US backs Egypt ceasefire plan

US backs Egypt ceasefire plan

Abbas is attempting to get a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire [AFP] The US secretary of state has expressed support for a joint French-Egyptian plan aimed at implementing an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday at a meeting of the UN Security Council that she would support the initiative on condition that Hamas halts its rocket fire into southern Israeli towns. However, she did not call for a halt to Israeli military operations in the densely populated territory in which at least 660 people have been killed and more than 2,950 injured in naval and aerial bombardment as well as ground attacks. "We need urgently to conclude a ceasefire that can endure and that can bring real security," she told the council. Abbas support Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, presented the proposal after talks with Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday. A Palestinian official said Hamas leaders had been briefed in Egypt on the proposals by Mubarak and were discussing them internally. Sarkozy also said that he had spoken to Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, about Mubarak's initiative and "he will react soon". Israel's ambassador to the UN said on Tuesday that the Israelis were taking the ceasefire proposal "very seriously". "I am sure that it will be considered and you will find out whether it was accepted," Gabriela Shalev told reporters in New York. "But we take it very, very seriously." The Mubarak-Sarkozy plan got immediate support from Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, whose Palestinian Authority lost control of Gaza to Hamas in July 2007. "I express my support for the plan set in motion today by Mubarak and Sarkozy," he said as he flew to New York to attend the security council meeting in hopes of getting a legally binding resolution for an immediate ceasefire. 'Urban offensive' Israel continues to insist that it wants all rocket fire to stop, as well as guarantees that Hamas does not re-arm. According to two senior Israeli political sources, Olmert's security cabinet, convening on Wednesday morning, will discuss a third - and final – stage of the offensive, but the ministers may defer a vote on approving the plan. "The plan is to enter the urban centres," the source told the Reuters news agency, noting the first phase was a series of air raids launched on December 27 and the second a ground invasion that began on January 3. Mark Regev, Olmert's spokesman, declined comment, saying: "We do not generally discuss the agendas of the security cabinet." Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Scores killed as Gaza school hit

Israel blames Hamas for targeting its troops from within the UN school [Reuters] An Israeli attack has killed at least 43 people taking refuge inside a UN school in the Gaza Strip, medics say. About 100 people were also wounded in Tuesday's strike on the school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) in the northern town of Jabaliya - the third school to come under fire in 24 hours. Doctors said all the dead were either people sheltering in the school or residents of Jabalya refugee camp, in the north of the Gaza Strip. John Ging, director of operations in Gaza for Unrwa, said three artillery shells landed near the school where 350 people were taking shelter from the Israeli offensive now entering its 12th day. Ging said Unrwa regularly provided the Israeli army with exact geographical co-ordinates of its facilities and the school was in a built-up area. "Of course it was entirely inevitable if artillery shells landed in that area there would be a high number of casualties," he said. Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, said initial findings were "that there was hostile fire at one of our units from the UN facility". "Our unit responded. Then there were explosions out of proportion to the ordnance we used," he said. Avital Liebovich, an Israeli military spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that Hamas had "booby-trapped" installations in Gaza and Israel had no choice but to retaliate. Earlier in the day, two people were killed when an artillery shell hit a school in the southern town of Khan Younis and three people were killed in an air strike on a school in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, medics said. At least 660 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 3,000 wounded in the offensive that began on December 27. Four Israeli soldiers were killed and 24 wounded in battles around Gaza City on Monday night, the Israeli military said early on Tuesday, bringing the Israeli toll to eight. Expanding assault The Israeli military also appeared to be broadening its assault on the Gaza Strip as heavy artillery fire was reported from Khan Younis. At least 660 Palestinians and eight Israelis have been killed in the conflict [AFP] Palestinian witnesses said Israeli tanks had moved into Khan Younis, the second biggest urban area in the strip after Gaza City, in what appeared to be an attempt to isolate it from the border town of Rafah. Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, said Khan Younis was strategically significant partly because Palestinian fighters could fire missiles into Israeli territory from there. He stressed that news teams could not confirm the reports as they were unable to reach the south from Gaza City in the north because the strip had been dissected by Israeli forces. Despite its apparent broadening of its offensive, Israel has not been able to achieve its declared goal of stopping Palestinian rocket fire, with about 30 rockets launched across the border into Israeli town Sderot and surrounding areas on Tuesday. Worsening humanitarian crisis Fierce clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters were also reported in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip and two black plumes of smoke could be seen rising over the area. Fares Akram, a Gaza city resident, told Al Jazeera there was "no safe place in Gaza" as "the Israeli war planes don't stop dropping bombs and firing missiles into Gaza". In addition, the humanitarian situation in Gaza – already bad following the 18-month Israeli blockade of the strip that left the territory desperately short of fuel, food and medical supplies – is worsening. Unrwa's Ging said he was "shocked" by "the brutality of the injuries" he had seen during a visit to the Shifa hospital in Gaza. Smoke rises after an Israel air strike near the border between Egypt and Gaza [AFP] "There are very real shortages of medicine. This hospital has not had electricity for four days. If the generators go down, those in intensive care will die. This is a horrific tragedy here, and it is getting worse by the moment," he said. Ging described the situation as "the consequences of political failure and complete absence of accountability for this military action" and appealed for political leaders in the region and around the world to "take on the responsibility". A French-Egypt ceasefire proposal appeared to be gaining some traction early on Wednesday, with the US giving qualified backing and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, supporting the deal. Israel has said it was taking the proposal "very seriously" but was still considering its response. Pressure mounted at the United Nations late on Tuesday for Israel to stop its offensive, with Abbas calling for "urgent intervention by the security council to ... deter the aggressor". But Gabriela Shalev, Israel's ambassador to the UN, said that the Gaza offensive was a "pre-requisite" for, not an obstacle to, peace. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Egypt offers Gaza ceasefire plan

