Israeli offensive continues for fourth day, toll reaches 370
Israeli warplanes destroyed a Hamas complex, security installations and home of a top commander as the toll in the military operation against Gaza crossed 370 on the fourth day.
With hundreds of Israeli troops and tanks amassed at the border with Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the bombardment of Hamas targets is so far "the first of several stages" of action approved by the security cabinet.
Over 370 Palestinians have died since the Israeli air onslaught began on Saturday, including at least 64 civilians according to the UN figures, even as Israel said it was ready for a "prolonged conflict".
Among those killed were two sisters, aged 4 and 11, who perished in an airstrike on a rocket squad in northern Gaza on Tuesday.
Palestinians said that Israeli missiles flattened five ministerial buildings and a structure belonging to the Islamic University in Gaza City, a daily reported.
An Israeli attack also targeted a house in the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing seven people, while another hit the home of Abdel-Karim Jaber, a Hamas political figure who is a senior administrator at Gaza’s Islamic University.
However, he was not at home and it wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was hurt in the strike, the paper said.
Hamas’s Interior Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Treasury, and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s offices were amongst the targets, as well as Gaza police stations.
Israel deputy Defence Minister said the Jewish nation was ready to continue the offensive for weeks.
"We are ready for a prolonged conflict and for weeks of combat," Matan Vilnai told public radio.
Arabs asks UN to act tough on Israel over Gaza strikes
Amid the worldwide protests against Israel’s attacks on Gaza Strip that claimed over 350 lives, Arab states have asked the UN to bring the Jewish state into compliance and cease military activities in the region.
Ambassadors from Egypt and Palestinian Authority met the UN chief Ban Ki-moon shortly after he had addressed a press conference asking both Hamas and Israel to declare immediate ceasefire and criticised Tel Aviv for using "excessive force."
The two met Ban, as Arabs increased pressure on the Security Council to ensure that its call for ceasefire is
heeded by Israel even as Tel Aviv said it planned to destroy the ability of Hamas to fire rockets into its territory and threat of a ground attack loomed.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian permanent observer to the United Nations, told reporters that Israel must be made to comply with the unanimous call of the 15-member council for an immediate end to the violence and bloodshed in Gaza.
"It’s the responsibility of the council to act in a practical way to bring the Israeli compliance" with the unanimous council call for a cease-fire, Mansour said.
"What we want is to bring Israel into compliance with the wish of the Security Council," he said, adding that it has been more than 48 hours since the council made the appeal, but Israel did not comply with it.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev had said in a letter to the Security Council on Saturday that the airstrikes were aimed at "the terrorists and their infrastructure" in Gaza and were not intended against the civilian population.
But reports from the Gaza said several dozens of civilians were killed. The UN reported that at least 62 women and children have been killed.
Popularity: 1% [?]