Israel bombards Gaza Strip, shoots down rocket
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israel bombarded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip with about 300 airstrikes Saturday and shot down a Palestinian rocket fired at Tel Aviv, the military said, widening a blistering assault to include the Hamas prime minister's headquarters, a police compound and a vast network of smuggling tunnels.
The intensified airstrikes came as Egyptian-led attempts to broker a cease-fire and end Israel's four-day-old Gaza offensive gained momentum. The leaders of Hamas and two key allies, Qatar and Turkey, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials, and the Arab League was holding an emergency meeting.
The White House said President Barack Obama was also in touch with the Egyptian and Turkish leaders. The U.S. has solidly backed Israel so far.
Speaking on Air Force One, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said that the White House believes Israel "has the right to defend itself" against attack and that the Israelis will make their own decisions about their "military tactics and operations."
The Israeli attacks, which Gaza officials say left 12 dead, came as Palestinian militants fired more than 100 rockets toward Israel, including two aimed at the commercial and cultural center of Tel Aviv. Rocket attacks on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem this week mark the first time Gaza militants have managed to fire rockets toward the cities, raising the stakes in the confrontation.
The widened scope of targets brings the scale of fighting closer to that of the war the two groups waged four years ago. Hamas was badly bruised during that conflict, but has since restocked its arsenal with more and better weapons, and has been under pressure from smaller, more militant groups to prove its commitment to fighting Israel.
In a psychological boost for the Israelis, a sophisticated Israeli rocket-defense system known as "Iron Dome" knocked down one of the rockets headed toward Tel Aviv, eliciting cheers from relieved residents huddled in fear after air raid sirens sounded in the city.
Associated Press video showed a plume of smoke rising from a rocket-defense battery deployed near the city, followed by a burst of light overhead. The smoke trailed the intercepting missile.
Police said a second rocket also targeted Tel Aviv. It was not clear where it landed or whether it was shot down. No injuries were reported. It was the third straight day the city was targeted.
Israel says the Iron Dome system has shot down some 250 incoming rockets, most of them in southern Israel near Gaza.
Saturday's interception was the first time Iron Dome has been deployed in Tel Aviv. The battery was a new upgraded version that was only activated on Saturday, two months ahead of schedule, officials said.
Israel opened the offensive on Wednesday with a surprising airstrike that killed Hamas' military chief, then attacked dozens of rocket launchers and storage sites. It says the offensive is meant to halt months of rocket fire on southern Israel.
While Israel claims to be inflicting heavy damage on Gaza's Hamas rulers, it has failed to slow the rocket fire. In all, 42 Palestinians, including 13 civilians, have been killed, while three Israeli civilians have died.
Maj. Gen. Tal Russo, Israel's southern commander, said Saturday that Hamas had suffered a tough blow.
"Most of their capabilities have been destroyed," he told reporters. Asked whether Israel is ready to send ground troops into Gaza, he said: "Absolutely."
Israel has authorized the call-up of as many as 75,000 reservists ahead of a possible ground operation. Dozens of armored vehicles have massed along the border with Gaza in recent days.
Israeli officials say they have not yet decided whether to send in ground troops, a decision that would almost certainly lead to heavy casualties on both sides.
In Saturday's fighting, Israeli aircraft pounded militants' weapons storage facilities and underground rocket launching sites, and went after rocket squads more aggressively.
Militants, undaunted, have unleashed some 500 rockets against the Jewish state.
Hamas claims that Israeli intelligence is based on a network of collaborators in Gaza. Officials said two Palestinians have been executed by Hamas' military wing for allegedly providing Israel with sensitive information. One man was shot twice in the head. Another body was tossed into a garbage bin with a gunshot wound to the head.
The violence has threatened the Mideast with a new war. At the same time, revolts against entrenched regional regimes have opened up new possibilities for Hamas. Islamists across the Mideast have been strengthened, bringing newfound recognition to Hamas, which had previously been shunned by the international community because of its refusal to recognize Israel and renounce violence.
A high-level Tunisian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem, drove that point home with a visit to Gaza on Saturday. The foreign minister's first stop was the still-smoldering ruins of the three-story office building of Gaza's prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.