Sarkozy called on Syria to convince Hamas to co-operate in efforts to end the Israeli assault [AFP] Egypt has said it was proposing an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, to be followed by talks on long-term arrangements including an end to the blockade of Gaza. Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, presented the proposal in a brief statement after talks with Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday. The proposal made no mention of many of the elements which diplomats said were under discussion, such as an international force to prevent Hamas receiving weapons. Mubarak did not say what role Hamas would play in the talks he is proposing. Israel and the Europeans who have been active diplomatically do not talk to the group. Sarkozy said that Mubarak had invited “the Israeli side to come and discuss the matter of border security, without delay, and perhaps in the hours to come." Sarkozy also said that he had spoken to Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, about Mubarak's initiative and "he will react soon." "I have very precise elements that allow me to say that an Israeli delegation will meet an Egyptian delegation to discuss the matter of security," Sarkozy said. Earlier on Tuesday, Sarkozy called on Syria to help convince Hamas to co-operate in international efforts to end the Israeli assault in the Gaza Strip during talks with Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus. Sarkozy told the Syrian president that he "didn't have any doubt" that Syria would help convince Hamas to agree to a deal. Sarkozy said: "I know the importance of Syria in this region and its influence on a number of players. "I don't have any doubt that President Bashar Al-Assad will throw all his weight to convince every one to return to reason. Those who can work for peace must do it immediately." Syria, along with Iran, is a main backer of Hamas and hosts members of the group's exiled leadership, including Khaled Meshaal, Hamas' leader. Truce 'not far' Following the trip to Syria, Sarkozy visited French United Nations peacekeepers in south Lebanon and said that a deal to end the Israeli offensive in Gaza was "not far" away. He said: "I'm convinced that there are solutions. We are not far from that. What is needed is simply for one of the players to start for things to go in the right direction." The president had said on Monday that he was working on an intitiative with Egypt but declined to give details because of "extremely complex negotiations". 'War crimes' During Sarkozy's visit to Syria, Al-Assad said that any initiative for a truce must stop what he described as Israel's war crimes in Gaza and lift the blockade in the besieged territory. Al-Assad said "We have only a few hours between one massacre and the other being perpetrated and carried out in the Palestinian territories. "And we don't have days or weeks. Unless the situation is remedied swiftly we will face a very dire situation." "We have to immediately stop the barbaric Israeli aggression in Gaza. Thirty percent of the victims are children under the age of ten and Gaza is now a concentration camp." Diplomats in the Syrian capital said that France wanted Syria to exert its influence with Hamas to make sure that any ceasefire sticks, but Syria has been careful not to be seen as acting as a guardian of Israel's security. Israeli 'savagery' Sarkozy's peace-brokering mission in the region is just one of many diplomatic efforts around the world aimed at ending the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. Erdogan said Israel's leaders were leaving a 'black stain... on humanity' [EPA] Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, has completed a week-long tour to Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Saudia Arabia, in which he outlined a two-stage proposal to end the conflict. The proposed agreement would secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and then work to end the division of the Palestinians. Erdogan condemned Israel's offensive as "savagery" on Tuesday and said it was a bid by the Israeli leadership to score points ahead of general elections in February. Referring to the Israeli ministers of defence and foreign affairs, Erdogan said: "I am telling Ehud Barak and (Tzipi) Livni to forget about the elections, because history will judge them for the black stain they are leaving on humanity." Israel "has suffered much in history and should know best the sanctity of human life, especially that of women and children... and the importance of the culture of co-existence". Blair plea Tony Blair, the Middle East envoy for the Quartet comprising the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States, has met with several Israeli and Palestinian officials in recent days, and has called on Hamas to work towards a ceasefire to stop the "appalling suffering" in Gaza. The former British prime minister said that the international community wanted dialogue with Hamas, but they had to end violence first. Speaking to BBC radio in Jerusalem, he said: "There are circumstances in which we could get an immediate ceasefire." "Those circumstances focus very much around clear action to cut off the supply of arms and money through the tunnels that go from Egypt into Gaza. "The Egyptians, in principle, are prepared to do this, they want to do it, they recognise it's in their own interests as well". Israel rejected European proposals for a ceasefire and the deployment of international observers following talks on Monday with a high-level EU delegation in Jerusalem. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, will address the UN Security Council in New York later on Tuesday, but as diplomatic efforts continue UN staff on the ground say time is running out. They say Gazans have little food and water left and that the injured are dying because of the lack of medicine. Source: Agencies

