US and Chinese leaders to meet in California in June
"The mobilization of Israeli occupying forces on the ground, including the amassing of tanks, armored vehicles and buses near the Gaza border are cause for serious concern and demand the attention of the international community," the Palestinian U.N. observer, Riyad Mansour, wrote to the U.N. Security Council.
"We thus reiterate our urgent appeal to the Security Council to uphold its (U.N.) Charter duties and to act now to protect the Palestinian civilian population under Israel's occupation in accordance with international humanitarian law," he wrote to Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, president of the Security Council this month.
Update 08.30
Israeli Air Force struck out about seventy times at suspected militant targets in Gaza Thursday evening, following reports of a rocket landing outside the town of Rishon le-Zion, 15 kilometers from the Israeli capital killing no one.
Both sides have suffered considerable losses since the start of Operation Pillar of Cloud with three Israelis killed and 45 injured and 19 people killed and 150 injured in Gaza.
The Israeli military has been moving ground troops and armor towards the Gaza Strip and has already been authorized to call up 30,000 reservists in case of need.
Update 06.15
Hamas reports one IDF strike near a graveyard in the Al Shujaiya neighborhood east of Gaza City, also two strikes in Rafah and in Khan Younis, as well as IAF shelling in the Strip. No injuries reported.
Since beginning of the operation in Gaza, Magen David Adom rescue services has treated 54 Israelis wounded, including the three Israeli casualties in Kiryat Malakhi.
Update 04.55
Hollande has begun talks with Netanyahu
French President Francois Hollande has begun talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other world leaders in an attempt to avert an escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Jean-Francois Ayrault said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron also spoke to Netanyahu, saying Hamas bore the principal responsibility for the crisis.
The United States has asked countries that have contact with Hamas to urge the group to stop its recent rocket attacks from Gaza, a White House adviser said on Thursday.
Update 04.30
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon notifies Israeli government of an upcoming visit to Jerusalem, Cairo, and Ramallah, to take place on Tuesday, following the escalation of the situation in the Gaza Strip.
The Foreign Ministry adds that at this stage, the UN Secretary General is not expected to visit Gaza. In addition, it is still unclear if Ban will arrive equipped with a plan for a cease-fire.
Red alert sounds in Ashkelon
Update 04.00
Missiles fall near PM’s house in Gaza as Israel intensifies attacks
A targeted missile strike launched from an Israeli Navy warship has hit a vehicle near the home of Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, according to Israeli media. This comes as Israel intensifies its attacks on Gaza.
Residents say the strike also destroyed an electricity generator near Haniyeh’s house. It was unclear whether he was at home at the time of the assault. No casualties have been reported in the latest attack.
Meanwhile Israeli Defense Force spokesperson has said in an official Twitter: “During the past hour, the IDF targeted approx. 70 underground medium range rocket launching sites in Gaza. Direct hits were confirmed.”
Update 02.30
Two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip targeted Tel Aviv on Thursday in the first attack on Israel's commercial capital in 20 years, raising the stakes in a showdown between Israel and the Palestinians that is moving towards all-out war.
Earlier, a Hamas rocket killed three Israelis north of the Gaza Strip, drawing the first blood from Israel as the Palestinian death toll rose to 19, six of them children.
In its latest update the IDF said more than 300 rockets have been fired from Gaza at Israel, and that the Iron Dome program had intercepted 120.
Israel moves elite brigade towards Gaza
Israel has moved units of the elite Givati Brigades towards the Gaza Strip on the second day of its counter-terror operation Pillar of Cloud.
The Givati Brigades have ample experience of fighting Hamas radicals in Gaza. Defense Minister Ehud Barak earlier authorized the call-up of reservists for a possible ground invasion of the Palestinian territory after a long-range rocket, fired from the enclave, landed in Tel Aviv.
Local police have not yet found any traces of the missile’s landing either in or outside the city.
Update 01.15
Israeli Defense Minister approves summons of 30,000 soldiers for Gaza operation
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has reportedly approved the summons of 30,000 reserve soldiers. The troops can be called into action by the military at any point, an IDF spokesman told Israel’s Channel 2 TV, as quoted by AFP.
Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai said the army was in the process of expanding the Gaza operation.
Some of those called up would be dispatched to replace existing units in their routine duties.
According to Mordechai, the army plans to continue its attacks on terror targets in Gaza until the operation’s goals are met. He added that it was “far too early to talk about a ceasefire.”
Journal of Turkish Weekly reports quoting The Associated Press about Israeli infantry and armored units being moved towards the enclave’s borders. Israeli forces last entered Gaza in winter 2008 during Operation cast Lead which left more than 1,000 Palestinians dead.
Update 00.10
Hezbollah leader is delivering a speech on the crisis in Gaza
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is attacking Arab leaders for not providing more support to Gazans. He says Israel is taking advantage of the Syrian conflict in order to wage an assault on Gaza.