"Israel has to understand that there is an international law and it has to respect the international law to stop the aggression against the Palestinian people," Abdessalem told the AP during a tour of Gaza's main hospital. He said his country was doing whatever it can to promote a cease-fire, but did not elaborate.
It was the first official Tunisian visit since Hamas's violent 2007 takeover of the territory. The West Bank is governed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Egypt's prime minister visited Gaza on Friday and a Moroccan delegation was due on Sunday, following a landmark visit by Qatar's leader last month.
Israel had been incrementally expanding its operation beyond military targets but before dawn on Saturday it ramped that up dramatically, hitting Hamas symbols of power.
Israeli defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential decisions, said military chief Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz personally ordered the scope of the airstrikes to be increased.
Haniyeh's three-story office building was flattened by an airstrike that blew out windows in neighboring homes. He was not inside the building at the time.
Another airstrike brought down the three-story home of a Hamas commander in the Jebaliya refugee camp near Gaza City, critically wounding him and injuring other residents of the building, medics said.
Missiles smashed into two small security facilities and the massive Hamas police headquarters in Gaza City, setting off a huge blaze that engulfed nearby houses and civilian cars parked outside, the Interior Ministry reported. No one was inside the buildings.
The Interior Ministry said a government compound was also hit while devout Muslims streamed to the area for early morning prayers, although no casualties were reported.
Air attacks knocked out five electricity transformers, cutting off power to more than 400,000 people in southern Gaza, according to the Gaza electricity distribution company. People switched on backup generators for limited electrical supplies.
In southern Gaza, aircraft went after underground tunnels militants use to smuggle in weapons and other contraband from Egypt, residents reported. A huge explosion in the area sent buildings shuddering in the Egyptian city of El-Arish, 45 kilometers (30 miles) away, an Associated Press correspondent there reported.
The Israeli military said more than 950 targets have been struck since the operation began.
On Saturday, more than 120 rockets slammed into Israel, causing damage to houses. About 10 Israelis were injured lightly, among dozens of others wounded since the start of the operation.
Despite the violence, Egyptian-led diplomacy was underway to bring an end to the fighting.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was meeting the leaders of Turkey and Qatar Saturday as well as Hamas leader Khaled Meshal to discuss details of a proposed cease-fire.
The Arab League also met Saturday to consider sending its chief Nabil Elaraby and a team of foreign ministers to Gaza in the coming two days to assess the situation and respond to humanitarian needs there, according to a draft memorandum obtained by the AP.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters Saturday that during discussions with Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin late Friday, he suggested that Turkey, Egypt, the United States and Russia help broker a simultaneous cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
"It would be good if we could work on it rapidly to solve the matter within 24 hours, because the death toll is mounting," he said.
___
Goldenberg reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Karin Laub in Gaza City, Matthew Daly in Washington and Aya Batrawy in Cairo contributed reporting.
The intensified airstrikes came as Egyptian-led attempts to broker a cease-fire and end Israel's four-day-old Gaza offensive gained momentum. The leaders of Hamas and two key allies, Qatar and Turkey, were in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials, and the Arab League was holding an emergency meeting.
The White House said President Barack Obama was also in touch with the Egyptian and Turkish leaders. The U.S. has solidly backed Israel so far.
Speaking on Air Force One, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said that the White House believes Israel "has the right to defend itself" against attack and that the Israelis will make their own decisions about their "military tactics and operations."
The Israeli attacks, which Gaza officials say left 12 dead, came as Palestinian militants fired more than 100 rockets toward Israel, including two aimed at the commercial and cultural center of Tel Aviv. Rocket attacks on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem this week mark the first time Gaza militants have managed to fire rockets toward the cities, raising the stakes in the confrontation.
The widened scope of targets brings the scale of fighting closer to that of the war the two groups waged four years ago. Hamas was badly bruised during that conflict, but has since restocked its arsenal with more and better weapons, and has been under pressure from smaller, more militant groups to prove its commitment to fighting Israel.
In a psychological boost for the Israelis, a sophisticated Israeli rocket-defense system known as "Iron Dome" knocked down one of the rockets headed toward Tel Aviv, eliciting cheers from relieved residents huddled in fear after air raid sirens sounded in the city.
Associated Press video showed a plume of smoke rising from a rocket-defense battery deployed near the city, followed by a burst of light overhead. The smoke trailed the intercepting missile.
