Israel Puts More Soldiers On Gaza Border

U.N. Security Council To Host Emergency Consultations On Cease-Fire

(CBS/AP)  Israel sent more troops to the Gaza border Wednesday, rapidly moving forward with preparations for a possible ground offensive as the next stage of its military assault on the coastal territory's Hamas rulers.

Israel rebuffed calls by world leaders for a truce, and Hamas was cold to a cease-fire.

Instead, both intensified their fire. Israel bombed a mosque that it said was used to store rockets as well as vital smuggling tunnels along the Egyptian border, and the Islamic militants hammered southern Israeli cities with about 60 rockets.

Not only has Israel rejected international calls for a truce, it is continuing to amass its armored ground forces on Gaza's borders for the threatened invasion that may well be the next phase of this conflict.

The Israelis say until Hamas rockets stop landing in border cities like Sederot, they won't stop bombing Hamas, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips. Sederot is a frequent Hamas target, where the bus shelters are also bomb shelters.

And despite the loss of civilian life the bombing has caused, Phillips reports, the Israelis say there's another reason they think it's too soon to stop.

"Terror cannot work," said Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni. "Targeting Israel doesn't mean that they are going to get something that even can be perceived as a victory."

Victory is just what Hamas leader Ismail Haniya promised tonight in a broadcast speech, Phillips reports. It is closer, he claimed, than some people may think.

Israeli troops trudged between dozens of tanks in muddy, rain-sodden fields outside of Gaza, assembling equipment, cleaning weapons and scrubbing the insides of tank barrels. Their commanders moved forward with preparations for a ground operation, said an Israeli defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council is planning emergency consultations to discuss an Arab request for a legally binding and enforceable U.N. resolution that would ensure an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.


Egypt's U.N. Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz said in a letter to the council president that the Arab Group at the U.N., which he currently chairs, was seeking an emergency session on "the continued Israeli military aggression" on instructions from Arab League foreign ministers.

Croatia's U.N. Ambassador Neven Jurica, the council president for December, scheduled emergency consultations Wednesday evening.

"Frustrated by the rejection of the ceasefire proposal, emergency Security Council consultations were called for Wednesday night, New Year’s eve," says CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst Pamela Falk. "At the request of Libya, a Council member, and Egypt, as Chair of the Arab Group at the U.N., with the possibility of having a formal open Security Council meeting, to discuss a binding Resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza."

Diplomatic efforts by U.S., European and Middle Eastern leaders appeared to be having little effect. A French proposal for a 48-hour cease-fire to allow humanitarian supplies into Gaza failed to gain traction. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the time was not ripe to consider it. A separate proposal by Turkey and Egypt, two of Israel's few allies in the Muslim world, also seemed to be attracting little serious study in Israel or Gaza, where Hamas has also dismissed talk of a truce.

With a shrinking number of targets to hit from the air and top Hamas leaders deep in hiding, a ground operation seemed all the more likely. In five days of raids, Israeli warplanes have carried out about 500 sorties against Hamas targets, and helicopters have flown hundreds more combat missions, a senior Israeli military officer said on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

The government has approved the call-up of more than 9,000 reserves. Heavy cloud cover that could encumber ground forces was expected to lift Thursday.

U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said the death toll was estimated to range between 320-390, and injured from 1,500-1,900.

Between 20 percent and 25 percent of the dead are either women or children, said U.N. Relief and Works Agency commissioner Karen Abu Zayd.

Hamas says some 200 uniformed members of its security forces have been killed, and the U.N. says at least 60 Palestinian civilians have died.

In Israel, three civilians and a soldier have been killed by rocket fire, which has reached deeper into Israel than ever. The sites of the missile hits have drawn curious crowds.

In the Negev desert city of Beersheba, people visited a school where a rocket made a direct hit Tuesday evening, slamming through the ceiling and showering debris on students' desks. A visitor illuminated by a shaft of light through the hole in the roof said with some astonishment, "This is my daughter's seat."

In Gaza, the sites of airstrikes have also attracted the curious and the defiant, including a Palestinian man who planted a green Hamas flag atop a mound of debris at a flattened mosque, its minaret still thrusting toward a stormy sky.

The Israeli military, which attacked it Wednesday, said it was being used as a missile storage site and that the bombs dropped on it set off secondary explosions. It was the fifth mosque hit in the campaign.

