Gaza: 1300 Martyrs, 5450 Wounded

Date : 18/1/2009   Time : 16:59

GAZA, January 18, 2009, (WAFA)-

The number of Palestinian victims of the Israeli Aggression on the Gaza Strip reached, Sunday, 1300 martyrs and more than 5450 wounded, according to Palestinian Ministry of Health reports.
 
Palestinian medical resources added that 95 corpses were found in Al-Atatrah and Jabal Al-Kashef areas, north and east of Gaza, and in Al-Zaytoon neighborhood, including corpses of women and children.
 
Some of those corpses belong to entire families who have been killed, and left for several days under rubble, because nobody was able to reach them.
 
On the other hand, the Israeli aggression has caused enormous damages to the infrastructure and hundreds of apartments in Tal Al-Hawa area, and the neighborhoods of Al-Zaytoon, Al-Tofah, Al-Shuja'iya, Al-Karama and Al Twam, in addition to the destruction of tens of houses in Al-Buraij and Al-Nussairat Refugee Camps.

Hamas: We will never accept the presence of IOF troops in Gaza

[ 18/01/2009 - 10:37 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

 In its comment on Israeli unilateral ceasefire claims, the Hamas Movement on Saturday highlighted that it would never condone the presence of any Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip under any circumstances.

In a statement broadcast by Al-Aqsa satellite channel, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum underlined that his Movement would never accept less than stopping the Israeli aggression, full withdrawal of IOF troops from Gaza, lifting the siege and opening the crossings.

Barhoum said that Israel's declaration of a unilateral ceasefire bore out that the war was waged by only one side and in one direction, adding that the Israeli war on Gaza has nothing to do with Palestinian rockets or the resistance as much as it is a cheap employment of the blood of women, children and civilians in the coming Israeli elections.

The spokesman also underscored that the Zio-American memorandum of understanding is a new ploy to tighten the siege on Gaza and internationalize the Gaza waters and the red sea at the pretext of stopping arms supplies to Gaza in order to later impose political solutions in favor of the Israeli occupation.

The spokesman noted that his Movement would not stop to deal with all initiatives to end the Israeli aggression and alleviate the suffering of Gaza people.

Osama Hamdan, the representative of Hamas in Lebanon, described Olmert's speech in which he declared a unilateral ceasefire as a declaration of defeat similar to his speech after the war against the Lebanese resistance in 2006.

Hamdan added that Olmert's speech was a declaration of victory to the steadfast Palestinian resistance, pointing out that Olmert claimed that his troops managed to strike Hamas and its fighters, but also admitted that they failed to free the captured soldier, Gilad Shalit, whom he does not even know his whereabouts.

The Hamas leader said that Olmert contradicted himself when he claimed his troops managed to weaken Hamas, then said that he wants international guarantees to weaken Hamas and talked about an agreement with the US and Egypt to end arms supplies to Gaza.

In response to Olmert's decision to keep his troops in Gaza, the Hamas leader warned that if the Israeli military presence continued in Gaza, it would be a wide door for the resistance against the IOF troops.

Palestinian killed in the first day of unilateral cease-fire, medics locate bodies of 35 residents

Sunday January 18, 2009 11:57 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian medical sources in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, reported on Sunday morning that the Israeli terrorist soldiers killed one resident in Khuza'a town, east of Khan Younis. The sources added that rescue teams and medics located the bodies of 35 residents after the army withdrew from areas in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

The slain man is the first to be killed after Israel declared its unilateral ceasefire which came in effect at 02:00 on Sunday at dawn.

The Israeli army claimed that the slain man was in an area used by Palestinian fighters who fired homemade shells into adjacent Israeli areas.

The slain man was a civilian, medics reported. Several other residents were wounded.

The Israeli terrorist army also said that soldiers were returning fire at Palestinian gunmen when the man was killed, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported.

Haaretz added that the a spokesperson of the army said that “soldiers acted according to the rules of engagement”, and vowed that the army would retaliate harshly to any attack against the soldiers in Gaza.

Meanwhile, resistance factions in Gaza said that they fired at least five homemade shells at the Israeli Negev town of Sderot in retaliation to the Israeli attack.

On Sunday morning, medics and rescue teams located the bodies of 35 residents in different parts of the Gaza Strip.

Most of the bodies were buried under the rubble of shelled civilian facilities and homes.

Medical sources in Gaza reported that in 22 days of Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers killed 1206 Palestinians, including 415 children, 110 women and 115 elderly. Five women baring international citizenships were also killed in the offensive.

The number of Palestinians wounded in the offensive arrived to 5320; half of them were children and women, and 450 are in serious conditions.