Police said a second rocket also targeted Tel Aviv. It was not clear where it landed or whether it was shot down. No injuries were reported. It was the third straight day the city was targeted.
Israel says the Iron Dome system has shot down some 250 incoming rockets, most of them in southern Israel near Gaza.
Saturday's interception was the first time Iron Dome has been deployed in Tel Aviv. The battery was a new upgraded version that was only activated on Saturday, two months ahead of schedule, officials said.
Israel opened the offensive on Wednesday with a surprising airstrike that killed Hamas' military chief, then attacked dozens of rocket launchers and storage sites. It says the offensive is meant to halt months of rocket fire on southern Israel.
While Israel claims to be inflicting heavy damage on Gaza's Hamas rulers, it has failed to slow the rocket fire. In all, 42 Palestinians, including 13 civilians, have been killed, while three Israeli civilians have died.
Maj. Gen. Tal Russo, Israel's southern commander, said Saturday that Hamas had suffered a tough blow.
"Most of their capabilities have been destroyed," he told reporters. Asked whether Israel is ready to send ground troops into Gaza, he said: "Absolutely."
Israel has authorized the call-up of as many as 75,000 reservists ahead of a possible ground operation. Dozens of armored vehicles have massed along the border with Gaza in recent days.
Israeli officials say they have not yet decided whether to send in ground troops, a decision that would almost certainly lead to heavy casualties on both sides.
In Saturday's fighting, Israeli aircraft pounded militants' weapons storage facilities and underground rocket launching sites, and went after rocket squads more aggressively.
Militants, undaunted, have unleashed some 500 rockets against the Jewish state.
Hamas claims that Israeli intelligence is based on a network of collaborators in Gaza. Officials said two Palestinians have been executed by Hamas' military wing for allegedly providing Israel with sensitive information. One man was shot twice in the head. Another body was tossed into a garbage bin with a gunshot wound to the head.
The violence has threatened the Mideast with a new war. At the same time, revolts against entrenched regional regimes have opened up new possibilities for Hamas. Islamists across the Mideast have been strengthened, bringing newfound recognition to Hamas, which had previously been shunned by the international community because of its refusal to recognize Israel and renounce violence.
A high-level Tunisian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem, drove that point home with a visit to Gaza on Saturday. The foreign minister's first stop was the still-smoldering ruins of the three-story office building of Gaza's prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.
"Israel has to understand that there is an international law and it has to respect the international law to stop the aggression against the Palestinian people," Abdessalem told the AP during a tour of Gaza's main hospital. He said his country was doing whatever it can to promote a cease-fire, but did not elaborate.
It was the first official Tunisian visit since Hamas's violent 2007 takeover of the territory. The West Bank is governed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Egypt's prime minister visited Gaza on Friday and a Moroccan delegation was due on Sunday, following a landmark visit by Qatar's leader last month.
Israel had been incrementally expanding its operation beyond military targets but before dawn on Saturday it ramped that up dramatically, hitting Hamas symbols of power.
Israeli defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential decisions, said military chief Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz personally ordered the scope of the airstrikes to be increased.
Haniyeh's three-story office building was flattened by an airstrike that blew out windows in neighboring homes. He was not inside the building at the time.
Another airstrike brought down the three-story home of a Hamas commander in the Jebaliya refugee camp near Gaza City, critically wounding him and injuring other residents of the building, medics said.
Missiles smashed into two small security facilities and the massive Hamas police headquarters in Gaza City, setting off a huge blaze that engulfed nearby houses and civilian cars parked outside, the Interior Ministry reported. No one was inside the buildings.
The Interior Ministry said a government compound was also hit while devout Muslims streamed to the area for early morning prayers, although no casualties were reported.
Air attacks knocked out five electricity transformers, cutting off power to more than 400,000 people in southern Gaza, according to the Gaza electricity distribution company. People switched on backup generators for limited electrical supplies.
In southern Gaza, aircraft went after underground tunnels militants use to smuggle in weapons and other contraband from Egypt, residents reported. A huge explosion in the area sent buildings shuddering in the Egyptian city of El-Arish, 45 kilometers (30 miles) away, an Associated Press correspondent there reported.
The Israeli military said more than 950 targets have been struck since the operation began.