The chief of Israel's internal security services, Yuval Diskin, told a government meeting that Hamas members are hiding inside mosques, believing they'll be safe from airstrikes and using them as command centers, according to an Israeli security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to share the information.

Other militants were hiding in hospitals, some disguised as doctors and nurses, Diskin said, according to the official.

Echoing Israel's cool response to truce proposals, a senior Hamas leader with ties to its military wing said now was not the right time to call off the fight. Hamas was unhappy with the six-month truce that collapsed just before the fighting began because it didn't result in an easing of Israel's crippling blockade of Gaza.

Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu said that although Hamas leaders have been driven underground, the Gaza government was functioning and had met in the past few days.

"What our people want is clear: an immediate stop to all kinds of aggression, the end of the siege by all means, the opening of all border crossings, and international guarantees that the occupation will not renew this terrorist war again," Nunu said.

Israel's latest airstrikes have concentrated on crushing the many smuggling tunnels under Gaza's southern border with Egypt. They provide a crucial lifeline, not just for Hamas rulers, but also for bringing in food and fuel for Gaza's people.

Israel and Egypt blockaded Gaza after Hamas violently seized control of the territory in 2007 and have opened their borders only to let in limited humanitarian aid.

On Wednesday, several wounded Palestinians were taken across the Israeli and Egyptian borders for treatment, including a child bundled in blankets.

Gaza's southern smuggling zone was hit again in morning airstrikes that left vast craters over the collapsed underground passages.

Diskin, the Israeli security chief, told a Cabinet meeting that the tunnel network has been badly damaged. Israel says more than 80 tunnels were destroyed. Several hundred tunnels ran under the border before Israeli warplanes began striking.

Hamas was trying to smuggle some of its activists to Egypt through still-passable tunnels, Diskin said.

Israel fears that opening crossings would allow Hamas - which remains officially committed to Israel's destruction - to further strengthen its hold on the territory.

Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Hamas rival who controls only the West Bank, suggested he would not continue peace talks with Israel at any price. He said on Palestinian TV that the stalled negotiating process had become useless and was not reaching any of its goals - namely the creation of a Palestinian state.

"Negotiation is not a goal by itself; it's a tool," Abbas said. "Unless it is a tool to achieve peace ... there is no need for it to continue."

Gaza's militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Wednesday evening, including one in the city of Ashkelon that was caught on video. It showed a man on a sidewalk ducking for cover along a wall as the missile explodes in a cloud of smoke a few steps behind him.

The city of 120,000 people 11 miles north of Gaza has been a frequent target.

Israel's rescue service said it has responded to 250 rocket attack scenes since Saturday and treated 48 wounded, most of whom had light injuries.

School was canceled in much of Israel's south because of the rocket threat. The 18,000 students at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, southern Israel's only university, were also told to stay home.

Beersheba, 19 miles from Gaza, had never been within range of Gaza rockets, reflecting the increasing sophistication of what started out as homemade weaponry.

Now militants are firing weapons made in China and Iran that have dramatically expanded their range and put more than one-tenth of Israel's population in their sights, defense officials said.

In Gaza, two Palestinian medics were killed and two others were wounded when an Israeli missile hit next to their ambulance east of Gaza City, Palestinians said. The Israeli military said it did not know of the incident.

[mutifeldbra1]

its extremely disturbing to see the whole liberal media and liberals in general go crazy when Israel protects their citizens, don''t they see who is making all the trouble in the world killing their own people a whole day and blowing up people a whole day is that the Jews or the Muslims? . so why are the Muslims so outraged when people are being killed in Gaza they are busy killing each other and the west a whole day

[lordsuntzu]

Christ_Truth, if Quran was a lie by satan, God shouldn''''t be letting it to mislead millions of people or may be the God you believe in is not that powerful to prevent satan from speading his lies.

Posted by thatiswhy at 12:20 PM : Jan 01, 2009
+ report abuse

******

So you prefer God to act like a butler and Dr Phil rolled up into one huge benevolent listening compassionate machine??

[thatiswhy]

Quran is one of satan''''s most successful lies throughout human history, and it has caused the death and destruction of millions.

Christ_Truth, if Quran was a lie by satan, God shouldn''t be letting it to mislead millions of people or may be the God you believe in is not that powerful to prevent satan from speading his lies.

[thatiswhy]

Quran is one of satan''''s most successful lies throughout human history, and it has caused the death and destruction of millions.

Christ_Truth, if Quran was a lie by satan, God shouldn''t be letting it to mislead millions of people or may be the God you believe in is not that powerful to prevent satan from speading his lies.

[thatiswhy]

"Ever wonder why the richest per capita non-oil nation in the Meddle East is Israel, and just on the other side of the wall, on the same terrain are the poorest per capita nation in the middle east.
ISRAEL
* GDP - per capita (PPP): $26,600
GAZA
* GDP - per capita (PPP): $600
Posted by Trapbreaker at 12:48 AM : Jan 01, 2009

That''''s what happens when you spend your day plotting revenge instead of earning a living.

Posted by caldwellptr"

The difference is because people in the poor countries in middle east are ruled by dictators who ruined their country and their economy. Any effort to oust these dictators are thwarted by US as long as these dictators are submissive to them or secure the oil for them regardless of whether they are seeking their people''s prosperity or not.

[caldwellptr]

I appreciate all of the Historical and Religious background regarding the conflict in Gaza from all of the posters here. But the conflict there reaches all the way back to the moment before creation when all was darkness, a time when nothing existed but the void. And out of that nothingness we return full circle -

[caldwellptr]

Ever wonder why the richest per capita non-oil nation in the Meddle East is Israel, and just on the other side of the wall, on the same terrain are the poorest per capita nation in the middle east.
ISRAEL
* GDP - per capita (PPP): $26,600
GAZA
* GDP - per capita (PPP): $600
Posted by Trapbreaker at 12:48 AM : Jan 01, 2009

That''s what happens when you spend your day plotting revenge instead of earning a living.

[wardoglrs]

Benjamin freedman speaks: A jewish defector warns america
Benjamin H. Freedman was one of the most intriguing and amazing individuals of the 20th century. Born in 1890, he was a successful Jewish businessman of New York City at one time principal owner of the Woodbury Soap Company. He broke with organized Jewry after the Judeo-Communist victory of 1945, and spent the remainder of his life and the great preponderance of his considerable fortune, at least 2.5 million dollars, exposing the Jewish tyranny which has enveloped the United States.

http://fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/...p?q=1228947965

[beodishazmi]

Posted by Beodishazmi at 08:06 PM : Dec 31, 2008


Nothing "religious" about the Truth you piece of garbage.

Only cowards hide behind internet message forums as you do sphewing venomous hatred and dispicable disgusting remarks 24-7 as you do.

You are found in the dictionary next to the word coward, in the first description.


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Posted by Christ_Truth at 03:02 AM : Jan 01, 2009

Who is the real coward you religious buffoon lying swindling s.o.b.....cowardice you answered my post while I had been sleeping since 9pm ....after 6 hours maggot chicken ****** you dumb asss yankee doodle from the trailer trash state of texasss ...The pigs like you in that state talk about religion and molest 12 years old childrens on daily basis just like that fat asss delusional hagee...can you deny that royal pigster sc-ums of the earth...you creepy crawlly maggot infested yellow bellies dangling to your knee like those monty pythons ,,,,terrorizing the young children with the rants of paedophile religion called christianity and judaism ......

[zacjayman]

ABRAME: PEACE!
HAS THE STORY OF THE ROMANS COME TO YOU? WHEN THEY DEEMED THAT THEY HAD CONQOURED THE LANDS. THEY WERE A MIGHTY POWER, EVIDENT IN THE ANCIENT TIMES. GONE ARE THE ROMANS AND THEIR CONQUEST. HAVE YOU SEEN A ROMAN GIVING COMMANDS IN THE MODERN STREETS. THE ROMAN RULE REACHED FAR AND WIDE, BUT WHEN THE TERM EXPIRED, THE MELTED AWAY LIKE ROASTED ICE. WILL YOU NOT TAKE HEED FROM THE LESSONS OF THE PAST. OR WILL YOU ABANDON WISDOM FOR SMARTNESS AMONG MEN? THE HOUR IS NEAR. PEACE!

[zacjayman]

CHRIST_TRUTH: PEACE!
YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE HEARD OF THE QURAN...AND MISINTERPRETED IT TO SUIT YOUR IGNORANCE AND LEVEL OF INTELLEGENCY. FOR THOSE THAT UNDERSTAND IT, WE HAVE NO DOUBT IT''S THE TRUTH FROM THE ALMIGHTY LORD. MANY OF YOU SAY, "CHRIST, CHRIST, CHRIST", BUT MOST OF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE MESSAGE THAT CAME WITH HIM. JESUS IS INDEED THE MESSIAH LONG AWAITED BY THE JEWS, BUT MOST OF THEM DENIED HIM AND CONSPIRED TO CRUCIFY HIM. HE WAS NEVER CRUCIFIED OR KILLED AS THEY REJOICED, INSTEAD HE WAS ELEVATED BY ALLAH''S MERCY TO THE HEAVENS. SO JUDAS THE PERPETRATOR SUFFERED THE EVIL OF HIS PLOT. WILL YOU DENY THE TRUTH WHEN IT COMES TO YOU? INDEED MAN HAS BECOME CORRUPT IN THE EARTH. EAT AND DRINK AS YOU MAY PLEASE. AND AWAIT A JUDGEMENT WHEN DEATH APPROACHES. PEACE!

[abrame]

...THE OCCUPATION WILL NEVER EXTEND ITS TERM...
Posted by zacjayman

There is no "occupation". The land is conquered. It is done.

The Palestinians and Arabs that call it "the occupation" have been slowly going mad. They have abandoned God for a false god of hate and revenge that is consuming them and will never be full.

[christ_truth]

zacjayman

The Quran is NOT a guide to mercy for all of mankind, it is a wicked false religious text written by a false prophet, muhammed, in the 6th century, 600 years after Christ.

It is one of satan''s most successful lies throughout human history, and it has caused the death and destruction of millions.

The Quran, along with Muhammed''s other writings in the Hadith, SAY IT ALL about the EVIL behind these 2 false religious texts:

From YOUR Quran:

Sura (8:12) - "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them"

Sura (9:30) - "And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!"


From YOUR Hadith(Hadeeth):

Bukhari (52:177) - Allah''s Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."

[zacjayman]

THE ZIONIST REGIME IS FIGHTING TO PROTECT ITS OCCUPATION LIKE SHARON IF FIGHTING TO STAY ALIVE. WHETTHER YOU FIGHT OR LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS, THE OUTCOME IS A THING ORDAINED. AND JUSTICE SHALL BE SERVED CONCERNING THE CRIMES YOU COMMIT. THE OCCUPATION WILL NEVER EXTEND ITS TERM. SO UNLOAD YOUR WEAPONRY AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS OF YOUR LORD. WILL YOU NOT RETURN TO THE SCRIPTURES? THE TAURAT OF MOSES, AND THE GOSPEL OF JESUS THE MESSIAH. WILL YOU NOT CONSIDER THE QURAN? A GUIDE AND MERCY TO THE WHOLE OF MANKIND. INDEED MAN SEEKS TO BECOME A TYRANT IN THE LAND....AND IGNORES THE RETURN TO HIS LORD. BUT SURELY JUDGEMENT DAY SHALL STAND...AND YOU SHALL BE INFORMED OF WHAT YOUR LIMBS COMMITTED.

[christ_truth]

Hey you are back for more religious delusional crapp maggot......what ever happen to your lord of cockk.....hahahahaha


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Posted by Beodishazmi at 08:06 PM : Dec 31, 2008


Nothing "religious" about the Truth you piece of garbage.

Only cowards hide behind internet message forums as you do sphewing venomous hatred and dispicable disgusting remarks 24-7 as you do.

You are found in the dictionary next to the word coward, in the first description.

[abrame]

...if I saw even ten of you hebes on a boat and it would take one more man on the boat to sink it, I''''d jump on with a smile on my face.

Posted by nittygritty6

The curse of lifelessness you place on yourself is interesting to observe.

The minds inner eye sees the dark place you choose to slowly, very very slowly.... gradually decay into black oozing dust, a few small granules per eon.

In the shadows, barely in and out of sight, your owners strangely somehow influence you to express your darkness and rage, but misplaced from your needs, Your living death they nurture and harvest to to fit their purposes.

[mdmo1]

I hope nittygritty go to iran and Israel get all them at one time

[abrame]

Posted by nittygritty6

It is sad your life is nothing.

[rudy6543]

Posted by nittygritty6 at 12:47 AM

How does it feel to know that nobody cares about you?

[trapbreaker]

But there''''s always a next time and one day maybe we''''ll finally see the end of these dirty jews. - Posted by nittygritty6

Ever wonder why the richest per capita non-oil nation in the Meddle East is Israel, and just on the other side of the wall, on the same terrain are the poorest per capita nation in the middle east.

ISRAEL
* GDP - per capita (PPP): $26,600

GAZA
* GDP - per capita (PPP): $600