Obama 'deeply concerned' over Gaza

George Bush has repeatedly blamed Hamas for the crisis in Gaza [Reuters] Barack Obama, the US president-elect, has said he is "deeply concerned" over the number of civilian casualities in Gaza and Israel during the conflict there. Earlier on Tuesday, the Bush administration had called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza but again insisted that it be durable. Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman, said the US backed Israel's Gaza offensive but urged it to be "very cautious when it comes to civilian casualties". "We want it to be kept to a minimum," she said on Tuesday. The Palestinian death toll in the Israeli offensive continued to rise sharply with at least 75 killed on Tuesday, including at least 30 people sheltering in a UN school. At least 640 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its assault on Gaza more than one week ago. When asked how quickly the US wants to see a ceasefire in place, she said, "We would like it as soon as possible but it has to be something that is durable." Perino denied that the call for an immediate ceasefire was a shift in the US position, which has backed Israel's decision to attack Gaza in what it says is a move to stop rocketfire by Palestinian fighters targeting southern Israel. UN diplomacy Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, is set to address the UN Security Council in New York in attempt to persuade the world body to take action over the crisis in Gaza. Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, would attend the Security Council meeting and hold talks with Abbas and Arab foreign ministers, the state department said. Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister whose country holds the rotating presidency of the 15-member body, was to chair Tuesday's meeting, France's UN Ambassador said. UN sources said on Monday the proposed new resolution would have three main points: A demand for an immediate ceasefire, the formation of some sort of "humanitarian corridor" for much-needed aid and a form of "monitoring mechanism" for the ceasefire. On Monday, Palestinian, Egyptian and other ministers met Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general in attempt to secure UN backing for a ceasefire in Gaza. Last week, the US blocked a Libyan-backed proposal for the UN to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza last weekend. Source: Agencies

