Israeli ground troops enter Gaza
JERUSALEM (CNN) — Israeli troops began moving into Gaza on Saturday night, intent on taking out Hamas rocket-launching sites, after a week of airstrikes into the Hamas-controlled territory, Israel Defense Forces said.
“We have just a short while ago launched the second stage of the operation against Hamas infrastructure,” IDF spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich told CNN.
“The goal is to try and take over some of those launching areas that were responsible for the many launches — the thousands of launches, in fact — toward the Israeli civilians,” she said.
“Our understanding from Israeli officials is that it’s going to be, at least initially, the first stage, is going to be limited in scope,” CNN’s Ben Wedeman said.
Reacting to the incursion, chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority Saeb Erakat said: “What this will do is undermine the peace process.” The Palestinian Authority is the government of President Mahmoud Abbas. Video Watch Erakat’s reaction »
Abbas, who also is a member of Hamas’s rival Fatah party, dissolved Gaza’s Hamas-led government and declared a state of emergency in 2007. Hamas took control of the territory shortly afterward.
“We will defeat the army just like they were defeated before,” Abu Thaer, spokesman for the military wing of Fatah — the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades — told the television network Al Jazeera.
“We will rub their noses in the sand. To the Arabs of 1948, today it is the time to act, to carry martyrdom operations in the heart of Israel. In case they will get in really on the ground, they will be taught a lesson that they will never forget. The Israeli army is the loser from ground operations in Gaza.
“They claim that the Palestinian resistance was hit, but we say that the resistance will not be defeated, and we will not receive them with roses. We will receive them with bombs and that will not stop, God willing,” Thaer said.
Before the incursion, the Israelis used artillery for the first time in the eight-day-old conflict when Israeli tanks fired shells into Gaza from the northern and eastern borders.
Troops had been massed along the border since the IDF began its bombardment of the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory December 27. Video Watch the conflict unfold on both sides »
Leaflets signed by the commander of the Israeli military were dropped over northern Gaza on Saturday morning, warning residents to “leave the area immediately” to ensure their safety.
“We are trying to be as humane as possible,” Leibovich said. “… The civilians are not our target. We are looking only at militants, Hamas militants.”
Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal promised bloodshed if Israeli ground troops enter Gaza.
“As for you, the soldiers of the enemy whose leadership are getting you ready to enter Gaza in a ground attack, you need to know that doom will await you and you will be killed, injured and captured,” Meshaal, speaking in Syria, said on the Al Jazeera television network Friday.
“If the enemy got into Gaza, our people will fight from one street to the next, from one house to the other, and on every inch of the land.” Find out who’s who on each side »
An Israeli airstrike hit a mosque in the northern Gaza village of Beit Lahiya on Saturday evening, killing 13 people and wounding 60, according to Palestinian medical sources.
An Israeli attack earlier Saturday killed Azkariah al-Jamal, the commander of Gaza City’s rocket-launching squads, Palestinian and IDF sources said.
Another airstrike killed two Hamas militants in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, Palestinian officials said.
Leibovich said Hamas militants had launched 20 rockets from Gaza into Israel by late afternoon Saturday.
Rockets set a house on fire in Ashkelon, damaged a kibbutz dining hall and slightly wounded two people in an eight-story building in Ashdod, according to Israeli ambulance services.
“We still see that Hamas is targeting Israeli civilians. Namely, we still did not reach the goal of crippling Hamas’ launching capabilities,” Leibovich said.
“We still have many more targets to go,” she added.
An IDF statement said Israeli missiles fired from jets and ships hit 25 Hamas “outposts, training camps and rocket launching sites” Saturday morning.
The houses of two alleged Hamas terror operatives were also hit, the IDF said.
One, it said, was the home of Azadin Hadad, described as the head of the Hamas military group in eastern Gaza City.
The other, in Beit Lahiya, was used to store rocket-launching equipment and was the home of Ismail Renam, who “has a central role in the launching of Grad-type rockets against Israel,” the IDF said.
Grad-type rockets have a longer range than the rudimentary Qassam rockets Hamas more commonly uses.
Israeli officials say four people have been killed and 59 wounded in Hamas rocket attacks in the past week.
Palestinian medical sources said Saturday that at least 435 people have been killed and 2,285 wounded in Gaza.
