Israel:A time to fight

[Christina]

Barak: We'll deepen and widen operation as much as neededDec. 27, 2008JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST The IDF will deepen and widen its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip as much as needed, Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed Saturday afternoon in a press conference. "There is a time for cease-fires and a time to fight, and now is the time to fight," Barak said. "For months the IDF and security forces have been preparing for the operation that began today." Barak stated that Israel had not intended to allow Hamas to continue to fire rockets into Israel without responding. The defense minister warned that tough times lay ahead. "I don't want to deceive anyone," he said. "It won't be easy and won't be quick. We must be resolute." Rocket attacks were expected to continue and to increase during the operation, he added. "For weeks Hamas and its satellite groups have rained [Israel] with rockets…and mortar shells. We did not intend to let this situation continue," he said. In a statement released earlier by the Prime Minister's Office, the government's position regarding the operation was explained. "Given Hamas violations of the ceasefire agreement and the unrelenting attacks on Israeli citizens in the south, a decision was made on Wednesday, December 24 by the Ministerial Committee on National Security, in which the IDF was ordered to act to bring about a cessation of rocket fire for a length of time," the statement said.

 

[Christina]

In an air offensive dubbed "Cast Lead," Saturday, Dec. 27, some 150 Israeli bombers and helicopters struck 100 targets, destroying dozens of Hamas military compounds across the Gaza Strip in reprisal for the Palestinian long-term missile blitz.Israel air strikes continue in S. Gaza after 205 killed in earlier raids of Hamas sitesDEBKAfile Special ReportDecember 27, 2008, 7:33 PM (GMT+02:00) Israeli air force hits back at Hamas in GazaIsraeli bombers hit Hamas' film center in southern Gaza Saturday night, Dec. 27, after massive air raids destroyed Hamas compounds across the enclave leaving 205 killed, 330 injured and thousands of shock victims. The operation followed a week in which Hamas fired 200 missiles at Israeli civilian targets. The Israeli Air Force planes struck Hamas security headquarters in Gaza City and compounds, police stations and ports. Several Hamas commanders were killed in the bombardment of a Hamas military passing-out ceremony. Among them was Hamas police chief Tawfiq Jabber. The Israeli military spokesman said the Gaza operation is "just beginning" and would be expanded and intensified as necessary. Hamas and other Palestinian factions ordered its "fighters to avenge Israeli attacks." A Israeli was killed in Netivot in its first reprisal.Egypt has condemned Israel for its military attack, but held Hamas responsible for refusing to heed warnings and failing to protect the Palestinian people. It has mobilized its rescue and medical services in Sinai, including hospitals for aid to casualties for the Israeli air bombardment of Gaza. Egyptian ambulances stood by at the Rafah crossing to transport wounded Hamas operatives. The Israeli air attack launching some 40 missiles began 11.30 a.m. local time Saturday, eight days after Hamas terminated the informal Gaza ceasefire by showering missiles and mortar rounds on 250,000 Israeli civilians day after day. Last week, the Israeli cabinet gave the Israeli military the green light for reprisals as Palestinian missile attacks escalated, 13 mortar rounds fired Friday, when Israel allowed 90 trucks of food and medicines to cross into the Gaza Strip.Since Israel evacuated the Gaza Strip in 2005, the Palestinians have fired 5,000 missiles.

 

[Christina]

Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

 

[Christina]

Israel kills 208 in air assault on Gaza StripSat Dec 27, 2008 2:01pm ESTBy Nidal al-MughrabiGAZA (Reuters) - Israeli warplanes and helicopters pounded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 205 people in the bloodiest one-day death toll in 60 years of conflict with the Palestinians.Militants in the Gaza Strip, who have launched dozens of rocket attacks against Israel since a truce expired just over a week ago, fired more salvoes that killed one Israeli man and wounded several others.Both sides said they were ready to stage wider assaults, threatening to plunge the region into a crisis that could leave stalled talks over Palestinian statehood in tatters.Black smoke billowed over Gaza City, where the dead and wounded lay scattered on the ground after Israel bombed more than 40 security compounds, including two where Hamas was hosting graduation ceremonies for new recruits.At the main Gaza City graduation ceremony, uniformed bodies lay in a pile and the wounded writhed in pain. Some rescue workers beat their heads and shouted "God is greatest." One badly wounded man quietly recited verses from the Koran.More than 700 Palestinians were wounded in all, medics said.http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articl...LR1342320081227