Israeli Tanks Enter Gaza - More land takeovers to begin

[MikeWB]

Israel set to begin ground war against Hamas in Gaza

(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty)
Israeli soldiers ready to deploy on the border with Gaza
James Hider on the Gaza border, and Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem
Israel is poised to launch a major ground offensive into Gaza tonight after allowing hundreds of foreigners living in the devastated territory to evacuate.

After a week of air strikes that have killed at least 420 Palestinians and left scores of buildings in rubble, the Israeli army was set to fling hundreds of troops and tanks into a blitz to stamp out Hamas's military wing, The Times understands.

Despite the looming onslaught, more Hamas rockets – which have so far killed four Israelis – were fired into southern Israel today.

The Islamist group vowed that its attacks, which have lasted for years and which finally provoked the massive Israeli campaign, would not stop.

"I call on the resistance to continue pounding Jewish settlements and cities," said Sheikh Abdelrahman al-Jamal at the funeral of a hardline Hamas political leader killed, together with his four wives and 11 children, in an Israeli air strike on his home.

"We will remain on the path of jihad until the end of days."

The funeral was held outdoors because an earlier air raid had smashed the mosque where the service was due to take place. Israel said the building had been used to stockpile weapons.

Among the mounting Palestinian death toll today were three young brothers, aged between seven and 10, who were killed in one of the 30 or so strikes carried out by Israeli warplanes across the strip.

All along the border, Israeli tanks and troops have turned fields into makeshift camps from which to launch their offensive into Gaza. The Government has already mobilised more than 6,000 reserve troops and has given the green light to call up almost 3,000 more.

Artillery barrages were also being fired into the strip while aircraft dropped bombs on open ground that the army will need to cross, and where Hamas has placed mines and dug tunnels to allow its guerrillas to outflank the invaders.

Support for Operation Cast Lead is sky high in Israel, with polls showing that almost 85 per cent of the public backing the campaign.

There is also majority support for expanding it into a ground campaign, despite the dangers of high casualties in an urban battlefield against highly trained and motivated guerrillas waging war on their own turf. Almost 42 per cent of Israelis wanted the army to move in, while 39 percent favoured a continued air campaign.

Hamas has an estimated 15,000 fighters who have used the 18 months that they have controlled the strip to hone their skills and transform a militia into a small army. Hamas's military wing has been waiting for a ground offensive to face the Israeli army in open combat, despite Israel's vast military superiority.

The onslaught has provoked large anti-Israeli demonstrations around the world, with protest rallies held today in India, Indonesia, Turkey and Australia.

But Hamas's call for a "day of wrath" in the Palestinian territories produced only a lukewarm response in the face of clampdowns by Israeli security forces.

Several thousand protesters marched through the West Bank city of Ramallah, while in East Jerusalem youths threw stones at Israeli security forces and some 50 women demonstrated outside the Friday prayers at al-Aqsa mosque.

The demonstrators directed their anger principally at their own Palestinian leaders, and heads of Arab countries whom they felt had not done enough to stop Israel's seven-day incursion into Gaza.

"Abbas is with the Jews, not with the Arabs. If he really was supporting and working in favour of our Arab brother's in Gaza, this wouldn't have happened," said Um-Mahr, a 66-year-old resident of East Jerusalem.

Akram Jwaeibis, 58, said Arab leaders today were afraid to do more than voice criticism of the Israeli government's actions. "Most of them just talk. That is why we are waiting for Nasrallah. Or Haniyeh to do something more than talk."

Diplomatic efforts to contain the crisis were growing after Israel's surprise offensive in the days after Christmas caught the world off guard. "We are working toward a ceasefire that would not allow a re-establishment of the status quo ante where Hamas can continue to launch rockets out of Gaza," said Condoleezza Rice, the outgoing US Secretary of State.

"It is obvious that that ceasefire should take place as soon as possible, but we need a ceasefire that is durable and sustainable," she said.