CNN’s Barbara Starr said top U.S. military leaders were aware in advance of Israel’s plans to enter Gaza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMjSoUEysQ4
Amazing how the psuedo-liberal Islamofascists are up in arms about this! If they thought for one minute that Israel was going to let the master ayatollah’s in Iran get away with this, how badly they miscalculated. They can moan and scream…or go an live in Iran as an infidel (as far as these radicals are concerned, they’ll always be infidels), and see what happens to them. How stupid are these people!!
israelis are crazy, they are not going out to get Hamas they are using that as an excuse to kill innocent palestinians so they can gain the land that they think is theirs back. Number 1 Israel belongs to the palestinians, the israelis came after the holocaust but before that it was called palestine, check any globe map or atlas previous to the holocaust. and i dont see how they can treat people like nazis treated them. They are killing innocent children, when will america open there eyes
Hamas is a terrorist organization, it is just that simple. Read their charter if you think otherwise. They hide behind their women and children. They hide in their mosques. They launch rockets at civilians intentionally. They are cowardly men using a religion in a cowardly manner. The Isrealis are correct by destroying this group. It is a shame the Palestinians in Gaza have judgement that fogs their mind. They are victims of their own government — their own ideology.
What is needed are UN troops in Gaza with the authority to shoot anyone with a rocket immediately.
This is the just another Jewish extermination plan. They have become Nazi’s. They are animals. There day is coming.
If the Israelis and I mean the government have any brain, I am a scientist. I am not a scientist. How and that is my 64 million dollars question Israel can tell the difference between Hamas and a regular palestinian. I can answer it myself, they can’t. So when the IDF say that between 20 and 30 Hamas were killed during the ground assault, they were talking about palestinians. So Israel killed over 500 Palestinians, and wounded thousands more, Palestinians. So, they’ll have to kill everyone there. If they leave anyone behind, then they haven’t done their job. What’s all that in Gaza. I guess Israel have lots of weapons to waiste, since the US probably will replace them. And of course they are not there to overthrow Hamas. I never thought so. They going to kill about thousands of Palestinians and call it even. They’ll go back in Israel and Hamas will throw some more rockets. Even Mr. Barack from Jerusalem said ” we cannot stop the rockets from coming in”. What’s the purpose of that carnage?.
Ya I get a kick out of thse protesters. When HAMAS uses a rocket to kill civilians they are in the strets happier then hell. Now that Israel is pounding Hmas the are in the streets crying. Hamas picked the fight and I hope Israel gives it to them good. Maybe then Hamas will stop launching rockets.
Israel should go on until Hamas submits an full and unconditional surrender or every last one of the Hamas leadership is liquidated. The IDF needs to get it straight this time and finish the job, or never go on an adventure like this again if they haven’t the stomach for it. The silent majority is with them. Globally.
I am amazed at how much garbage people swallow from the press and the ‘peaceful’ hard line Palestinians. Where are the hardball questions? If the plight of the Palestinians was so intolerable why don’t the other Arab countries take then in? Why didn’t the Palestinians get statehood when Jordan and Saudi Arabia did. Also, if the bombing is so bad why hasn’t Eypgt opened it gates and let aid in or the people out. How can the hard line Palestinians shoot bombs into residential Israeli areas from hospitals and mosques cowardly hiding amongst women and children and not expect possible causalities when Israel tries to stop it? They talk out both sides of their mouths. It is horrible to have inflicted upon themselves what they have been inflicting upon the people of Israel for years. As a brillant Jewish man once said,”Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” I guess the hard line Palestinians don’t understand that!!!
Go israel Go thats all I can say. I was a soldier in the I.D.F forces and just came back home to california not to long ago. I know what our guys are going through, they are not there to hurt civilians they are there to stop hamas and terror. These arab radical groups must be stopped they are bad for israel and are bad for the world. In all honesty they are not needed. The soldiers see them as a threat israel sees them as a threat…the world should see them as a threat as well…Israel is doing the right thing. Not taking Crape from anyone, going in and takling care of business! Istand behind what they are doing and I support them 100% percent, we love you guys, from shiftan and cohen!
This war is totally bogus; it is really the US against the Muslim world by proxy.
There is absolutely no way that the Palestinians can win or even compete with America’s surrogate fighting forces in Israel.
The only way this war will end is for America to stop spending my taxpayer dollars on Israel and let them fight it out with their own resources, but this will never happen, New York’s Mayor Bloomberg is already enrooted to Israel with bags full of New York money for the war.
It is time to let Israel fend for itself and for these two factions to stop fighting or kill and main themselves back to the stone age where theory feel comfortable.
As long as we play Nanny to Israel, they will make war with one or all of its neighbors and legitimate owners of the land the claim.
However, the chances of Israel losing its status as our favorite child that never grew up are slim and none as the Jewish lobby in Congress, Washington, and Wall St. are too powerful to break, if an attempt was made all the Bloombergs would come out of the woodwork and stop the American economy and government in its tracks.