On Saturday, more than 120 rockets slammed into Israel, causing damage to houses. About 10 Israelis were injured lightly, among dozens of others wounded since the start of the operation.
Despite the violence, Egyptian-led diplomacy was underway to bring an end to the fighting.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was meeting the leaders of Turkey and Qatar Saturday as well as Hamas leader Khaled Meshal to discuss details of a proposed cease-fire.
The Arab League also met Saturday to consider sending its chief Nabil Elaraby and a team of foreign ministers to Gaza in the coming two days to assess the situation and respond to humanitarian needs there, according to a draft memorandum obtained by the AP.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters Saturday that during discussions with Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin late Friday, he suggested that Turkey, Egypt, the United States and Russia help broker a simultaneous cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
"It would be good if we could work on it rapidly to solve the matter within 24 hours, because the death toll is mounting," he said.
___
Goldenberg reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Karin Laub in Gaza City, Matthew Daly in Washington and Aya Batrawy in Cairo contributed reporting.
" Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us." - Gold Meir. Â
Sadly, she is right. They choose to make thier own misery by repeatedly steeping themselves in hate and murderous cowardly revenge. They are not "freedom fighters" and would quickly sell themselves into tyranny to end the Isreali nation.
Good thing our Muslim loving President spent so much time shmoozing with the Muslim Brotherhood otherwise rockets might be launching from Egypt.......Oh, no wait, never mind, there they are.
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http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/report-rockets-fired-egypt-hit-israel_663502.html
@TimBurr ...Â
Iâm not feeling a thing here for Islamistsâ¦. Last I read, Jerusalem was a holy land for all 3 of the Abrahamic religions. One has to question Hamas' intentions as they target the Holy City.
The Palestinians have been trying to pick this fight for years. Looks like they're about to get what they've wished for.
When you pull the tail of the tiger shouldn't you be aware of the claws and the teeth???? Most of your Palestinians are not very smart nor very courageous unless they are hiding behind the women and the children....
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 @KHEB  @TimBurr The green light is on with our latest election. The "other side" knowing that our continued current administration is more apt to side with them than our historic allies.
Hopefully, whenever this war heats up, the only US involvement will be watching it happen on CNN!
I will say it again, there was never ever a nation, kingdom, emirates, republic or whatever the hell you wanna call it, called Palestine. There was never ever in recorded history before 1948 something called Palestinians. It is not that difficult to read history and research history. The Palestinians are the most gullible people on earth, being used by the Arabs and the Iranians. By the way they get billions in aid and had many chances for peace. But if they had peace they will get no more billions in aids from the US, Arabs and Iranians. Only the Palestinians leaders and their thugs are making money while the ordinary Palestinians themselves are caught in a web of lies. very sad.
Israel shouldn't waste their time talking to Obama. Even if he cared he wouldn't know what to do⦠As far as Hamas is concerned a truce means Israel stops retaliating to their rocket attacks....... I knew Egypt falling to the Muslim Brotherhood would only escalate things, and now it has. Another unreasonable, unstable military force. - ---- Shhh, Obama supported the "Arab Spring" scam.
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 @KHEB Yep, I agree the U.S. backed Arab Spring was the last straw for me, but I also remember the CIA backing Osama bin Laden in addition during the Iran Contra affair. barf. :(
Mayan calendar ends Dec. 21, 2012.
 @TimBurr Y2K, tinfoil hats for everyone... follow me to the mother-ship!
 @Funky-Munky Don't come a knockin' on my shelter door.
 @Funky-Munky  @TimBurr I'll bring the popcorn...k?
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 @TimBurr I have an escape plan, passport and bomb-shelter if necessary. He who has the most munitions wins.... :D)
 @Funky-Munky @TimBurr Hey... you have to admit.... marijuana being legalized and twinkies going away... does tend to make you wonder.Â
@Funky-Munky @Peregrine No sh-it, what are the cockroaches supposed to eat after the end? Isn't that animal cruelty (or insect) making them starve? Animal activists will probably start a new organisation: SOC. (save our cockroaches)!
 @Peregrine The twinkie apocalypse.... Ha!
Such propoganda... the palistinians are portrayed as "millitants" while the israelies are "people". Palistine is a concentration camp yet somehow jewreselem is a "holy city" ... The palisatinians are "terrorists" while the jew zionists have a "right to defend themselves". What a crock of biasedâ¦
Then you must for the American Indian driving us all back to Europe. Are you packing? I don't think so.