He says things have changed since 2008. At the time Hezbollah could provide support to Gaza through Syria, he said. This time, because of the fighting in Syria, that's not possible, he says.
There have been no reports of the Lebanese group, to Israel's north, trying to ferry aid into Gaza in the current conflict.
Update 23.30
A video just uploaded to YouTube purports to depict the interception of rockets by Israel's Irone Dome system in area of Be'er Sheva. People can be heard counting the rockets in the video, which was shot in the dark.
Within the last half hour Haaretz reported a home in the city was hit by a rocket and that one person is being treated for shock.
Gaza rocket strikes outskirts of Tel Aviv
A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck an Israeli city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv on Thursday, exploding in an open area within the municipal limits of Rishon Lezion, the army said.
Air raid sirens sounded in Rishon Lezion, a city some 12 km (seven miles) south of Tel Aviv, and an explosion was heard. A military spokeswoman said the rocket hit an uninhabited area.
There were no reports of damage or casualties. Israeli media reports said the rocket came down near an amusement park in sand dunes on the edge of Rishon Lezion, a city of 300,000 people.
It was the northernmost point struck by a rocket since Israel's Gaza offensive began on Wednesday.
Islamic Jihad claims rocket fire at Tel Aviv
The armed wing of the radical Islamic Jihad on Thursday said it had fired an Iranian-built rocket at the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
"The Quds Brigades hit the occupied city of Tel Rabea (Tel Aviv) with a Fajr 5 rocket causing a large explosion to shake the city," the group said in a brief statement.
Gaza rocket fired at Tel Aviv, lands in sea
A rocket fired at Tel Aviv from the Gaza Strip on Thursday landed in the sea, an Israeli security source said.
Air raid sirens sounded in Israel's commercial centre during the evening rush hour, sending commuters scurrying from buses to seek shelter, and an explosion was heard.
Israel's chief military spokesman said no rocket had struck the city. A security source said it fell into the Mediterranean.
Update 21.05
Tel Aviv residents are asked to go to bomb shelters, the VoR correspondent in Israel reports.
An air raid siren went off in Tel Aviv Thursday. This was the first time the siren has sounded since the Gulf War in the early 1990s.
The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the shelling.
Earlier, more blasts have been reported in southern Tel Aviv and the cities of Yaffo, Bat Yam, Holon and Rehovot.
Hamas militants have fired over 380 rockets at Israel, some of them were long-distance ones and hit the suburbs of Dimona, 75 km of the Gaza Strip.
One rocket struck Rishon Lesion located near Tel Aviv. No casualties or damage have so far been reported.
The militants allegedly used Fajr-5 missiles that the Israeli troops have been seeking to destroy since the launch of the Gaza operation.
According to the local military, the Iron Domesystem intercepted some 100 rockets targeting large cities in southern Israel.
The region is still under sporadic fire.
Update 20.44
US blames Hamas for Gaza conflict
The United States on Thursday blamed Hamas for an explosion of violence in Gaza after salvoes of rockets were fired into Israel in retaliation for the killing of the group's military chief.
Expressing regret for the victims on both sides of the conflict, White House spokesman Jay Carney said there was "no justification" for the violence on the part of Hamas, saying it "does nothing to help the Palestinians."
Update 20.32
Putin urges Palestine, Israel not to escalate the conflict
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has urged Palestine and Israel to be reserved and prevent the Gaza conflict escalation.
Putin talked the Gaza strikes with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the phone Thursday.
Putin expressed hope that the warring parties will do their best to return things back to normal and expressed concerns over civilian deaths.
On November 14, the Israeli air force eliminated the head of Hamas military wing, Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari, and announced the launch of the Pillar of Defense operation striking Gaza cities. Some 16 Palestinians have been reported dead and over 100 injured.
In response, Hamas militants counterstruck southern Israel with 200 rockets. Casualties have been reported.
Update 19.51
Egypt PM to visit Gaza on Friday
Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil will visit the Gaza Strip on Friday as Israel presses a major air campaign against the territory, the ruling Hamas government said on Thursday.
"The Egyptian leadership informed us that Prime Minister Hisham Qandil will visit Gaza tomorrow, accompanied by a number of ministers. We welcome this visit and appreciate this courageous stand," Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu said.
Update 19.38
Gaza rocket strikes outskirts of Tel Aviv
A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck an Israeli city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv on Thursday, exploding in an open area within the municipal limits of Rishon Lezion, the army said.
Air raid sirens sounded in Rishon Lezion, a city some 12 km (seven miles) south of Tel Aviv, and an explosion was heard. A military spokeswoman said the rocket hit an uninhabited area.