Scores killed as Gaza school hit

Scores killed as Gaza school hit

A boy, who fled his house with his family seeks refuge at a UN school in Gaza [Reuters] Israeli strikes have killed at least 40 people who took refuge inside a UN school in the Gaza Strip, medics have said. The strike on Tuesday hit a school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, in the northern town of Jabaliya. Medical sources at two Gaza hospitals said two tank shells exploded outside the school, spraying shrapnel on people inside and outside the building, where hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge from the Israeli attacks. The toll quickly rose as rescuers struggled through the rubble. In addition to the dead, several dozen people were wounded, the officials said. Doctors said all the dead were either people sheltering in the school or residents of Jabalya refugee camp, in the north of the Gaza Strip. Earlier in the day, two people were killed when an artillery shell hit a school in the southern town of Khan Yunis and three people were killed in an air strike on a school in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, medics said. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. More than 640 people have been killed and 2800 others wounded in the 11-day operation, most of them civilians. A top UN humanitarian official has condemned the violence and demanded an investigation. Widening the operation The Israeli military also appears to be broadening its assault on the Gaza Strip as heavy artillery fire is reported from the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis. Palestinian witnesses said Israeli tanks have moved into Khan Younis, the second biggest urban area in the Strip after Gaza City, in what seems to be an attempt to isolate it from Rafah. Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Gaza, said Khan Younis is strategically significant on several levels - including that Palestinian fighters can fire missiles into Israeli territory from there. He stressed reporting teams cannot confirm the reports as they are unable to reach the south from Gaza City in the north because the Strip has been effectively dissected by a column of Israel troops. Mohyeldin also said Palestinian factions had reported that the Israeli navy was attempting to land near the central coastal city of Deir al-Balah – the scene of more intense fighting - on Tuesday. "There was very intense shelling overnight and people woke to the presence of ground forces in and around Khan Younis this morning," he said. Four Israeli soldiers were killed and 24 wounded in battles around Gaza City on Monday night, the Israeli military said early on Tuesday, bringing the Israeli death toll to eight. Nowhere to hide Fierce clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters were also reported in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip and two black plumes of smoke could be seen rising over the area. Fares Akram, a Gaza city resident, told Al Jazeera there was "no safe place in Gaza" as "the Israeli war planes don't stop dropping bombs and firing missiles into Gaza". Akram says his wife, who is nine-months pregnant, is living in fear of going into labour both because of how dangerous it is to leave their home and because "she knows hospitals in Gaza are in chaos". He said that while Gazans appreciated demonstrations staged across the Arab world in protest at Israel's actions in the Strip, most believe that while the US backs the Israeli offensive the assault will continue. In addition, the humanitarian situation in Gaza – already poor following the 18-month Israeli blockade of the strip that left the territory desperately short of fuel, food and medical supplies – is worsening. John Ging, the head of Unrwa, said he was "shocked" by "the brutality of the injuries" he had seen during a visit to the Shifa hospital in Gaza. 'Absence of accountability' He said: "There are very real shortages of medicine. This hospital has not had electricity for four days. If the generators go down, those in intensive care will die. This is a horrific tragedy here, and it is getting worse by the moment. Smoke rises after an Israel air strike near the border between Egypt and Gaza [AFP] Ging described the situation as "the consequences of political failure and complete absence of accountability for this military action" and appealed for political leaders in the region and around the world to "take on the responsibility". A number of diplomatic initiatives are under way in the region, with Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, visiting Israel and Syria on Tuesday for talks aimed at brokering a ceasefire. Sarkozy, speaking with Bashar al-Assad, his Syrian counterpart, called on Syria to use its weight to influence Hamas. "Syria needs to apply its weight to both sides, but in particular to Hamas that the missile attacks stop,” he said in the Syrian capital, Damascus. "Syria has to convince Hamas to make a choice for peace, reason and logic and that they themselves become the agent of reconciling Palestinians. We have to get to the point where we can solve this problem. "There are still a few hours left for us to carry on talking, but I am convinced if both sides are prepared to take the first step, the fighting can stop. The images we have seen are unbearable for all of us. "It is up to each side to make the first step, with help from Europe, Turkey and Egypt... to escape the spiral of violence and replace it with a spiral of peace." Israel launched its offensive on the Strip after a fragile six-month ceasefire with Hamas – the Palestinian faction that controls Gaza – ended on December 19. Both sides blame each other for the failure of the ceasefire, with Israel saying Palestinian fighters breached the truce by firing rockets into southern Israel. Hamas, and other Palestinian groups, say the truce could not be extended because Israel failed to lift its crippling siege of the Strip.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Deaths as Israel hits Gaza mosque

A Palestinian woman with her son who was wounded in Israel's attack on the mosque [Reuters] At least 11 Palestinians, including one child, have been killed after Israeli forces struck a mosque during prayers in the town of Beit Lahiya, north of Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip. More than 200 people were inside the the Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque praying when it was struck. It is not clear yet whether the mosque was hit as part of the Israeli army's shelling, which started on Saturday afternoon. At least 50 people were wounded, Hamas and medical officials said. The Israeli military has destroyed several mosques during its week-long offensive in Gaza, saying Hamas uses the houses of worship to store weapons. Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, said: "As much as Israel wants to be surgical in its strikes at the end of the day it is civilians that are being hit. This is proof that civilians are caught up in these attacks." Mohyeldin said doctors in the Gaza Strip were being overwhelmed by the number of casualties being brought in as a result of the Israeli offensive and that hospitals were near a state of collapse due to a lack of medicines and blood.

