18 killed on 5th day of Israeli strikes on Gaza
Source: Agencies |
November 19, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ISRAEL bombed Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip from air and sea for a fifth straight day yesterday, preparing for a possible ground invasion while also spelling out its conditions for a truce.
Israeli airstrikes killed 18 Palestinians in the bloodiest day so far of its massive air campaign on the Gaza Strip, as diplomatic efforts to broker a truce intensified.
But there was no letup in the bloodshed in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, with the latest victims including four toddlers, a 13-year-old girl and three other children.
In the day's deadliest raid, at least seven members of the same family, four of them children, were among nine people killed when an Israeli missile destroyed a family home in Gaza City, officials said.
Another three people died in two separate strikes shortly afterwards.
The Israeli army confirmed it had struck "a few targets in northern Gaza City."
The latest deaths took the Palestinian death toll to 64 with hundreds wounded in almost 100 hours of raids, while three Israelis have been killed by rocket fire since last Wednesday.
Palestinians launched dozens of rockets into Israel and targeted Tel Aviv for a fourth day yesterday. The "Iron Dome" missile shield shot down two of the rockets fired toward Israel's biggest city but falling debris hit a car, which caught fire. Its driver was not hurt.
In scenes recalling Israel's 2008-2009 winter invasion of the Gaza Strip, tanks, artillery and infantry massed in field encampments along the sandy border. Military convoys moved on roads in the area newly closed to civilian traffic.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday Israel was ready to widen its offensive.
"We are exacting a heavy price from Hamas and the terrorist organizations and the Israel defense forces are prepared for a significant expansion of the operation," Netanyahu said at a Cabinet meeting.
Israel's declared goal is to deplete Gaza arsenals and press Hamas into stopping cross-border rocket fire that has bedevilled Israeli border towns for years and is now displaying greater range, putting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in the crosshairs.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said in Cairo, as his security deputies sought to broker a truce with Hamas leaders, that "there are some indications that there is a possibility of a ceasefire soon, but we do not yet have firm guarantees."
Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel would not negotiate a truce with Hamas as long as rocket fire continues from the Palestinian enclave.
"The first and absolute condition for a truce is stopping all fire from Gaza," he said yesterday before meeting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
Israeli airstrikes killed 18 Palestinians in the bloodiest day so far of its massive air campaign on the Gaza Strip, as diplomatic efforts to broker a truce intensified.
But there was no letup in the bloodshed in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, with the latest victims including four toddlers, a 13-year-old girl and three other children.
In the day's deadliest raid, at least seven members of the same family, four of them children, were among nine people killed when an Israeli missile destroyed a family home in Gaza City, officials said.
Another three people died in two separate strikes shortly afterwards.
The Israeli army confirmed it had struck "a few targets in northern Gaza City."
The latest deaths took the Palestinian death toll to 64 with hundreds wounded in almost 100 hours of raids, while three Israelis have been killed by rocket fire since last Wednesday.
Palestinians launched dozens of rockets into Israel and targeted Tel Aviv for a fourth day yesterday. The "Iron Dome" missile shield shot down two of the rockets fired toward Israel's biggest city but falling debris hit a car, which caught fire. Its driver was not hurt.
In scenes recalling Israel's 2008-2009 winter invasion of the Gaza Strip, tanks, artillery and infantry massed in field encampments along the sandy border. Military convoys moved on roads in the area newly closed to civilian traffic.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday Israel was ready to widen its offensive.
"We are exacting a heavy price from Hamas and the terrorist organizations and the Israel defense forces are prepared for a significant expansion of the operation," Netanyahu said at a Cabinet meeting.
Israel's declared goal is to deplete Gaza arsenals and press Hamas into stopping cross-border rocket fire that has bedevilled Israeli border towns for years and is now displaying greater range, putting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in the crosshairs.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said in Cairo, as his security deputies sought to broker a truce with Hamas leaders, that "there are some indications that there is a possibility of a ceasefire soon, but we do not yet have firm guarantees."
Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel would not negotiate a truce with Hamas as long as rocket fire continues from the Palestinian enclave.
"The first and absolute condition for a truce is stopping all fire from Gaza," he said yesterday before meeting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