Besides civilian homes, the shelling also targeted schools, mosques, UNRWA facilities, hospitals, and several other civilian facilities.

On Saturday morning, the army shelled an UNRWA school in Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. At least 1800 displaced civilians were taking shelter in the school. Israeli soldiers shelled 67 schools, including 36 UNRWA schools, during the offensive.

IOTF soldiers kill Palestinian despite their declared ceasefire

[ 18/01/2009 - 11:25 AM ]

KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)--

A Palestinian civilian was killed and others were wounded when Israeli occupation terrorist forces (IOTF) fired at them east of Khuza'a town in Khan Younis district, south of the Gaza Strip, on Sunday.

Medical sources said that Maher Abu Rjeila, 23, was hit with multiple gunshots at the hands of IOF tanks entrenched east of Khuza'a.

Citizens hearing of the Israeli ceasefire rushed to inspect their homes and agricultural lands. Israeli premier Ehud Olmert had announced a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza as of early Sunday.

Locals reported that IOF soldiers re-positioned their troops after the ceasefire announcement and withdrew from certain areas.

They said that hundreds of houses were flattened by the invading IOF troops especially along the Rafah border strip with Egypt.

Palestinian medical teams had recovered tens of bodies in areas where those teams could not reach before due to the IOF ceaseless pounding in the past three weeks. Preliminary reports indicate that 45 bodies were retrieved so far.

Unilateral ceasefire goes into effect, Israeli terrorist army to remain in Gaza ready for possible renewed war

Sunday January 18, 2009 04:12 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Unilateral ceasefire declared by Ehud Barak, the Israeli terrorist government defense minister, went into effect at 2 am on Sunday, while the Israeli troops invading Gaza will not withdraw and will remain in the Gaza Strip for a possible resumption and expansion of the war.

Barak said that “Israel achieved its objectives of this war” and that the army will cease fire but will remain deployed in Gaza, Israeli Ynet News reported.

On Saturday, and despite the continuous offensive, resistance factions clashed with the invading forces and fired homemade shells.

On its side, Hamas movement said that Israel's unilateral ceasefire does not mean that the army ended its hostilities or the siege had ended.

Fawzi Barhoum of Hamas, said that the ongoing Israeli siege on Gaza is also one of the components of the Israeli war.

Barhoum added that resistance would continue, and that the presence of the Israeli forces in Gaza opens the door for resistance against the occupation.

Yet, the Ynet News said that Israeli military officials speculate the Hamas will cease fire in three days and that the Israeli army will continue its readiness for a possible military escalation in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources in Gaza reported that after the unilateral ceasefire came into effect, the Israeli army fired several shells, including phosphorous shells.

During a TV interview broadcast by the Al Aqsa TV, Barhoum stated that “the Zionist enemy must stop its aggression, and must withdraw from Gaza”.

"Hamas will prevail, resistance will prevail, and the leadership will remain steadfast”, Barhoum said, “the so-called unilateral ceasefire proves that this is a unilateral war imposed by Israel on the Palestinians, this war have nothing to do with homemade shells, it is a war against women and children, a war of competition between Israeli leaders running for elections”.

He also slammed the Israeli-American agreement and said that this deal aims at dragging Arab countries into enforcing Israeli and American control over the Red Sea and the Gaza Shore.

More than 1,200 Palestinians, including children, infants and women, were killed in 22 days of Israeli shelling, the number of those injured have exceeded 5,400 including 400 in critical conditions, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported Saturday.

Clashes erupt in northern Gaza; Brigades reported to fire on Israeli troops stationed near Jabaliya

Date: 18 / 01 / 2009  Time:  09:45
Bethlehem - Ma’an -

Palestinian factions clashed with the Israeli terrorist troops still stationed in Gaza Sunday morning, after Israel called a “unilateral ceasefire” to start at 2am the same day.

Even before the ceasefire was called, Gaza factions made it clear that a stop to the violence without the total withdrawal of Israeli troops and the opening of Gaza borders would be unacceptable, and fighting would continue.

Israeli troops have remained stationed around Gaza City, though they have pulled back from residential areas. They are stationed in the southern Strip between Rafah and Khan Younis, and continue to divide the Strip by forming a physical and military road block between the northern and central sectors at the former Israeli settlement of Netsarim.

Militants clashed with troops in the northern Strip near Jabaliya, and others fired several projectiles and Grads into Israel.

According to Israeli sources at least seven Grads were fired, and another six projectiles launched towards the western Negev.

