Israel ’nearing its goals’ in Gaza

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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The fighting in the Sheikh Ajleen neighborhood erupted before dawn and continued into the morning as Israeli infantrymen and tanks advanced toward Gaza City and its approximately 400,000 residents, Palestinian witnesses told The Associated Press. Hamas and the smaller militant group Islamic Jihad said they ambushed the Israelis, leading to some of the heaviest fighting since Israel sent ground forces into the coastal territory. Top officials suggested Israel was nearing the goals of its deadliest ever offensive, despite having last week waved off a U.N. resolution calling for a halt to the fighting.

"The decision of the (U.N.) Security Council doesn't give us much leeway," Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai told public radio. "Thus it would seem that we are close to ending the ground operation and ending the operation altogether."

Earlier acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel was nearing the goals it had set for its operation but gave no timeframe for an end to the 16-day-long war. "Israel is approaching these goals, but more patience and determination are required in order to reach these goals" and "change the security reality in the south in a way that will allow our citizens to live in security and stability over a long period of time," Olmert said at the start of the cabinet meeting, reported Agence France-Presse.

Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal made a fiery speech on Arab news channel Al Jazeera, describing the Israeli assault as a "holocaust." Meshaal said Hamas would not consider a cease-fire until Israel ended its air, sea and ground assault and lifted a Gaza blockade, according to a report by Reuters. Still, a Hamas delegation held talks in Cairo on an Egyptian truce plan.

New stage waiting approval
Both Israel and Hamas last week brushed off the U.N. Security Council resolution that called on both sides to stop fighting, and the early yesterday hours saw Israeli troops push deep into the territory's main population center.

Israel dropped leaflets on Gaza on Saturday warning of a wider offensive. "The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) is not working against the people of Gaza but against Hamas and the terrorists only," the leaflets said in Arabic.

Israeli defense officials say they are prepared for a third stage of their offensive, in which ground troops would push further into Gaza, but are waiting for approval from the government. The first phase was the massive aerial bombardment, and the second saw ground forces enter Gaza, seize open areas used to fire rockets and surround Gaza City. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because military plans have not been made public, said the army also has a contingency plan for a fourth phase - the full reoccupation of Gaza and toppling of Hamas.

Civilians again fell victim in Israel's war in the Palestinian enclave, one of the world's most densely populated places where every other person of the 1.5 million population is under 18 years of age. At least 26 Palestinians had been killed across Gaza by midday, according to Gaza health officials. Most were noncombatants, they said, including four members of one family killed when a tank shell hit their home near Gaza City.

Phosphorus shells
Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces fired phosphorus shells early yesterday at Khouza, a village near the border, setting a row of houses on fire. Hospital official Dr. Yusuf Abu Rish said a woman was killed and more than 100 injured, most suffering from gas inhalation and burns. Israeli military spokesman Capt. Guy Spigelman denied the accusations. One of the main uses of phosphorous shells is to create smoke and mask ground forces, which is legal under international law, but the chemical can be harmful if used in densely populated areas.