Gaza City (ANTARA News) - Three people died in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight, raising the toll since Israeli military operations began on Saturday to 398, the head of the territory's emergency services said Thursday.
The number of dead includes 180 civilians and the number of wounded has risen to nearly 2,000, Moawiya Hassanei told AFP.
A raid on the house of the Rafah leader of Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, killed three neighbours, including one woman, he said.
Abu Anas Chabana was not at home at the time.
The house was destroyed and nearby homes damaged.
An air strike for the first time targeted the justice ministry in Gaza City, wounding, a medical source said.
Also targeted in early Thursday raids were the education ministry, the president's office, legislative council, police headquarters, witnesses said.
A building belonging to a Hamas-linked group was also destroyed in the Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of the Gaza Strip.
Two homes belonging to Hamas militants were destroyed in the central Nusseirat refugee camp, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear if anyone had been killed or injured.
A metalworking shop in Khan Yunis was destroyed in a raid that wounded three, a military source said.
Another metalworking factory was targeted in Gaza City.
Artillery fire from Israeli naval vessels also hit northern Gaza city, the medic said.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Five dead in suspected US missile strike in Pakistan: officials
Peshawar, Pakistan (ANTARA News) - A suspected US missile strike on Thursday killed at least five alleged militants in a tribal area in northwest Pakistan known as a Taliban and Al-Qaeda stronghold, local officials said.
The strike was the latest targeting extremists in the lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan -- all said to have been launched by unmanned CIA aircraft -- that have raised tensions between Washington and Islamabad.
A local security official told AFP that a CIA drone had fired three missiles in the Karikot area of South Waziristan -- the same spot where eight suspected militants were killed in a US drone strike 10 days ago.
One of the missiles struck a vehicle, killing five people inside, another security official said, adding those killed were known Taliban militants.
The other two missiles hit a hilltop house that was a known militant hideout in the area, but it was empty at the time of the strike, the officials said.
One militant was also wounded, they added.
"We rushed out of our homes," resident Zar Wali told AFP, saying locals had been panicked by the powerful explosions.
Smoke was still billowing from the targeted house, he said.
Pakistan has repeatedly protested to the United States that the strikes violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the 160 million people of the nuclear-armed Islamic nation.
President Asif Ali Zardari has promised zero tolerance for such violations, but some officials say there is a tacit understanding between the US and Pakistani militaries to allow such action.
The suspected US strikes have also continued despite a warning by Taliban militants based in tribal territory last month that any more would lead to reprisal attacks across Pakistan.
A US missile attack in November last year killed Rashid Rauf, the alleged Al-Qaeda mastermind of a 2006 transatlantic airplane bombing plot, as well as an Egyptian Al-Qaeda operative, security officials have said.
More than two dozen similar strikes have been carried out since August 2007, killing more than 200 people, most of them militants.
The strike was the latest targeting extremists in the lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan -- all said to have been launched by unmanned CIA aircraft -- that have raised tensions between Washington and Islamabad.
A local security official told AFP that a CIA drone had fired three missiles in the Karikot area of South Waziristan -- the same spot where eight suspected militants were killed in a US drone strike 10 days ago.
One of the missiles struck a vehicle, killing five people inside, another security official said, adding those killed were known Taliban militants.
The other two missiles hit a hilltop house that was a known militant hideout in the area, but it was empty at the time of the strike, the officials said.
One militant was also wounded, they added.
"We rushed out of our homes," resident Zar Wali told AFP, saying locals had been panicked by the powerful explosions.
Smoke was still billowing from the targeted house, he said.
Pakistan has repeatedly protested to the United States that the strikes violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the 160 million people of the nuclear-armed Islamic nation.
President Asif Ali Zardari has promised zero tolerance for such violations, but some officials say there is a tacit understanding between the US and Pakistani militaries to allow such action.
The suspected US strikes have also continued despite a warning by Taliban militants based in tribal territory last month that any more would lead to reprisal attacks across Pakistan.
A US missile attack in November last year killed Rashid Rauf, the alleged Al-Qaeda mastermind of a 2006 transatlantic airplane bombing plot, as well as an Egyptian Al-Qaeda operative, security officials have said.
More than two dozen similar strikes have been carried out since August 2007, killing more than 200 people, most of them militants.
Jerman Minta Israel Pertimbangkan Usul Liga Arab
Berlin (ANTARA News/DPA) - Menteri Luar Negeri Jerman Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Kamis, meminta Israel untuk menjawab secara konstruktif inisiatif Liga Arab untuk menghindarkan peperangan di Jalur Gaza.
Menlu Jerman ini telah menelepon Perdana Menteri Israel Tzipi Livni untuk menyuarakan keprihatiannya yang mendalam mengenai berlanjutnya pertempuran di Gaza, demikian pernyataan resmi Departemen Luar Negeri Jerman di Berlin.
Steinmeier berbagi saran dengan Livni bahwa perang hanya akan membahayakan kemajuan yang selama ini dicapai dalam proses perdamaian Timur Tengah, sebaliknya akan kian memperkeras sikap kelompok-kelompok Arab yang memang menginginkan perang dengan Israel.
Namun Menlu Jerman ini setuju dengan perlunya prakondisi bagi terciptanya gencatan senjata untuk menjamin tidak akan ada lagi seranagan roket terhadap Israel dari otoritas Hamas di Jalur Gaza.