 @JouThePlumber The leaders in Gaza (both those of Hamas and those of smaller Islamic terrorist groups) are militants. History (and in some cases, their own statements) have made it clear that their goals include murdering as many Jews as possible (and their particular favorite seems to be defenseless civilians) due to their twisted view of religious obligation. Your comment conflates the aggressor with the defender and implies that group A's desire to murder group B is morally equivalent to group B's desire to live - an absurd position held both by the ignorant and by anti-Jewish bigots. JouThePlumber wrote, "Palistine is a concentration camp." There is no nation of Palestine and never has been. Perhaps you refer to the Gaza strip? Gaza is not a concentration camp. As it is very likely you are referring to Nazi concentration camps, those camps included such things as ovens and poisoned gas "showers" used for mass murder. Israel has no such camps and never has. Since your comparison is an obvious lie, it isn't difficult to make a good guess as to your motivation, is it? I do not believe that Israel is blameless and they have made mistakes. But to assert that the moral failings and blame are equal on both sides is to be willfully blind.
 @JouThePlumber Such propaganda... the Palestinians are portrayed as "militants" while the Israelis are "people". Palestine is a concentration camp yet somehow Jerusalem is a "holy city" ... The Palestinians are "terrorists" while the Jew Zionists have a "right to defend themselves". What a crock of biasedâ¦
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(Good grief) I had to decipher that mess of goo... The only thing you have right is there's two-sides to every story. :(
We need a negotiated agreement regarding Israel and Palestine, now, before all hell breaks loose in this region and gets us sucked into a war no one really wants.
 @peckishpete In order for peace negotiations to succeed, there must be two sides both of whom ultimately want peace. Experience has made it abundantly clear that much of the leadership of Gaza (both those within Hamas and those of smaller Islamic terrorist groups) are not interested in peace. They are interested in murdering Jews and erasing Israel out of a highly twisted interpretation of religious duty.
There is an old expression there that goes something like this. If this Arabs put down their arms, there would be peace. If Israel puts down its arms, there would be no more Israel.
@peckishpete a war that no one wants? wake up fool!
 @Karla Readsalot While I take issue with PeckishPete's post, I see no benefit in calling him a fool. Even if he were a fool, would calling him one make him more or less amenable to changing his mind?
@Karla Readsalot Why do you have to call people fools just because you don't agree with them. You are part of the problem in this country right now where a civil discussion cannot take place between people with different ideas. And I was talking about the U.S. and its allies - not Iran. And I'm not even sure Iran wants an all out war with the U.S. because they must know that they will be annialated.Â
@lee986321 @Karla Again, why call people fools. I never said it wouldn't or couldn't happen. All I said is that most of the world wishes it would not happen. That said, no one is ignoring what is going on and putting their heads in the sand. Everyone is preparing for the worse. But again, all I said is that most of the world wishes it didn't always have to come down to this. Read carefully what people post before running off with rash and insulting replies.
 @peckishpete  @Karla The fool is the one who sticks there head in the sand and does not prepare for what might be, but then a gain a fool prepares for anything and everything and nothing may happen. So we have two fools.
 @peckishpete  @Karla and the only fool, is the one that thinks it cannot happen or will not happen and are blind to the historical facts of Israel and its enemies.
 @peckishpete  @Karla to late it has started, Just wait until one of those hits a school or synagog You will see hell break loose and it will happen so fast the world won't know what hit . Israel has been under worse and they come out ok, For a people to get trampled on by Egypt and been used as slaves, and so forth, you have got to ask your self, How do they keep up? there a small population and should be easily over taken...But what is protecting them? What has made it where they keep going..Through out history they have came out the winners..Call it a higher power at work..
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Now what will you all do if all of a sudden some one tries to nuke them and the Bomb does not succeed and it was not done by human intervention? All I can say is get ready, the theater is going to get active with the players.
The campaign though a bloody one is about to start.
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What you will be witnessing will make history, mark my words.
On place that can not be targeted is the Temple Mount and the Dome of the rock. I have a bad feeling that one of these is about to get hit.fueling a war that will indeed become bloody.
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and then the entire world will be involved..and it will be a great and very bad war. No christian wants this, nor any man should want it..