Israel halts military ops for food aid

GAZA CITY – Israel’s government ordered the military to pause its Gaza offensive for three hours yesterday to allow food and fuel to reach besieged Palestinians, as the country’s leaders debated whether to accept an international cease-fire plan or to expand the assault against Hamas.

With criticism rising of the operation’s spiralling civilian death toll and Gazans increasingly suffering the effects of non-stop air strikes and shelling, Israel’s military said it would open ‘humanitarian corridors’ to allow aid supplies to reach Palestinians.
Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said there would be a ‘recess in offensive operations’ during the day to allow in supplies and fuel.
The military said it had been given the directive by the government and will carry it out.
As Israel’s leadership met in the morning in Tel Aviv, sounds of heavy gunfire and thick plumes of smoke engulfed the Zeitoun neighbourhood east of Gaza City. Israel said it struck 40 Hamas targets during the hours of darkness. Gaza health officials said new strikes yesterday morning killed eight people.
Outrage over an Israeli strike on Tuesday near a UN school that killed 39 people continued, with the UN agency responsible for the building demanding an ‘impartial investigation’ into the attack.
About 300 of the more than 670 Palestinians killed so far are civilians, according to Palestinian and UN figures. Of those killed, at least 130 are children age 16 and under, says the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, which tracks casualties.
The number of armed fighters killed remains unclear. Hamas fighters are known to have begun wearing civilian clothes and the organisation is keeping its casualties secret and housing its wounded and dead in undisclosed locations.
Israel has lost six soldiers since launching a ground offensive on Saturday, and four other Israelis have been killed by rocket fire, three of them civilians.
Israel’s lull in operations could ease the plight of civilians in Gaza, where much of the territory has no power or running water, because pumps are dependent on electricity.
More than 500 aid trucks have been shipped into Gaza since operations began. But even when aid crosses into Gaza military operations have prevented officials from distributing it, leading to food shortages in some areas.
A World Bank statement Wednesday said there are growing signs of a severe public health crisis in Gaza because of a shortage of drinking water and an escalating failure of the sewage system.
Militants hit the Israeli city of Ashkelon on Wednesday with a medium-range rocket, causing no casualties. Rocket fire has fallen off as Israeli troops tighten their hold on Gaza, taking over open areas used to launch rockets, but Gaza residents say militants are still launching from heavily populated areas.
Israel’s leaders – including the top troika of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defence Minister Ehud Barak – were to discuss whether to broaden the operation in Gaza or move to accept a plan being proposed by Egypt and France to end the fighting.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said the initiative calls for an immediate cease-fire by Israel and Palestinian factions for a limited period to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and an urgent meeting of Israel and the Palestinian side on arrangements to prevent any repetition of military action and to deal with the causes.
International Mideast envoy Tony Blair said Tuesday the key to any cease-fire will be an arrangement to stop weapons smuggling over the Gaza-Egypt border.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday he saw the proposal as a ‘small hope’ for ending the Gaza violence.
Israeli officials have said any cease-fire agreement must prevent further rocket attacks by Gaza militants and put in place measures to prevent the smuggling of missile and other weapons into the small Palestinian territory. Hamas has demanded that Israel open Gaza’s blockaded crossings as part of any agreement. In the meantime, Israel has been making preparations to continue fighting. – Nampa-AP