Source: Agencies

Israeli ground troops enter Gaza

Israeli jets also continued to pound Gaza for an eighth day [AFP] Thousands of Israeli troops, backed by tanks and helicopters, have entered the Gaza Strip as Israel escalated its offensive into the territory on the eighth day of operations. Tanks entered the besieged territory through several points mainly in northern Gaza, crossing shortly after nightfall on Saturday, officials said, while the Israeli cabinet said it had also called up about 9,000 reservists. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher on the Israeli-Gaza border said heavy artillery fire, tracer fire and rockets could be heard in the area as Israeli forces moved in, along with some gunfire. Reports showed that Israeli troops had reached the towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza in the early hours of Sunday morning. Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza City, said that the scene in Gaza on Saturday was one of "fear and terror" as Israeli tanks moved in. He also said that there were reports of heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in areas such as Zaytoun, near Gaza City, as several loud explosions rocked the territory. As the offensive entered its eighth day, Palestinian medical sources said 464 Palestinians had died and more than 2,000 had been injured. Four Israelis have been killed in rocket fire into southern Israel in the past week. Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was also extended early on Sunday morning from six nautical miles to 20 nautical miles, preventing humanitarian aid and protest vessels from trying to break the siege. Diplomatic moves The news comes as the United Nations Security Council is meeting on Saturday evening to discuss the crisis, with a UN spokesman saying that Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, was "deeply concerned" by the latest events. The UN said in a statement that Ban had spoken to Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and conveyed his "extreme concern and disappointment". Libya, the only Arab nation currently on the security council, is expected to urge the council to issue a statement on the offensive expressing "serious concern", however Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey at the UN said many ambassadors had expressed doubts this would happen. On Saturday France condemned the ground offensive, with the foreign ministry saying in a statement that the "dangerous military escalation" complicated efforts to end the fighting, bring aid to civilians and reach a permanent ceasefire. The US state department said that a Gaza ceasefire should take place as soon as possible and that it had told the Israeli government that any military action should be "mindful of the potential consequences to civilians". It also condemned Hamas, saying it was holding the people of Gaza "hostage" and contributed to a "very bad daily life" for the coastal territory's residents. White House also officials said that George Bush, the US president, had been briefed on the situation in Gaza and that US officials had been in contact with officials from countries "in the region" and in Europe. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and several Arab foreign ministers were also flying to New York over the weekend to urge the Council to adopt an Arab draft resolution that would condemn Israel and urge a halt to the Gaza offensive. 'Hostile activities' At least 11 people died in a raid which hit a mosque in Gaza [AFP] The ground offensive also followed the latest air raids in Gaza on Saturday when an Israeli strike on a northern Gaza town killed at least 11 people, including one child, who were praying in a mosque. There has been no official confirmation from either side of casualties from Saturday's ground invasion so far, although Zeina Awad, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said Israeli media was reporting that several Hamas fighters had been killed at the start of the ground offensive. The Reuters news agency also said a senior Hamas official had said that its fighters had killed a number of Israeli soldiers, but neither report could be confirmed. Hamas warnings The Israeli defence minister said Israel had weighed all options before the raids [AFP] Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, said on Saturday that the operation was aimed at forcing Hamas "to stop its hostile activities against Israel and bring about significant change". "We have carefully weighed all our options, we are not war hungry but we should not allow a situation where our towns are constantly targeted by Hamas," he said. Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman, later told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the "single aim" of the offensive was to halt Hamas rocket attacks into Israeli territory. "Ultimately Hamas is solely responsible for this crisis and today they are paying a price for that," he said. Hamas has vowed to defeat the Israeli army following the invasion, with Osama Hamdan, a senior official for Hamas in Beirut, Lebanon, telling Al Jazeera that "military operations will not win for the Israelis". On Friday, Khaled Meshaal, the political leader of Hamas, warned that any Israeli ground offensive would lead to a "black destiny". Reservists mobilised Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin said that power lines have been cut throughout the strip and more than 250,000 people in northern Gaza are without electricity. "The biggest concern is a ground invasion could result in urban warfare," he said. "Rockets are being fired from deeper and deeper within Gaza and if Israel's intention is to prevent such attacks how far into Gaza, an area densely populated with civilians, will they need to go?" Fears of a humanitarian crisis have also grown in recent days, as the strip, home to 1.5 million people, is already suffering shortages of power, food and medical supplies due to a two-year blockade imposed by Israel on the area. The International Committee for the Red Cross also said on Saturday its medical emergency team had been prevented for a second day from entering the territory. The UN has warned that there were "critical gaps" in aid reaching Gaza, although Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, said there was no crisis and that aid was getting through. It said it estimated that about 25 per cent of those Palestinians killed since the Israeli offensive began eight days ago were civilians. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies