Dozens Killed In Escalating Gaza Attacks

Exiled Hamas Leader Calls Israel's Attacks In Which Civilians Are Killed "The Real Holocaust"

(AP)  Israeli troops turned heavy firepower on rocket squads bombarding southern Israel Saturday, killing 54 Palestinians in the deadliest day in Gaza since the current round of fighting erupted in 2000.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven were wounded in the clashes, the military said.

The violence took a heavy toll on Gaza civilians. Moderate Palestinian leaders called the killings a "genocide" and threatened to call off peace talks.

"The response to these rockets can't be that harsh and heinous," said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "It is nowadays described as a holocaust."

The spasm of violence came days before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to arrive in the region to nudge Israel and Palestinians closer to a peace accord. But the rising tensions threatened to mar her visit.

Early Sunday, Israeli aircraft destroyed the office building in Gaza City used by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, witnesses said. Five people were lightly wounded in the raid, seen as a signal that Israel holds the Hamas political leadership responsible for the violence.

While expressing regret for civilian casualties, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak blamed "Hamas and those firing rockets at Israel," his office said in a statement, pledging to continue the offensive to protect Israeli towns and cities.

On Friday, Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai renewed a threat to invade Gaza to crush militant rocket squads that attack southern Israel daily.

At least two dozen Palestinian civilians, including a baby, were among those killed, and militants said 25 fighters died. Health officials said about 200 people were wounded, 14 of them critically.

The overall death toll was the highest in a single day since the current round of violence erupted in September 2000. The highest previous death toll was 38 on March 8, 2002.

The intense fighting Saturday pushed the Palestinian death toll to more than 80 since fighting flared Wednesday. About half of those were civilians.

Palestinian fighters kept up a steady stream of rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli targets, firing around 50 on Saturday alone in defiance of the Israeli assault. Six Israelis were injured by rockets that reached as far as Ashkelon, a coastal city 11 miles north of Gaza.

The Israeli military said one of its airstrikes on northern Gaza targeted a parked truck loaded with 160 rockets.

On Thursday, militants raised the stakes by firing Iranian-made rockets into Ashkelon, striking closer to Israel's heartland than ever before and putting more Israelis at risk. Palestinian rocket fire earlier in the week also killed an Israeli man.

Shortly before midnight Friday in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, a 13-month-old girl was killed by shrapnel. Hamas blamed Israel, but residents said a militant rocket fell short and landed near the baby's house. The day's violence snowballed from that point on.

Before dawn Saturday, the battleground shifted to the town of Jebaliya and its nearby refugee camp, a center of militant activity in northern Gaza.

Soldiers backed by tanks and aircraft conducted house-to-house searches and took up positions on rooftops as they clashed with militants detonating land mines and firing heavy machine guns, assault rifles and mortar rounds.

A wounded man and boy lay in a gutter near a dead man. Ambulance workers took away the dead man as a youth appealed to paramedics to treat the wounded.

"Take them, they are still alive," he pleaded. Another man urged the wounded to "bear witness," or proclaim their Muslim faith before they die. The two began reciting a Muslim prayer near a boy whose lower body was ripped by shrapnel.

Tareq Dardouna, a Jebaliya resident, said a relative was killed outside his home in the crossfire that began at 3 a.m.

"His body is still on the ground," Dardouna said in a telephone interview from his home, where he was tending to four wounded people amid screaming children. "Ambulances tried to come, but they came under fire. ... We are in a real war."

[moses2008-2009]

Don''t allow yourself to be fooled by their media manipulation of woman and children, the Hamas'' true message to Israelis is unequivocally clear: "You are our target - We want you dead."

Israel''s goals are also clear - Staying alive.

[colonieny]

Turkey had a right to send a large army into Northern IRAQ and is still there killing KURDS who are terrorists for the population of Turkey. As Turkey has a right to defend it s people, as USA has a right, as Egypt, and Pakistan and Jordan has a right, guess what ( you moral idiots) SO DOES ISRAEL.

At the end of WWII many people from German families having lived in Poland for generations were kicked out and sent packing. Many millions of Hindus were killed or shipped out our modern Pakistan, because they were not Muslim. Jews were kicked out of Syria, Egypt, and esp. IRAN, many more than the "poor Palest.". Isn''t it time we all move on ?? Listen, Take Gaza and do something wonderful there. Take West Bank and do something good there too. Stop your hatred. Stop your killing. Stop teaching hate. You have driven yourself mad, and the rest of the modern world is getting sick of it , and you.

[colonieny]

Why Israel Can Not Trust the UN or the Pales.

Way back in 1956, the UN said that they would patrol the Sinai, to keep Egypt''s military machine a good distance away from the new nation of Israel, as they had promised by treaty, ending the 1948 fighting. When Nassar, told the UN to move out of the way or fight them, the UN did not resists, but in fact left completley opening up the entire Sinai to an armor tank attack on little Israel.
Similarly, at the end of the last Leb. war. The UN was suppose to leave in place a "ROBUST FORCE" ( to quote Condol. Rice. ) to keep Hezbollah a good distance away from menacing Israel. That stopped the Israeli from destroying Hez once and for all.
That was the agreement. Like their UN tradition suggests, they have not kept their promise for one seond, and Hez. has returned unstopped to dig in just north or Israel, and plans to kill more innocent Israeli. Rockets from Iran ? Sure. Of course.

The point is- The UN is useless. The agreements of Terrorist or Terrorist States are useless. Both work together for EVIL and are anti- modern. And third the world does not care, and on this web site, many writing here vs. IS. are ignorant moral idiots who who care less because they hate Israel and Jews, or are so left wing that they hate all things from Western Cultures.
Just as Turkey recently sent a huge army to mop up terr

[prinzowhales]

The Israelis stole the Palestinian homes and businesses in the region now called Ashkelon. It is time for the Israeli interlopers to leave and go back to Israel. It is illegal under international law to place colonies on captured lands.

[prinzowhales]

Time to remove the illegal Israeli settlements on the Palestinian lands encompassed by Ashkelon. Israel stands in defiance of the UN resolutions on this matter.

[prinzowhales]

When Hamas unilaterally suspended attacks on Israel, the Israelis not only did not respond peacefully, they continued to launch targeted assassinations against Palestinians. They have launched terrorist attacks on Palestine for years and now the Palestinians respond with their puny little home made rockets and the Israelis whine about security...not mentioning that they have not allowed the Palestinians a moment of security. Its time to enforce the 1948 UN boundaries for Palestine.

[colonieny]

No Palest. so called leader can be trusted. They have not lived up to even one agreement.

Remember OSLO where the IS. even spent money on training Pal how to shoot so they could be effective police ? Brought the terrorist Arafat back to rule.
And so on. There is no trusting any of them, except to cause more war, terror and target innocent people.
They are so intolerant that they even outlawed the YMCA, burned them down in GAZA and WEST BANK and killed the Palest. who worked there ! Talk about a peace partner, what a joke.
Egypt told them, officially, that any Palest caught crossing over into Egypt would have his legs broken ? why ?

[telecom_1]

It''s so simple, if the suicide terrorists of Hamas stopped there terrorists attacks against Israel then Israel will not be forced to respond.

[prinzowhales]

Stop American aid to the racist Ashkenazi Zionist Regime in Israel. It is long past time that America become an honest arbiter for peace in the region and not a yeah-sayer for the Likudnik racists.

[prinzowhales]

Israel has placed thousands of illegal colonists in the areas assigned to the Palestinians by the UN. Israel has engaged in a war against the civilian population of Gaza, shutting off their water, electricity and attacking civilian targets well before the rocket attacks...Now that the Palestinians are fighting back the Israelis whine about rocket attacks.

Every time the Palestinians stop fighting, the Israelis see it as a sign of weakness and demand more concessions from the Palestinians and assert their ''right'' to continue to attack Palestinian civilians as part of their spurious war against terrorists.

[telecom_1]

Suicide terrorist are the filth of the world. Hamas is sworn to suicidal terrorism. Hamas is determined to destroy Gaza and blame Israel. You cannot randomly fire thousands of missiles as civilians and not be punished for your terrorism. Hamas will be punished for their rebellious stubborn death cult ways.

[prinzowhales]

ajayvee-On the financial end...put your savings in a credit union. You can always buy low-end goods with lower profit margins for the monsters. You can buy local...buy fresh food from farmers markets--you''ll benefit health-wise as well. Join a co-op! Don''t buy processed food. Every little bit helps. And vote for candidates who will help destroy the power base of the Anglo-American Oligarchy--the FED--in the final analysis it is they who support religious obscurantism and violent racist ideologies from A to Z.

[ajayvee]

Prinzowhales wrote: Boycott all Israeli products!

Well, Sir, I don''t know where you are writing from but here in America the American-Israeli lobby owns and controls the financial industry, the justice system, the media, the food industry, the clothing industry, the banks, and most of the politicians. Under such circumstances, suggesting a boycott of all Israeli products is rather naive.

[prinzowhales]

You will not find in the Zionist the kind of soul that responds to non-violence with anything with violence...These are the same animals who wore the uniform of the NKVD and left prisons full of the corpses of Eastern Europeans for the German army to discover...these are the people who stole the food of the Ukrainians and starved and murdered them while their brethern in America gave a Pulitzer to the ''Judith Miller'' of the age, Walter Duranty, for covering up the death of millions for the deluded readership of the NEW YORK TIMES.

Fight Zionism! Cancel your newspaper subscription! Boycott Israel and AIPAC-spy backed candidates!

[prinzowhales]

Note IDF Major Liebovich''s "precise" fire was being aimed at ambulances. Boycott all Israeli products!

[formrusmcsgt]

Here is a link to the maps. The history of Ashkelon can be found at Wikipedia and other sites. It is time to enforce the UN partition of Palestinian and remove the Israeli thieves from the land of Palestine.

Posted by Prinzowhales at 10:10 AM : Mar 02, 2008

Agreed, but as long as Israel has its 800 pound trained gorilla (the U.S.) sitting on the Security Council, it won''t happen.....

[prinzowhales]

Here is a link to the maps. The history of Ashkelon can be found at Wikipedia and other sites. It is time to enforce the UN partition of Palestinian and remove the Israeli thieves from the land of Palestine.

http://www.teachersparadise.com/ency/en/wikipedia/1/19/1947_un_partition_plan.html

[prinzowhales]

Major Avital Liebovich is a lying flak catcher. The Israelis are targeting anything and everything. In the past the IDF monsters have targeted UN observer stations precisely after receiving their coordinates to warn them off...they have murdered unarmed wounded girls on the ground...

http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Security/4532.htm

They have dropped bombs on crowded apartment buildings in their alleged hunt for terrorists and wiped out families at the beach simply because they were Palestinian.

Here are maps of UN partitioned Palestine...The rockets are more than likely falling on occupied Palestinian land--not Israel. Ashkelon is part and parcel of the land assigned to Palestine. The Israelis should leave this stolen land. Israel was assigned the land north of Palestine. The village of al Majdal was there since the 16th century and it was conquered by Israel in their terrrorist on-slaught against the Palestinians and Arab homes were stolen and given to Israelis.

[formrusmcsgt]

Sarge,

That''''s exactly my point! What brought world pressure was the ANC taking the high road for the most part.

Posted by realpatriot1 at 10:02 AM : Mar 02, 2008

Your qualifier "for the most part" is not refected in the violence totals from 1992......

[realpatriot1]

Sarge,

That''s exactly my point! What brought world pressure was the ANC taking the high road for the most part.

When Jihadists resort to violence the world sees 2 wrongs not making a right. They diminish the moral authority of their own cause!

Mandela "put up with apartheid" for 30 years spent in jail, but he never lost faith that he would ultimately prevail and he did!

I know you think that religious faith is *** but for Ghandi, Martin Luther king, and Mndela it was the inspiration which kept them believing that justice would ultimately prevail if justice was follwed.

As MLK said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."