Para pembantu Menlu Jerman mengungkapkan, Steinmeier juga telah berbicara via telepon dengan Sekretaris Jenderal Liga Arab Amir Mussa dan Menlu Mesir Ahmed Abul Gheit sehingga dia memperoleh gambaran mengenai hasil pertemuan Liga Arab, Kamis.
Sementara itu seorang juru bicara Kanselir Jerman Angela Merkel menolak kritik terhadap dukungan penuh Merkel pada Israel selama konflik dengan Hamas dengan mengatakan sikap itu sudah sejalan dengan hasil pertemuan para menteri luar negeri Uni Eropa.
"Dia harus menegaskan sikapnya bahwa dia sangat ingin ada gencatan senjata secepat mungkin. Meski begitu syarat-syaratnya mesti dipenuhi dulu dan terpenting dalam pandangan Kanselir adalah keamanan Israel harus dijamin," kata sang juru bicara.
Merkel dan Steinmeier adalah dua politisi yang berseturu dan akan saling berhadapan dalam pemilu mendatang setelah Steinmeier dicalonkan menjadi kanselir Jerman oleh partainya, Partai Sosial Demokrat (SPD).
Pada pidato Tahun Barunya, Merkel menuduh Hamas mempraktikan terorisme yang sehari kemudian diperlembut oleh juru bicaranya, Thomas Steg, dengan menyatakan bahwa "akar masalah dan dampak" peperangan mestinya tidak bisa diabaikan siapapun, baik Hamas maupun Israel.
Liga Internasional untuk Hak Asasi Manusia, sebuah organisasi pecinta damai di Jerman, menuduh Merkel telah membesarkan hati Israel untuk melanjutkan kejahatan perangnya di Jalur Gaza dan menuntut Kanselir menekan Israel untuk mengadakan gencatan senjata.
"Jika Merkel tidak mau menekan Israel, dia bersalah atas meningkatkanya spiral kekerasan di Gaza," demikian organisasi HAM itu.
Rolf Muetzenich, seorang deputi SPD, juga mengkritik Merkel dengan mengatakan, "Saat ini bukanlah hal yang tepat untuk membicarakan siapa yang mesti dipersalahkan."
Rolf menegaskan, prioritas sekarang adalah sebuah gencatan senjata, namun dia bersetuju dengan pandangan bahwa Israel berhak mempertahankan diri dari setiap serangan Hamas.
source:ANTARA
Menlu Jerman ini telah menelepon Perdana Menteri Israel Tzipi Livni untuk menyuarakan keprihatiannya yang mendalam mengenai berlanjutnya pertempuran di Gaza, demikian pernyataan resmi Departemen Luar Negeri Jerman di Berlin.
Steinmeier berbagi saran dengan Livni bahwa perang hanya akan membahayakan kemajuan yang selama ini dicapai dalam proses perdamaian Timur Tengah, sebaliknya akan kian memperkeras sikap kelompok-kelompok Arab yang memang menginginkan perang dengan Israel.
Namun Menlu Jerman ini setuju dengan perlunya prakondisi bagi terciptanya gencatan senjata untuk menjamin tidak akan ada lagi seranagan roket terhadap Israel dari otoritas Hamas di Jalur Gaza.
Para pembantu Menlu Jerman mengungkapkan, Steinmeier juga telah berbicara via telepon dengan Sekretaris Jenderal Liga Arab Amir Mussa dan Menlu Mesir Ahmed Abul Gheit sehingga dia memperoleh gambaran mengenai hasil pertemuan Liga Arab, Kamis.
Sementara itu seorang juru bicara Kanselir Jerman Angela Merkel menolak kritik terhadap dukungan penuh Merkel pada Israel selama konflik dengan Hamas dengan mengatakan sikap itu sudah sejalan dengan hasil pertemuan para menteri luar negeri Uni Eropa.
"Dia harus menegaskan sikapnya bahwa dia sangat ingin ada gencatan senjata secepat mungkin. Meski begitu syarat-syaratnya mesti dipenuhi dulu dan terpenting dalam pandangan Kanselir adalah keamanan Israel harus dijamin," kata sang juru bicara.
Merkel dan Steinmeier adalah dua politisi yang berseturu dan akan saling berhadapan dalam pemilu mendatang setelah Steinmeier dicalonkan menjadi kanselir Jerman oleh partainya, Partai Sosial Demokrat (SPD).
Pada pidato Tahun Barunya, Merkel menuduh Hamas mempraktikan terorisme yang sehari kemudian diperlembut oleh juru bicaranya, Thomas Steg, dengan menyatakan bahwa "akar masalah dan dampak" peperangan mestinya tidak bisa diabaikan siapapun, baik Hamas maupun Israel.
Liga Internasional untuk Hak Asasi Manusia, sebuah organisasi pecinta damai di Jerman, menuduh Merkel telah membesarkan hati Israel untuk melanjutkan kejahatan perangnya di Jalur Gaza dan menuntut Kanselir menekan Israel untuk mengadakan gencatan senjata.
"Jika Merkel tidak mau menekan Israel, dia bersalah atas meningkatkanya spiral kekerasan di Gaza," demikian organisasi HAM itu.
Rolf Muetzenich, seorang deputi SPD, juga mengkritik Merkel dengan mengatakan, "Saat ini bukanlah hal yang tepat untuk membicarakan siapa yang mesti dipersalahkan."
Rolf menegaskan, prioritas sekarang adalah sebuah gencatan senjata, namun dia bersetuju dengan pandangan bahwa Israel berhak mempertahankan diri dari setiap serangan Hamas.
source:ANTARA
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