Panfilo Fuentes
Bakersfield Ca
Well here we sit and are supposed to feel bad for hamas because They are being bomb barded with bombs….well boo freaking hoo.. they shoould have thought that out better when they were firing rocket after rocket into israel, Go figure they got tired of being systematicly killed, attacled and lets face it hamas was doing what iran told them to do, this is a power struggle that has a tinge of genocide, I’m 100% behind israel and think they should get help from the united nations it is about time these terroist get put back in their place, I hate violence but enough is enough this borders on a holy war, They make threats of using nuclear weapons on israel I say bomb all the terroist till they give up all their weapons and nukes. While we sit back and watch the world is being forever changed, If this is a holy war who’s side are you going to be on hamas… Israel…or do we become a godless world filled with chaos and death. Lets put and end to the fighting so long as hamas admits to their actions and gives up their weapons, a cease fire is only as good as the people enforcing it, they want to fight like cowards then they will more then likely die like cowards. These are a godless cult that forces their view on others by threat of mass murder via nukes, terrorist attacks, can they not fight with honor, or can they only fight like cowards, Does christianity really scare them that bad, are they afraid that if christians are right then they might be held accountable for all the evil actions they have committed and thier souls just might burn in hell, and as far as all the virgins the terrorist think they will get in heaven, no one said thet were women…servves them right. No one should judge anybody based on their relegion, sex, sex preference, relegion, color or any other thing, other than god!!! Who among us as a world is so deserving of the right to Judge anybody, who here has not done something they regret, my advice grow up and leave each other alone. and to the hamas and Iran terrorists pull up your big girl panties and put away your weapons you lousy pathetic cowards.
This is not Israel job to overthrow Hamas this the job of the Palestinians to understand that to live in peace and coexistence,
First they need to recognize Israeli rights to exist.
Second they need to bring a change in government.
Chang is coming over time and maybe a blow like that will make them understand that the change in government is necessary.
Hamas is taking them no where fast.
And Israel is losing patient understandably.
Also to the palistinians I’m am sorry for your losses and bloodshed this is not right nor excusable, however having said that this has been no big mystery nor surprise what was going to happen, israel warned days in advance for palistinans to leave or br caught in the middle, And if it was me and I have been warned that my but was in the middle of a soon to be bomb zone me and my family would be gone, even if we had to walk, ans I trully hope and pray this senseless violence ends soon but rather than getting mad at Israel direct your anger where it should be, which is Iran, hamas, they are directly responsible for all this and to russia Go Fu@k yourself, america will be just fine and we will Do the right thing, unlike you, will russia stand up to the terroist or are they too busy hopnig america’s financial issuse’s will cause america to fall so they can assume control, Never going to happen comrade’s, God Bless America 1776-forever, god willing. A country is only as good as its actions or inactions and should be held accountable for its allies. We live with clean consciousness’s as we have always tried to do the right thing, and yes maybe we made a few mistakes here and there, no one is perfect, “the path to hell is paved with good intentions” But to sit idly by is a deadly sin known as sloth.
In response to “Honestly”
Check your facts my friend, if we want to sit here and aruge who was there first, we can make an argument dating back to biblical terms. The REAL honesty…the British controlled the land before the Israelis, and 3 different Arab/Jewish partition plans were brought to the table, all 3 divided the land in favor of the Arabs, all 3 were accepted by the Jews and rejected by the Arab League. The Arabs don’t care about the Palestinians, Egypt never cared about Gaza, they only wanted the Sinai, and now they have peace, the Jordanians hated the inhabitants of the West Bank. Further, the Arabs started wars in 48′, 67′, and 73′…guess what, they lost them all, stop being sore losers and get the hell out. The Palestinian cause would gain much from taking on a non-violent stance. I think the real shame in all this coverage has been the lack of any talk about one person…GILAD SHALIT…bring him home! How has this not been an issue being covered on CNN or anywhere else except Israeli media?? Can you imagine if Al-Qaeda had an American Soldier, alive, in captivity for over 900 days?? A cease fire is needed but Hamas doesn’t want international surveillance because they need to continue smuggling arms, but the bottom line should be…no cease fire until Gilad is brought home, and the bombs should rain down on Hamas, until Gilad comes home,
I am disappointed in the pro-Hamas bias at CNN. Your coverage was a series of interviews with Hamas apologists and scenes of anti-Israel demonstrations,staged by Islamics throughout the world, nothing else. This is why CNN is becoming less and less relevant.
