamas hardliner turned Palestinian Martyr

Considered a hardliner within the Hamas movement, Siyam formed the Executive Forces, a parallel, Hamas-controlled security apparatus, after Hamas was elected to power in 2006.

While he took a hard line against Fatah in internal Palestinian politics, his assassination is likely to retroactively increase his stature among Palestinians of all political factions.

“Israel has a remarkable way of turning villains into heroes, into Gods,” said one Palestinian on Thursday, a resident of Bethlehem whose family is close to Fatah. He compared Siyam’s death to the assassination of Hamas’ wheelchair-bound spiritual leader, Ahmad Yasin, in 2004.

Born in 1959 in the squalor of Gaza's Ash-Shati Refugee Camp, Siyam worked as a math and science teacher at local United Nations-run schools. He joined Hamas in the 1980s, one of its earliest members. Siyam quickly assumed leadership of the local teacher's union.

He was active in the first Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, against the Israeli occupation, which began in late 1987.

Israeli forces jailed Siyam several times in the 1990s, and in 1992 exiled him for a year to southern Lebanon with hundreds of other Palestinians.

In the mid-1990s, Hamas' rival, the Fatah movement of then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, established the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza, as part of interim peace deals with Israel. Siyam was jailed by Fatah-controlled PA security forces during this period.

He was elected to the Palestinian parliament in 2006, winning the most votes of any candidate.

As interior minister, Siyam had trouble controlling security forces that had been formed during Arafat’s rule, and were loyal to Fatah. It was then that he set up the Executive Force, which became the core of the Hamas police force in Gaza after the takeover of Gaza in June 2007.

After the takeover, Siyam’s forces established tight, if repressive control over the Gaza Strip, shutting down militias perceived to be loyal to Fatah.

On Thursday, Muhammad Nazzal a member of the Hamas political bureau, lamented the death of Siyam in as speech broadcast from Damascus.

Aluf Benn, an Israeli military correspondent, said Israeli intelligence confirmed the presence of Siyam and his staff near his brother’s home before ordering the assassination.

Hamas announced a period of mourning over the assassination of Syam, who was a member of the movement’s politburo, in addition to his role at the de facto Interior Ministry. Syam was appointed to the post shortly after Hamas won legislative elections in 2006.

Hamas condemned the killing of Syam’s son, brother Iyad and sister-in-law, as well as her son, who was killed along with four other neighbors near the home. Ten Palestinians were killed in the airstrike, including Syam and five of his family members.

Israel assassinates de facto interior minister, nine others

Date: 15 / 01 / 2009  Time:  18:32
Gaza – Ma’an/Agencies –

The Israeli terrorist forces assassinated de facto Interior Minister Sa’id Siyam in an airstrike on Thursday.

The Israeli bomb caused a massive explosion that levelled his brother's house. The blast also killed his son Muhammad Siyam, his brother Iyad Siyam, his brother’s wife and their son, and his assistant.

In addition to Siyam, a total of nine others were killed in the strike, which reportedly targeted a senior Islamic Jihad leader and the head of the Al-Qassam Brigades, an armed faction affiliated with Hamas.

Considered a hardliner within the Hamas movement, Siyam formed the Executive Forces, a parallel, Hamas-controlled security apparatus, after Hamas was elected to power in 2006.

While he took a hard line against Fatah in internal Palestinian politics, his assassination is likely to retroactively increase his stature among Palestinians of all political factions.

“Israel has a remarkable way of turning villains into heroes, into Gods,” said one Palestinian on Thursday, a resident of Bethlehem whose family is close to Fatah. He compared Siyam’s death to the assassination of Hamas’ wheelchair-bound spiritual leader, Ahmad Yasin, in 2004.

Born in 1959 in the squalor of Gaza's Ash-Shati Refugee Camp, Siyam worked as a math and science teacher at local United Nations-run schools. He joined Hamas in the 1980s, one of its earliest members. Siyam quickly assumed leadership of the local teacher's union.

He was active in the first Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, against the Israeli occupation, which began in late 1987.

Israeli forces jailed Siyam several times in the 1990s, and in 1992 exiled him for a year to southern Lebanon with hundreds of other Palestinians.

In the mid-1990s, Hamas' rival, the Fatah movement of then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, established the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza, as part of interim peace deals with Israel. Siyam was jailed by Fatah-controlled PA security forces during this period.

He was elected to the Palestinian parliament in 2006, winning the most votes of any candidate.

As interior minister, Siyam had trouble controlling security forces that had been formed during Arafat’s rule, and were loyal to Fatah. It was then that he set up the Executive Force, which became the core of the Hamas police force in Gaza after the takeover of Gaza in June 2007.

After the takeover, Siyam’s forces established tight, if repressive control over the Gaza Strip, shutting down militias perceived to be loyal to Fatah.

On Thursday, Muhammad Nazzal a member of the Hamas political bureau, lamented the death of Siyam in as speech broadcast from Damascus.

Aluf Benn, an Israeli military correspondent, said Israeli intelligence confirmed the presence of Siyam and his staff near his brother’s home before ordering the assassination.

Hamas announced a period of mourning over the assassination of Syam, who was a member of the movement’s politburo, in addition to his role at the de facto Interior Ministry. Syam was appointed to the post shortly after Hamas won legislative elections in 2006.

Hamas condemned the killing of Syam’s son, brother Iyad and sister-in-law, as well as her son, who was killed along with four other neighbors near the home. Ten Palestinians were killed in the airstrike, including Syam and five of his family members.


***Updated 20:49 Friday, Gaza time