There were no reports of damage or casualties. Israeli media reports said the rocket came down near an amusement park in sand dunes on the edge of Rishon Lezion, a city of 300,000 people.
It was the northernmost point struck by a rocket since Israel's Gaza offensive began on Wednesday.
Update 18.48
Hamas rejects truce talks with Israel for now
Gaza's Hamas rulers on Thursday said they would not consider a truce with Israel for now, as Israeli planes pounded Gaza and militants fired hundreds of rockets into the Jewish state.
"We will not be exposed to further tricks by the occupation.
We consider talk of a truce at this time an attempt to provide more cover for the continuation of the escalation on Gaza," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said at a press conference.
Update 18.06
Israel to defend its citizens by 'whatever action necessary': PM
Israel will take "whatever action is necessary" to defend its citizens from Palestinian rocket attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday as the military pressed a massive operation in Gaza.
Israel will "continue to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people," he said at a televised press conference in Tel Aviv.
Update 17.08
Israel will never defeat Gaza - Hamas chief
Israel will never defeat Gaza, Khaled Meshaal, the exiled chief of the Hamas movement which rules the Palestinian territory, said in a defiant speech in Sudan on Thursday.
"This enemy is weak and cannot vanquish Gaza," Meshaal told a major conference of Sudanese Islamists.
Update 17.04
Tech-savvy Israel starts media war on Gaza via FB, Twitter
Israel has launched an unprecedented propaganda war on the Gaza-rooted Hamas movement while setting warplanes against the troubled Palestinian land.
Global media report tech-savvy Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to have blanketed all sorts of social networks with their take on the attack, posting Facebook updates, live-tweets and YouTube videos.
The violence erupted Wednesday when Israeli military took out a Hamas top-flyer and chief of its armed wing, Ahmed Jaabari, triggering a deadly confrontation that has already taken the lives of 15 Gaza civilians.
Since that killing, IDF’s twitter account @IDFSpokesperson has been sending multiple updates on the military operation using the hashtags #IsraelUnderFire or #PillarOfDefense. The messages are also tweeted in French (@Tsahal_IDF) and in Spanish (@FDIonline).
It has sent a warning to Hamas, reading: “We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead.”
Hamas answered the threat with a text from @AlqassamBrigade, saying the Israelis have “opened hell gates on yourselves.”
Update 16.47
Death toll in Gaza conflict rises to 15
Two more Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes on Thursday as militants fired some 250 rockets over the border, killing three Israelis, officials on both sides said.
Hamas health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said a strike in the northern town of Beit Lahiya had killed a 60-year-old man, and the emergency services announced that a child had died of wounds he sustained in a morning strike on Khan Yunis earlier Thursday.
The latest violence raised to 15 the total number of Gazans killed in 22 hours of Israeli air strikes, which also left at least 150 people injured, medics said.
Update 16.14
Hamas leader vows to put up resistance after Jaabari takeout
Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal on Thursday condemned the killing of military commander Ahmed al-Jaabari and vowed to continue the "resistance" against Israel after the Jewish state launched an offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza.
"Men and women in Palestine, we will continue the resistance," Meshaal said at a meeting of Islamic leaders in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
Update 16:05
Russia’s Putin concerned over Gaza crisis
Russia has voiced its concern about the escalating conflict in the Gaza strip where Israel launched a special military operation on Wednesday.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is reported to be closely following the situation in the region and is planning a series of international contacts in this regard, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
“We are following the situation very closely. President Vladimir Putin is receiving information online. Of course, we are all very concerned,” Mr. Peskov told reporters.
Israel is moving troops to the Gaza strip border
It doesn’t exclude a large-scale military operation. Israel is currently only using its air fleet but the army has already deployed its land troops in the border area and is waiting for a command to act.
"If the East is a ‘delicate matter,’ the Middle East is unpredictable as well,”Voice of Russia’s special correspondent Yevgeny Erlikh says. “Even several hours before the launch of Israel’s full-scale attack against Hamas rebel fighters this scenario still seemed most unlikely to the Israeli military. The decision was taken by top officials who were doubtful till the eleventh hour.”
“Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is gearing up in the run-up to the parliamentary elections. His fate will be sealed in January, so he’s reluctant to risk the lives of his soldiers and his reputation of a politician who is both wise and determined. Almost all experts agree that it won’t come to a war,” the Voice of Russia correspondent says.
Irina Zvyagelskaya, Professor of Oriental Studies at the Moscow Institute of International Relations, has commented the situation in the Middle East in an interview to the Voice of Russia.
How possible do you think is an Israeli land invasion in the Gaza strip?
I don’t think we should exclude this possibility, although I hope it’s not regarded as the only way out. I hope they’ll manage to do without an invasion.
What’s the reason behind this escalation of tensions?