FYI: Hamas is a Jihadist organization dedicated to not only destroying Israel, but Western Civilization as a whole. They are religiously committed to Jihad until the entire world is subjugated to the Shari’a Law.
Shari’a Law is a dual-ethics system: one for believers, one for the rest of us (the Kafirs). Kafirs can be raped, killed, bought, sold, given as a gift, enslaved! They do not have even the right to life! Women are considered no more than a life-support system for a pleasure vagina! Yet CNN supports these medieval butchers time and again.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you know not where your interests lie.
DM LXVII
Israel pulled it’s citizens and it’s army out of Gaza and got what in return?
Roughly 6,000 rockets landing on it’s civilians.
Hamas’ prior justification for launching rockets was Israel’s “occupation” of Gaza. So what then has been the explanation for the rocket attacks since??? Any other country facing these types of daily attacks would have turned Gaza into a parking lot by now.
Israel should be ashamed all right, not for the current initiative but for putting up with the attacks for four years before doing something about it. As for the proportionality of the response, I take it that Israel’s critics think it should land 6,000 rockets on civilians in Gaza instead of tactical air strikes on Hamas targets.
Now THAT would be proportionate.
I have followed these stories for a long time and decided to educated myself on these issues so I could make an educated comment on them and this is what I see. I find it ridiculous that people are protesting Israels retaliation when terrorist groups like hamas and hezbollah have made it their life mission to try and keep the citizens of Israel in a state of fear and insecurity.
Imagine something as simple as going to the grocery store and wondering if a terrorist may blow the store up or watching your kids play in the back yard and a rocket lands killing your family, well this is what the people of Israel have dealt with for decades.
I think before people start pointing their finger at anyone they should start with the palestinian people themselves, they allow these terrorist groups to operate in their communities and I have to think some give support to them due to their hatred for Israel.
The people of palestine need to stop allowing these terrorist groups to function and hide in their communities because it’s no mystery that Israel will fire upon these terrorists and they are cowards to hide in civilian areas hoping for collateral damage so they can make Israel out to be the bad guys.
I think the palestinians need to point the finger at themselves for not standing up to these terrorist groups and keeping them out and if they can’t handle the task themselves I’m sure they could get help from a multitude of sources especially Israel would act upon learning these groups were on the move but the palestinians don’t do anything to stand up for themselves which means they agree with what hamas and hezbollah do or they lack the courage to do something about them either way they need to take a look at themselves before complaining about how Israel handles the matter and the media should probe into these issues too instead of showing death and disorder but I doubt the media will ever look into these issues when they don’t grab headlines.
in response to concerned:
you claim to educate yourself about this…. well did you educate yourself on why in the first place Hamas is firing rockets on Israel?
i`ll give you a glimpse of facts:
1. Palestinians dont have a state, therefore, they dont have passports, therefore they are stuck in their misery. Cause, Israeli Occupation of their land since 1967.
2. THE BLOCKADE: Israel’s blockade of the strip, with the support of the United States and the European Union, has grown increasingly stringent since Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in January 2006. Fuel, electricity, imports, exports and the movement of people in and out of the Strip have been slowly choked off, leading to life-threatening problems of sanitation, health, water supply and transportation.
The blockade has subjected many to unemployment, penury and malnutrition. This amounts to the collective punishment — with the tacit support of the United States — of a civilian population for exercising its democratic rights.
4.THE CEASE-FIRE: Lifting the blockade, along with a cessation of rocket fire, was one of the key terms of the June cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This accord led to a reduction in rockets fired from Gaza from hundreds in May and June to a total of less than 20 in the subsequent four months (according to Israeli government figures). The cease-fire broke down when Israeli forces launched major air and ground attacks in early November; six Hamas operatives were reported killed.
WAR CRIMES: The targeting of civilians, whether by Hamas or by Israel, is potentially a war crime. Every human life is precious. But the numbers speak for themselves: More than 1050 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed since the conflict broke out at the end of last year. In contrast, there have been around a dozen Israelis killed, many of them soldiers. Negotiation is a much more effective way to deal with rockets and other forms of violence. This might have been able to happen had Israel fulfilled the terms of the June cease-fire and lifted its blockade of the Gaza Strip.
This war on the people of Gaza isn’t really about rockets. Nor is it about “restoring Israel’s deterrence,” as the Israeli press might have you believe. Far more revealing are the words of Moshe Yaalon, then the Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff, in 2002: “The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people.”
This might be a matter of security as Israel claims, but this is a matter of existence for Hamas or palestinians or whatever you wanna call them….
Please think about it!
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