26 Palestinians Killed in Bloodiest Day of Assault on Gaza as Israel Hits Media Center

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  • W460
  • W460
  • W460
  • W460

Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed 26 Palestinians in the bloodiest day so far of its massive air campaign on the Gaza Strip, as diplomatic efforts to broker a truce intensified.

With Egypt at the center of efforts to broker a ceasefire, Palestinian officials said it was possible a deal would be reached "today or tomorrow."

But there was no letup in the bloodshed in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, with medics saying women and children accounted for most of Sunday's 26 killed, among them 10 toddlers, in Israeli strikes from the air.

In the day's most lethal raid, at least nine members of the same family -- five of them children -- were among 11 people killed when an Israeli missile destroyed a family home in Gaza City, the health ministry said.

At the scene, medics and bystanders all pitched in to remove the rubble to dig out the bodies in the futile hope of finding survivors, as people watched in shock, some weeping openly.

The latest violence hiked the Palestinian casualty toll to 72 dead and more than 660 injured in almost 100 hours of raids, while three Israelis have been killed and more than 50 injured by rocket fire since Wednesday.

Another three people died in two separate strikes shortly afterwards, one hitting Shejaiya in eastern Gaza City and a second in Jabaliya in the north.

The Israeli army confirmed it had struck "a few targets in northern Gaza City."

Later on Sunday, "two Palestinians were killed in an air strike on the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood," Hamas health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, without adding details.

A third Palestinian, a six-year-old child, was killed in another strike in northern Gaza on Sunday evening.

"Hussein Jalal Nasser, six years old, was martyred in an air strike that targeted his house," emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya told Agence France Presse.

Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said they launched a Fajr-5 rocket at Tel Aviv in response to the "occupation's massacre."

But Israel's police said the Iron Dome anti-missile system shot down two rockets over Tel Aviv as sirens wailed across the city, in the fourth such interception in one day.

"Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, and the Iron Dome shot down two rockets," said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

"There were no reports of injuries or damage on ground level in Tel Aviv or (the surrounding region of) Gush Dan," he added.

Sunday was the fourth straight day sirens sounded across Tel Aviv. Earlier in the day, Israeli police confirmed two rockets had been intercepted over the city by Iron Dome.

Iranian-made Fajr 5 rockets have a range of up to 75 kilometers (46 miles).

On Thursday, Hamas said it had developed its own longer-range rocket, the M75, which was used to target Jerusalem.

Also on Sunday, Israeli aircraft hit two media centers in Gaza City, wounding at least eight journalists, one of whom lost a leg, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told Agence France Presse.

The Israeli military defended the strike, saying it had targeted Hamas operational communications and sought to minimize civilian casualties.

Russia's state-run RT global television broadcaster said its office was badly damaged in the incident, adding that none of its staff were hurt.

The first Israeli strike on a media building came around 2:00 am (0000 GMT), as Israeli navy ships fired a barrage at the Gaza shore elsewhere.

"At least six journalists were wounded, with minor and moderate injuries, when Israeli warplanes hit the al-Quds TV office in the Showa and Housari building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City," said health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra.

Witnesses reported extensive damage to the building, and said journalists had evacuated after an initial strike, which was followed by at least two more on the site.

The wounded were taken to Gaza City's Shifa hospital. One journalist lost his leg in the attack, Qudra said.

A second raid hit a different, nearby media building at around 7:00 am (0500 GMT).

"We have two journalists injured in the Shuruq building, which houses Al-Aqsa TV, where there has been an air strike," Qudra told Agence France Presse. Al-Aqsa TV is another Hamas-affiliated television station.

The Gaza reporter with Russia's RT was separated by only a "thin wall" from the Palestinian station's office and was damaged in the attack.

"We were not directly hit," correspondent Saed Swerky said. "The Israelis fired four rockets and destroyed the office of the (Palestinian) channel. Our office was next door and so we could not work any more."

The station had earlier issued a statement reading: "RT's office in Gaza destroyed after Israeli attack."

Imad Efranji, director of the Al-Quds TV office, slammed the incident as "a new crime against the media."

The Israeli military in a statement said it had "targeted two Hamas operational communication sites that were identified by precise intelligence."

"The first site... was an infrastructure of Hamas' operational communications, located inside a civilian building," the statement said.

"As a result, and in order to minimize the damage to non-involved persons, the IDF (army) only targeted the communication devices which were located on the roof of the building, and not the operations room of Hamas... on one of the floors."

The military said the second strike, on the Shurouq building, also targeted "part of Hamas' operational communications that was deliberately located on the roof of the building, in which several international media bureaus reside."

The statement called on "international journalists... to stay clear of Hamas' bases and facilities, which serve them in their activity against the citizens of Israel."

The Foreign Press Association issued a statement saying it was "concerned" by the attacks, adding that both buildings house or have been used by members of the association.

The statement pointed to a 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution condemning attacks on journalists in conflict zones.

With international opinion veering away from an escalation, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday it was "preferable" for the Gaza crisis to end without a "ramping up" of Israeli military activity.

"Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory," Obama said in Thailand. "If that can be accomplished without a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that is preferable."

In Cairo, senior Hamas officials said Egyptian-mediated talks with Israel to end the conflict were "positive" but now focused on the possible stumbling block of guaranteeing the terms of a truce.

An outcome acceptable to Hamas would be assurances by the United States, Israel's main backer, to be the "guaranteeing party," one official said on condition of anonymity.