As you know, Israel has called this operation Pillar of Cloud. It began with the killing of a brigadier general with Izzadin Al Kassam brigades, a man who commanded Hamas’s armed wing and soon started limiting the power of Palestine’s political leadership, including Prime Minister Hania, who has proved to be a very pragmatic leader. This has long been a source of concern for Israel’s political and military elite. I believe it was a preemptive attack to take out a person who was responsible for military command.
UN Security Council ad hoc meeting was convened today and there is an opinion that the present escalation could help the Palestinian Authority in its bid for independence. Do you agree with it?
I wouldn’t be so sure because, as you might know, it’s not easy to gain statehood. The process also involves negotiations. There’s no dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian leadership at the moment.
Israeli police said the three died when a Palestinian rocket hit a four-story building in the town of Kiryat Malachi, some 25 km (15 miles) north of Gaza. They were the first Israeli fatalities of the latest conflict to hit the coastal region.
Israel on Wednesday assassinated Hamas's military mastermind and shelled the enclave from the land, sea and air, killing 13 people, including five militants, three children and a pregnant woman. More than 100 were wounded.
The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting late on Wednesday to discuss the Israeli assault. It called for a halt to the violence, but took no action.
Expecting days or more of fighting, Israel warned Hamas that all its men were in its sights and dropped leaflets in Gaza telling residents to keep their distance from militants and Hamas facilities.
"The leaflets stress that Hamas is dragging the region toward violence, and that the IDF is prepared to defend the residents of the State of Israel until quiet is restored to the region," the military said in a statement.
Israel weathered censure from influential Arab powers Egypt and Qatar. The United States condemned Hamas, shunned by the West as an obstacle to peace for its refusal to renounce violence and recognise Israel.
Hamas has said the killing of its top commander, Ahmed Al-Jaabari, would "open the gates of hell" for Israel. It also appealed to neighbouring Egypt to halt the "barbaric" assault.
Egypt FM calls on US to end Israeli assault on Gaza
Egypt's Foreign Minister Kamel Amr has called on the United States to intervene and end "Israeli aggression" on the Gaza Strip, state media reported on Thursday.
Amr "requested that the United States immediately intervene to stop Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people in Gaza", MENA news agency reported, adding that Amr spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by telephone.
Analysts predict war between Israel, Palestine
Most of political analysts on the Middle East predict war between Israel and Palestine amid the recent aggravation of tension between the parties of the conflict. The Israeli troops are on alert on the border with the Gaza Strip waiting for the order to launch an offensive, the Voice of Russia correspondent reports.
On November 10, Islamists opened mortar fire at the Israeli army jeep which led to mutual attacks which lasted for two days.
On Wednesday, after a short break Palestinians resumed missile attacks on Israel.
On Thursday, the UN Security Council held an emergency session on the Gaza Strip. Russia’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said that a number of countries including Russia urged restraint and an end to the violence.
UN Security Council finishes session on Gaza Strip
The UN Security Council has finished a 2 hours closed-door emergency session on the situation in Gaza. The ambassadors of Israel and the Palestinian administration spoke at the meeting. The representatives of 15 countries members of the UN Security Council exchanged opinions on the situation.
“In general the meeting was not useless”, Russia’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin told reporters Thursday. He said that a number of countries including Russia urged restraint and end of violence.
On Wednesday, Israel announced plans to hold a large scale military operation in the Gaza Strip as a response to Palestine’s missile attacks.
Israeli army may mobilize reservists
The Israeli army command has not ruled out that in order to destroy the missile arsenals of the Palestinian movement Hamas they might need not only the Air Force, but possibly to launch a ground operation into Gaza, therefore they have authorized the Army to call up reservists.
The Israeli Air Force struck dozens of targets on the Gaza Strip as part of a large-scale operation codenamed "Protective Pillar", which resulted in 12 Palestinians being killed, including the leader of the military wing of Hamas, Ahmed al-Jabari.
In response, Palestinian forces, according to various estimates, launched from 50 to 80 rockets into southern Israel, where two people were injured.
Hospitals in Sinai, Egypt which is located across the border from Gaza are on high alert and are expecting victims.
UN Security Council emergency meeting over Gaza violence underway in New York
The United Nations Security Council has called an emergency meeting to discuss escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon contacted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in a telephone conversation expressed concern over the situation in Gaza.
While the UN Secretary General confirmed that he strongly condemns rocket fire from Gaza, he stressed that he expects a "weighed" response from Israel, "not to provoke a new cycle of bloodshed that could result in more casualties among the civilian population."
Ban Ki-moon has urged both sides to exercise "maximum restraint and to respect international law."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that a resumption of negotiations by the Middle East "Quartet" is necessary to create conditions for negotiations between Palestine and Israel."
Voice of Russia, Haaretz, Reuters, guardian, AFP, RT, TASS, RIA