***Updated 10:26 Bethlehem time

CEASEFIRE: One dead by Israeli fire - Medics uncover reeking bodies - at least 1,246 dead - clashes reported

Date: 18 / 01 / 2009  Time:  10:16
Gaza – Ma’an –

A Gazan farmer is dead and his son injured by Israeli fire less than ten hours after Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza Strip Sunday morning, medical sources confirmed.

The farmer was identified as 24-year-old Abd As-Samad Abu Rejlieh, who was shot as he went out to his lands to inspect the damage from the 22-day Israeli incursion.

Israeli fire also hit a mother and her daughter in their home in the northern Strip town of Beit Hanoun, both were injured.

Since the ceasefire went into effect at 2am Sunday morning, one is dead and several injured. Medical crews continue to dig bodies out of Gaza rubble.

Israeli reconnaissance planes buzzed overhead throughout the night Sunday, and explosions were heard in several parts of the Strip. Israeli shells fell on a group of Rafah residents in the south, and phosphorus bombs landed in the At-Tuffah neighborhood of eastern Gaza City.

Gazans also reported that an Israeli helicopter shot at a group in line near a Bank of Palestine ATM in Jabaliya.

Eyewitnesses say hundreds of families were seen moving in the streets, heading back to their homes in northern Gaza. One family, caught on film with Al-Jazeera, returned north to the Jabaliya district to find their family home demolished. They dug through the rubble and pulled out more than 25 bodies. One man collapsed when he discovered his brother beneath the debris.

Medical crews reported coming across “the most horrifying scenes,” and that most dead bodies being uncovered have been found in pieces. Many had been dead for several days and had begun to decompose. Many of the reeking dead were women and children who stayed in their homes during the clashes and shelling.

Many of the bodies are being buried immediately, given their state of decomposition, and are being identified and by relatives rather than being first transferred to hospital.

Medical teams found four bodies under the rubble after the Israeli tanks partially withdrew from the Al-Atatrah neighborhood in Bet Lahiya north of Jabaliya.

Muawiyah Hassanain, the director of Ambulance and Emergency Services in the Health Ministry in Gaza said dozens of bodies have been uncovered and recovered from sectors of the Gaza Strip that medical crews and families had not been able to reach because of the intensity of the shelling. He said crews would work all day Sunday to recover the bodies, in coordination with Israeli troops still on the ground.

The corridor between northern and central Gaza remains closed, since troops remain stationed around the former Netsarim settlement. They are reported to have withdrawn from the Zaitoun, Ash-Shaf and At-Tuffah neighborhoods of Gaza City, away from the homes of citizens.

The death toll of the 22 day war stands at 1,234 with more than 5,450 injured. The number is expected to rise as bodies are found throughout the day.

***Updated 12:44 Bethlehem time.

Olmert: Crossings closed but more aid to flow into Strip

Date: 18 / 01 / 2009  Time:  09:17
Jerusalem - Ma’an -

Israel will keep its borders with Gaza sealed, but has promised to allow more humanitarian aid convoys into the area, said Israeli Government spokesperson Mark Regev Sunday.

Late Saturday Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the decision to impose a unilateral ceasefire on the Gaza Strip, after waging war on the area on 27 December. Israel claimed the war was precipitated by Palestinian faction’s projectile launches into Israel, and has said that they reserve the right to respond to any further attacks.

For their part factions do not recognize the ceasefire because it does not open the crossings and maintains the presence of Israeli troops on Palestinian areas, which they do not recognize as legitimate. They launched six projectiles on Sderot shortly after 9am.

Regev said borders would remain sealed until captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is released. There has been no word on Shalilt’s condition, or whether he remained safe during the Israeli onslaught. Throughout the Israeli war on Gaza military spokespeople did not mention the safe release of Shalit as an aim in the operation.

Shortly before the war was waged, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told a high school class that not all captured soldiers could be brought home safely. The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, also sent reports during the attacks that Israeli troops intentionally fired on a building where Brigades members were hiding a recently captured soldier, killing him. The reports were denied by the Israeli army.

The Israeli Health Minister also announced that a large clinic would be opened near the Erez crossing in the northern Strip, in order to treat those maimed and injured by Israeli weapons. The minister announced that surgical specialists would be present to treat the wounded.

Military factions continue to launch projectiles at Israeli targets

Date: 18 / 01 / 2009  Time:  12:38
Gaza - Ma’an -

Palestinian military factions continued to launch projectiles at Israeli targets Sunday, and Israeli troops responded to fire in the Strip despite the unilateral Israeli announcement of a ceasefire in the area.

The Hizbullah Brigades in Palestine said they launched three projectiles towards Sderot and the western Negev. They are calling their projectile blitz the “Blaze of Gaza,” said a statement from the group Sunday.