Security officials in Cairo said an Israeli envoy also arrived in Cairo on Sunday for Egyptian-mediated truce talks with Hamas.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, meanwhile, insisted that "the first and absolute condition for a truce is stopping all fire from Gaza," and that all armed groups would have to commit to it.

Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel was ready to "significantly expand" its operation against Gaza militants even as he prepared to receive French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is on a whirlwind truce mission to the region.

"We are extracting a heavy price from Hamas and the terror organizations," Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting. "The army is prepared to significantly expand the operation."

Netanyahu said he was holding ongoing talks with world leaders, "and we appreciate their understanding of Israel's right to self-defense," as thousands of Israeli troops massed along the Gaza border.

But British Foreign Secretary William Hague pressed Israel not to escalate the conflict by sending ground troops into the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.

"The prime minister (David Cameron) and I have both stressed to our Israeli counterparts that a ground invasion of Gaza would lose Israel a lot of the international support and sympathy that they have in this situation," he said.

A 10-hour lull on Saturday night lull ended at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) after which 55 rockets hit Israel, and 36 were intercepted in mid-flight by the Iron Dome defense system, the Israeli army said.

Two were fired at Tel Aviv, triggering air raid sirens in the commercial metropolis for the fourth day. Iron Dome intercepted both, police said.

"Two rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome system," police spokesman Luba Samri told AFP shortly after the sirens sent residents running for cover across the commercial metropolis and in nearby Bnei Brak and Ramat HaSharon.

The Israeli army confirmed the interception, but said that only one rocket had been fired from Gaza.

Since the start of its Operation Pillar of Defense, launched after the killing of top Hamas military commander Ahmed Jaabari in an air strike, the Israeli army says Palestinian militants have fired more than 800 rockets over the border.

Comments 11
Thumb andre.jabbour 18 November 2012, 07:31

48 Gazans killed since Wednesday? That's on average what happens every 12 hours in Syria.

Default-user-icon Yalland Trovatsh (Guest) 18 November 2012, 15:56

March 14, you humane bunch, I guess this number (49) is still too low to care about! How sensitive of the lovers of life! But thankfully for March 14, those 49 are not Israelis! Otherwise, it would have been considered a disastrous crime by the forces of evil and backwardness. Keep praying, March 14. God bless!

Default-user-icon Arturo (Guest) 18 November 2012, 16:02

its tragic whenever civilians are killed in war, particularly children. Hamas fires eapons from civilian areas towards Israeli civilians. Israel must protect its civilains. when the rockets stop so will the bombing. as the article says: 2 rockets were fired by hamas at Tel Aviv on Sunday.

Missing kamal1 18 November 2012, 16:37

and your point is?

Missing arturo 18 November 2012, 16:55

i think his point is that its tragic when any civilains are killed. in the period of the Gaza war there have been more civilians killed in Iraq and Afganistan from bombs and by both sides in Syria than in Gaza and Israel combined. it seems that the AL, Egypt and Turkey dont care about those civilians, only the ones in Gaza.

Missing kamal1 18 November 2012, 18:52

The countries you mentioned did not take real action beyond words of condemnation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and are not taking real action in Syria...here also, all they are doing is condemning Israel, again words no action
So throwing numbers of civilian casualties from other conflicts around does not make this new atrocity less important

Missing arturo 18 November 2012, 19:10

kamal1
Again any time civilains are killed in battle it is tragic. In this case Israel's actions are not an "atrocity" -- a crfiminal act commited in combat. Gaza is firing rockets at Israel's civilian population centers. Israel has an obligation to protect its citizens. Many rockets are fired from areas in Gaza populated by civilians. Israel warns them to leave the combat zone before it strikes, but it cannot stop bombing rocket launching sites and allow its covilains to be harmed. You have not suggested an alternative for Israel to protect its citizens from rocket fire, nor have you described the rocket fire as an atrocity.

Missing phillipo 18 November 2012, 17:24

Question - Media Centre Hit, Gazan Children killed.
What are Gazan chilsdren doing in an international media centre, unless they are put there by Hamas as a human shield ?

Default-user-icon Truth (Guest) 18 November 2012, 21:02

Nobody cares about the palestinians in gaza because they chose to vote for an extremist group like Hamas. It is their choice. Not to mention the zionist love beeing hated and are friends with the world community. The arabs wont lift a finger ,i see them as the primary cause of all troubles. They have the money, the space , they could have at least harbored palestinians in camps in Lebanon , jordan , syria and gave them any job or help. They dont give a rat's ass about it. Israel knows that as well that why it can bomb Gaza anytime. It knows as well Syria is having problems with its own palestinians in camps helping the FSA. All this is a game for the world and people are just accessories. You are either something in this world like a king or president of a wealthy or strong state or you just die like the rest and get on with it.

Thumb Elemental 18 November 2012, 21:44

That's not even the promised land they (Israel) were supposed to be in to begin with, nothing but frauds.

Default-user-icon CheekyHuman (Guest) 19 November 2012, 06:10

Actually, he was not short-sighted - he saw his land of milk and honey 20/20 - he was just stopped short by the Kanaanite tribes and had to settle for Palestine (albeit, today that's spelled "occupied Palestine"). Now how's that for history repeating itself! ;) However, I'm not sure which sexy broads you may be talking about - unless you're referring to the Russian tourists...