A high-level European delegation is due in the region at the weekend, as were Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, and Tony Blair, the international community's envoy to the Middle East.

[Ognir]

Let's see if they do
Roll out the bags

[memory hole]

ground war = big problem for israel

[high_treason]

I really hope so and pray to God for victory in Palestine. A defeat worse than the one they received from Hizbu Allah..Allah ma3akom ya Falasteen Ameen.

But notice that the article points to the real reason why the operation was called, Someone posted an article by Gilad Atzmon he said its for blood votes and those so called "polls" are the votes...85% need to be wiped out from that cesspool called israhell!

[MikeWB]

Tanks have entered Gaza!

For the first time since the start of Operation Cast Lead, IDF ground troops entered the Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, exchanging fire with Hamas gunmen.


A soldier covers his ears as an IDF artillery unit fires.
Photo: AP [file]
SLIDESHOW: Pictures of the week
The IDF said that a large amount of Armored Corps, Engineering Corps and Infantry troops entered the territory with the purpose of destroying Hamas infrastructure and preventing rocket fire by taking control of launching pads in northern Gaza.

The IDF warned that terrorists using civilians as human shields would bear full responsibility for their fate.

The cabinet also approved the call-up of thousands of reservists, mostly from combat units, but also from the Home Front Command.

Several hours before the ground operation commenced, the army began to fire artillery shells into the northern part of the Strip.

According to reports, the artillery units were attacking targets in northern Gaza from where Palestinian terrorists had been firing rockets at southern Israel.


Warplanes, gunboats and artillery units blasted more than 40 Hamas targets throughout Saturday, including Hamas's central intelligence headquarters in Sha'ati, weapons storage facilities, training centers and Hamas leaders' homes.

Air strikes that had waned during the day gathered pace after dark. One raid hit a mosque in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, killing 14 people and wounding 33, seven critically, according to a Palestinian health official.

Other Palestinian reports claimed that the mosque was hit by an artillery shell.

The IAF also hit the home of senior Hamas commander Abu Zacharia Al-Jamal. A Hamas spokesman announced that al-Jamal was killed in the attack, which would make him the third senior operative in the group to be targeted in the past three days.

In addition, Palestinians reported four dead in an IAF strike in the Rafah area.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Channel 2 Saturday night, "We will do all that is necessary to provide a different reality for southern Israel, which has been under constant attacks for the past eight years."

In Saturday morning attacks, the army struck the homes of two Hamas operatives, saying the buildings were used to store weapons and plan attacks. Hamas outposts, training camps and rocket launching sites also were targeted, it said.

The army also struck the American International School, the most prestigious educational institution in Gaza. The school is not connected to the US government, but teaches an American curriculum in English.

The airstrike demolished the school's main building and killed a night watchman. Two other Palestinians were killed in a separate airstrike, while three others died of wounds sustained earlier, Gaza health officials said.

Earlier, the army dropped leaflets in downtown Gaza City ordering people off the streets. The warnings were followed by the air strikes.

Hamas also declared on Saturday that its members had foiled an attempt by IDF special forces to infiltrate the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported.

According to the report, a number of IDF soldiers were spotted in the outskirts of Gaza's Shajaiyeh neighborhood close to the border with Israel. Hamas claimed that the soldiers retreated after they were targeted by six mortar shells.

The IDF denied the report, telling Army Radio that "this incident never happened."

Earlier on Friday night, a Hamas television station said that the IAF on bombed an airport in the Gaza Strip. One person was reported dead in the attack, and five wounded.

[MikeWB]

brief statement by Israelis:

Israel to 'take over' rocket launching areas in Gaza: PM office   

Jan 3 02:54 PM US/Eastern
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Israel aims to "take over" areas in Gaza from where militants have fired rockets into the Jewish state, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said on Saturday after ground troops entered the enclave.

[holyland]

Do they just figure that we're this stupid or are we?

[Travis]

Do they just figure that we're this stupid or are we?

Yep and most people are.

[Ognir]

lock and Load ...