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Israeli troops split Gaza Strip as Hamas threatens a 'graveyard'
Source: Agencies |
January 5, 2009, Monday
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ISRAELI ground troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early yesterday, cutting the coastal territory in two and surrounding its biggest city.
Gaza officials said at least 31 civilians were killed in the onslaught. The military said troops killed several dozen militants, but Gaza officials could confirm only four dead ?? in part because rescue teams could not reach the battle zones.
The ground invasion and live images of the fighting in Gaza drew international condemnation and dominated news coverage on Arab satellite TV stations.
Hamas threatened to turn Gaza into an Israeli "graveyard."
Thousands of Israeli soldiers pushed into Gaza after nightfall on Saturday, beginning a long-awaited ground offensive after a week of intense aerial bombardment. Black smoke billowed over Gaza City at first light as bursts of machine-gun fire rang out.
The ground operation is the second phase in an offensive that began with a week-long aerial onslaught aimed at halting Hamas rocket fire into Israel.
The death toll in the Gaza Strip now stands at more than 500 since December 27.
Palestinian and United Nations officials say at least 100 civilians are among the dead.
TV footage showed Israeli troops with night-vision goggles marching in single file. Artillery barrages preceded their advance, and they moved through fields and orchards following bomb-sniffing dogs to guard against booby-traps.
Gaza City's civilians cowered inside as battles raged.
Lubna Karam, 28, said she and the other nine members of her family spent the night huddled in the hallway of their Gaza City home. The windows of the house were blown out days earlier in an Israeli airstrike, and the family has been without electricity for a week, surviving without heat and eating cold food.
Civilians killed
She said no one slept overnight. "We keep hearing the sounds of planes and we don't know if we'll live until tomorrow or not," she said.
Gaza health officials said the dead included a 12-year-old girl, five members of a single family, eight civilians killed by a tank shell in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, and an ambulance driver.
The military reported 31 Israeli troops wounded.
The Israeli chief of staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, said most of the fighting was at close range, with Hamas preferring to fight in built-up areas. Ashkenazi said the operation aimed to take over areas militants use to launch rockets.
Israeli intelligence chief Major Genral Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet that Hamas was using mosques, public institutions and private houses as ammunition stores.
Yuval Diskin, the head of Israel's Shin Bet security service, told ministers that while the Hamas political leadership has been hit hard, its military organization had "yet to be dealt the harsh blow Israel expects it to be dealt."
In his first public comments on the operation, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel could not allow its civilians to continue to be targeted by rockets from Gaza.
"This morning I can look every one you in the eyes and say the government did everything before deciding to go ahead with the operation. This operation was unavoidable," he said.
"You entered like rats," Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan told Israeli soldiers on Hamas's Al Aqsa TV. "Gaza will be a graveyard for you, God willing."
The death toll in Gaza has outraged many. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon conveyed his "extreme concern and disappointment" to Olmert. Denunciations also came from France, Egypt, Turkey and Jordan.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the invasion was "brutal aggression."
The US has blocked a UN statement demanded by Arab states calling for an immediate cease-fire.
Gaza officials said at least 31 civilians were killed in the onslaught. The military said troops killed several dozen militants, but Gaza officials could confirm only four dead ?? in part because rescue teams could not reach the battle zones.
The ground invasion and live images of the fighting in Gaza drew international condemnation and dominated news coverage on Arab satellite TV stations.
Hamas threatened to turn Gaza into an Israeli "graveyard."
Thousands of Israeli soldiers pushed into Gaza after nightfall on Saturday, beginning a long-awaited ground offensive after a week of intense aerial bombardment. Black smoke billowed over Gaza City at first light as bursts of machine-gun fire rang out.
The ground operation is the second phase in an offensive that began with a week-long aerial onslaught aimed at halting Hamas rocket fire into Israel.
The death toll in the Gaza Strip now stands at more than 500 since December 27.
Palestinian and United Nations officials say at least 100 civilians are among the dead.
TV footage showed Israeli troops with night-vision goggles marching in single file. Artillery barrages preceded their advance, and they moved through fields and orchards following bomb-sniffing dogs to guard against booby-traps.
Gaza City's civilians cowered inside as battles raged.
Lubna Karam, 28, said she and the other nine members of her family spent the night huddled in the hallway of their Gaza City home. The windows of the house were blown out days earlier in an Israeli airstrike, and the family has been without electricity for a week, surviving without heat and eating cold food.
Civilians killed
She said no one slept overnight. "We keep hearing the sounds of planes and we don't know if we'll live until tomorrow or not," she said.
Gaza health officials said the dead included a 12-year-old girl, five members of a single family, eight civilians killed by a tank shell in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, and an ambulance driver.
The military reported 31 Israeli troops wounded.
The Israeli chief of staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, said most of the fighting was at close range, with Hamas preferring to fight in built-up areas. Ashkenazi said the operation aimed to take over areas militants use to launch rockets.
Israeli intelligence chief Major Genral Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet that Hamas was using mosques, public institutions and private houses as ammunition stores.
Yuval Diskin, the head of Israel's Shin Bet security service, told ministers that while the Hamas political leadership has been hit hard, its military organization had "yet to be dealt the harsh blow Israel expects it to be dealt."
In his first public comments on the operation, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel could not allow its civilians to continue to be targeted by rockets from Gaza.
"This morning I can look every one you in the eyes and say the government did everything before deciding to go ahead with the operation. This operation was unavoidable," he said.
"You entered like rats," Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan told Israeli soldiers on Hamas's Al Aqsa TV. "Gaza will be a graveyard for you, God willing."
The death toll in Gaza has outraged many. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon conveyed his "extreme concern and disappointment" to Olmert. Denunciations also came from France, Egypt, Turkey and Jordan.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the invasion was "brutal aggression."
The US has blocked a UN statement demanded by Arab states calling for an immediate cease-fire.
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