Fatah: Israeli ceasefire not good enough; "ploy to mislead international opinion"

Date: 18 / 01 / 2009  Time:  12:12
Ramallah – Ma’an –

The protection of women, children and the elderly is the top priority in the Gaza Strip, said Fatah spokesperson Fahmi Al-Za’areer on Sunday morning.

The priority of protecting vulnerable groups has been central to Fatah’s responses to the Israeli offensive from the start. Al-Za’areer added, however, that a ceasefire without Israeli troop withdrawal would not ensure the protection of these groups and so was unacceptable.

Fatah demanded a full withdrawal, a cessation of violence and an opening of Gaza’s borders. Az-Za’reer said the ceasefire call is a ploy to mislead the international opinion, quiet diplomatic efforts for a fair end to the offensive in front of the Arab Summit in Kuwait, the inauguration of US President elect Barack Obama and the Sharam Ash-Sheikh meetings with international leaders taking place Sunday.

Al-Za’reer reminded the world that the West Bank is still under Israeli occupation, and has been totally reoccupied since 2002, after Israel’s Operation Defensive Shield. He said that he hoped a similar situation would not befall Gaza.

He demanded that no excuses be taken on the issue and that a ceasefire should be a complete cease to aggression through withdrawal from the Palestinian lands and lifting siege and opening all borders.

He confirmed the importance of communications between acting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak and the international effort through Sharam Ash-Sheikh. The meeting focuses on reaching an agreement that will see UN resolution 1860 enforced in Gaza via the Egyptian initiative.

DFLP: Israeli ceasefire proves strength of Brigades; unity behind resisters essential

Date: 18 / 01 / 2009  Time:  11:32
Salfit – Ma’an –

Olmert’s decision to call a unilateral ceasefire shows the endurance of the resistance factions against the Israeli invasion into Gaza, said a Sunday statement from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

The ceasefire is the result of the “legendary endurance of the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip and the worldwide reaction which has pressured the Israeli government,” said the statement.

The document affirmed that without an Israeli withdrawal from the Strip than factions would never agree to a ceasefire, and further demand that the borders to the strip remain open for goods and citizens.

The DFLP said that Palestinian unity behind the resistance is essential in the coming days, and noted that the party is working on forming a common political leadership that includes all parties and factions that maintain resistance as their goal.

Oxfam: A unilateral ceasefire “insufficient to halt civilian deaths”

Date: 18 / 01 / 2009  Time:  09:32
Bethlehem - Ma’an -

Oxfam expressed concern over the unilateral Israeli declaration to declare a ceasefire Saturday evening, calling the move “insufficient to halt civilian deaths.”

Executive Director of Oxfam International Jeremy Hobbs stressed in a Sunday morning statement that while the organization welcomes “cessation of violence,” he was concerned that the “unilateral ceasefire is not sufficient.”

“There must be no further Israeli or Palestinian attacks against civilians,” he said, and urged the international community to press for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1860.

“A negotiated durable and fully respected ceasefire with Hamas completely stopping rocket fire on Israel and leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza is essential,” the statement said.

Hobbs called for an “Immediate opening of all the crossings into Gaza and ending the 18-month blockade,” so Gazans could “start rebuilding their lives.”

Oxfam urged the international community to keep focused on the rights and humanitarian needs of the civilians in Gaza who have suffered immensely from the Israeli military offensive directed at Hamas over the past three weeks.

Barghouthi: Livni-Rice agreement effort to hide Israeli failure, ceasefire "will fail"

Date: 18 / 01 / 2009  Time:  11:15
Ramallah - Ma’an -

The Livni-Rice agreement is a piece of paper meant to cover up the failures of Israel in the Gaza war and help the nation save face in front of international pressure, said Mustafa Barghuthi on Saturday.

The Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) spoke out about the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and outgoing US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday. The memorandum pledges US support to Israel for preventing weapons smuggling from Iran by patrolling the Mediterranean and sending experts into Egypt.

“After 21 days of war on Gaza,” Barghouthi said in his statement, “Israel has failed to weaken the resistance and break the will of the Palestinian people. It made the resistance even stronger and re-affirmed the occupation’s persistence, moving peace far away by striking the Arab initiative and exposing Annapolis agreement.”

The move to call a unilateral ceasefire is akin to “running away from International commitments and reinforcing the occupation not just in Gaza strip but also in the West Bank.”

“It will fail,” he said.

The only appropriate ending for the war on Gaza, affirmed Barghouthi will be for Israeli leaders and military personnel to face investigation and war crimes committees in order to ensure people are held accountable for the loss of life in Gaza.