Civilians caught in Israel-Gaza conflict

(CBS News) GAZA CITY - The battle over Gaza between Israel and Hamas escalated Sunday, with civilians suffering the most.

Palestinian health officials say an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City killed 11 civilians.

In all, at least 70 Palestinians and three Israeli civilians have died so far.

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Hamas fired 100 missiles on Israel Sunday, 30 of which Israel says it shot down.

And an Israeli envoy arrived in Sunday for truce talks.

In Gaza City, rescue teams struggled in a frantic effort to reach a woman trapped under the rubble of a building leveled by Sunday's airstrike.

Palestinian officials said seven members of one family died in this attack alone, including four children.

The Israeli military says its strikes are surgical, and are finding their targets. But in one of the most densely populated places on the planet, civilian deaths are mounting.

Journalists in Gaza have found themselves in the crosshairs of Israeli missiles too.

The Israeli military released a video of a missile strike on a media center in Gaza City. Officials called it a legitimate target.

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"This media building had an infrastructure of Hamas electronics communications on the roof, and we attacked that communication center on the roof," Israeli Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich:

The building which houses offices used by foreign journalists -- including CBS News in Gaza -- also came under attack early this morning.

Hamas kept up its attacks on Israel too, launching rockets from inside Gaza from this morning and into the night with another attempted attack on Tel Aviv.

Palestinians told us the past 24 hours has been the most intense in terms of attacks since fighting began five days ago.

And Sunday night they're bracing for worse to come.

There have been several explosions late Sunday night, and the constant sound of drones in the air never stops. Five or six rockets have also been launch from Gaza this evening.

First, they lose war, then, continue to shoot rockets, unhappy perhaps at being able to live in a free Israel property. When you loose a war you're suppose to stop and do as you'r told.

[Rick_Carter1]

Before everyone goes crying a wad of tears for Palestinian civilians, just remember the majority of Palestinian ELECTED HAMAS, and many are storing rockets for Hamas right in their own homes !!! - RC

[Rick_Carter1]

This is going to become the trigger for the ET installed PWMD (Program Weapon of Mass Destruction) one day, so please listen to me, everyone, before it is too late! Your precious world and solar systen has not passed into the hands of these outside offensive totalitarian ETs yet. Please DON'T ever let this come to pass !!! - Rick Carter

[Justicechamp]

Ignorance about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict abounds in America.

Israel is the aggressor state. It always has been. Israel illegally chased 1 million people from their homes in 1948 and 1967, and has been murdering them ever since as it steals ever more Palestinian land from them. Some of those who remain in the Israeli-imposed walled concentration camp that is Gaza occasionally kille Israelis with the only weapons they have to resist their oppressors with. These unguided rockets have killed about 30 Israelis since Sep 2000. In this same 23 year period, thousands of Israel's caged victims have been killed by Israel's rockets fired from Israel's warplanes, helicopters and drones. Thousands more have been killed by shells fired from Israel's tanks, artillery and warships.

As the aggressor state, Israel has no legitimate right to defend itself against those who resist its aggression. Palestinians DO, however have the right to resist the aggression, and rockets, as pathetic as they are, are all they have.

One look at a map will determine who the aggressor is and what goal they have:

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/11/29/how-palestine-became-israel/palestinian-loss-of-land-1946-2005/

This video will explain why few in America know this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAN5GjJKAac

David Evans
Former Sergeant USMC
Veterans For Peace Member
Palestine and Middle East Working Group

[habu_71]

The writer says: "The battle over Gaza between Israel and Hamas escalated Sunday, with civilians suffering the most."
There is NO FIGHT over Gaza - it's to stop murderers from firing rockets into Israel. Civilians are accidentally injured because HAMAS puts their launchers and buildings in cities.

The writer says: "Hamas kept up its attacks on Israel too, launching rockets from inside Gaza from this morning and into the night with another attempted attack on Tel Aviv."
KEY NOTE: HAMAS is indiscriminately firing into and trying to kill civilians in TEL AVIV, a city of almost FOUR MILLION people.

And they want "open borders" and ports - so they can smuggle in chemical weapons for a greater kill per city hit?

[FromCalifornia]

Simple: stop launching rockets into Israel and Israel will stop dropping bombs on your heads. You started it! Only you can finish it. The world knows that this is all your own doing, at least this time. Right about now I wouldn't care if Israel bulldozed Gaza into the Med. In fact, there is some beachfront property there that could make great Holiday resorts, if we can get rid of the local wildlife. Don't want to be labeled wildlife? Stop acting like it.

[spacengin]

Hamas wants sympathy when they get hit, but wants jubilation when they kill. Hypocrits. Muslims invoke god for everything and as a result their culture turned inward and self-destructs. The West turns to science and builds an advanced culture and technology. Let Muslims go back to the 1st century where their culture resides. Their devotion to god is a recipe for backwardness, ignorance and intolerance. Time to cut the god crap and take responsibility.

[habu_71]

They're trapped in time by a tribal mentality coupled with people using a warped version of their religion. Remember Iraq and all the tribal infighting there? They just can't get past it.

[ReligionKills]

The Palestinian civilians are hardly innocent. They are the ones that voted a terrorist group in as their leaders. They are getting what they asked for, I don't feel sorry for them at all.

[cbaustintx]

I like how the reporter stated that rockets were launched within blocks of where he was. In other words, Hamas is deliberately hiding the bombs in civilian areas.

[blackhawk-up]

Israel's attackers have always counted on world press to come to their aid when Israel retaliated. They played the oppressed role and threw tantrums. No more. Today, with the Internet, social media and instant transmission of images they can no longer claim to be the innocent ones who were attacked first. They took civilian lives in populated centers FIRST and the world knows it.

Game over.

[GaryS-Chicago]

You can't blame the Israelis for having better aim, it's not who took lives first, it's who shot first.

[threatcon-delta]

Any loss of civilian / innocent life is sad and regrettable. And, body count A compared to body count B is not good.

Israel is using surgical precision but, when rivals are attacking from and operating para-military from within neighborhoods and cities, there will be (sick) collateral damage.

HOWEVER, Israel's rivals, on the contrary, take pride in and tout body counts of any kind, especially when their bombers detonate C4 in crowded malls, bus stations, and any other target of opportunity. While, at the same time, expecting world sympathy and support when Israel retaliates. Well, it's not coming this time.