Israel starts Assassination of Hamas leaders...

[D-Day]

Obama urged Israel to avoid civilian casualties in its response.

Oh, how very f***ing considerate of you... ya freakin' maniac!

Now I see why he was given his Noble Peac Prize, so very thoughtful.

[panopticon]

Al Jazeera Australia just reported that it appears Israel is massing troops for assault (unconfirmed).
Also BBC workers 11 month old son amongst the increasing number of Palestinian casualties (15 Dead/130 Injured) (Source).

[Tesseract]

It is confirmed that Israel has dropped leaflets warning of a ground invasion. Many suspect invasion in the next 24 hours. Source: @Harryfear - english language journalist based in Gaza. Watch his livestream here:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/operat..._medium=social

[panopticon]

Posted by Tesseract (here)
It is confirmed that Israel has dropped leaflets warning of a ground invasion. Many suspect invasion in the next 24 hours. Source: @Harryfear - english language journalist based in Gaza. Watch his livestream here:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/operat..._medium=social

Welcome to Avalon Tesseract,
Have you found a copy of the leaflets?
I've been looking for a few hours and while their contents have been reported I haven't found a copy as of yet.
I know that the Palestinians are very busy sheltering from bombs but surely someone would have got a photo on their phone of one!
Their contents are reported as warning Gazan's that Israel will occupy Gaza City in 20 hours (typical war propaganda).

[panopticon]

Palestinians urge U.N. Security Council action over Israel strikes:

UNITED NATIONS | Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:20pm EST
(Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday urged the U.N. Security Council to take a stand on Israel's latest offensive in the Gaza Strip, which it said in a letter to the council amounted to "illegal criminal actions."

"This escalation, which continues at this moment, demands the attention of the international community, including the Security Council, with the aim of averting the further deterioration and destabilization of the situation on the ground and the fueling by Israel of yet another deadly cycle of violence and bloodshed," said Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour.

In a letter to Indian U.N. Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, president of the 15-nation council this month, Mansour added that "a direct message must be sent to Israel to cease its military campaign against the Palestinian people under its occupation, including the cessation of extrajudicial killing."

Israel launched a major offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza on Wednesday, killing the military commander of Hamas in an air strike and threatening an invasion of the enclave that the Islamist group vowed would "open the gates of hell".

The militant group Hamas, not the Palestinian Authority, controls Gaza.

Egypt, whose new Islamist government is still honoring the 1979 peace agreement with Israel, condemned the raids on Gaza as a threat to regional security and withdrew its ambassador from Israel. It also called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

A spokesman for the Indian U.N. mission did not respond immediately to a query about whether the council planned to meet soon about Gaza.

The Security Council has difficulty reaching consensus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, council diplomats say, since the United States works hard to prevent it from taking action that would annoy its close ally Israel.

(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
Source.

[panopticon]

Just in remarks by U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations:

Remarks by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, At a Security Council Private Meeting on Gaza

Thank you, Mr. President. Today, the United States strongly condemned the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel and expressed regret at the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence. This evening, President Obama spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Morsi of Egypt about the developing situation in Gaza.

President Obama told Prime Minister Netanyahu that he understands and supports Israel’s right to self-defense in light of countless rocket attacks on Israeli civilians being launched from Gaza. The President urged that Prime Minister Netanyahu make every effort to avoid civilian casualties, and agreed that Hamas needs to stop the attacks on Israel and allow the situation to de-escalate. The two leaders agreed to stay in close touch in the coming days.

President Obama also spoke with President Morsi of Egypt, given Egypt’s critical role in regional security. Both agreed that everyone’s interests are best served by ensuring that this situation does not escalate. The two similarly agreed to stay in close touch over the coming days.

The Government of Israel has noted that, since the beginning of 2012, more than 768 rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza, and over 12,000 in the past 12 years. Israel, like any nation, has the right to defend itself against such vicious attacks.

There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel. We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately.

Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that does nothing but set back the Palestinian cause. Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza nor to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self determination and independence.

Thank you, Mr. President.
Source.

[panopticon]

Report from the UN News Centre regarding Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's diplomatic communications with Egypt and Israel:

Ban confers with regional leaders on growing violence in Gaza and southern Israel

14 November 2012 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke by telephone on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi about the escalating violence in Gaza and southern Israel, while the Security Council met in a closed, late-night session on the situation.

According to a readout from the Secretary-General's spokesperson, Mr. Ban expressed his concern to Mr. Netanyahu about the deteriorating situation in southern Israel and Gaza, which includes an alarming escalation of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza into Israel and the targeted killing by Israel of a Hamas military operative in Gaza.

Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari, the head of the military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas that controls Gaza, was killed when his car was reportedly targeted during Israeli air strikes on the territory that followed a wave of rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza.

The Secretary-General reiterated his strong condemnation of rocket fire out of Gaza and noted his expectation that Israeli reactions are measured so as not to provoke a new cycle of bloodshed that could cause additional civilian casualties and have dangerous spillover effects in the region.

He also called for the parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to respect international humanitarian law.

The 15-member Council met Wednesday night behind closed doors, with the participation of the two parties, and heard a briefing on the situation from Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.

In his conversation with Mr. Morsi, the Secretary-General stated the need to prevent any further deterioration of the situation, and expressed strong support for the leadership being exercised by Egypt to restore calm in the region.
Source.

[panopticon]

No surprise here...

04:15 GMT: The UN Security Council emergency meeting on Gaza ends with no concrete decision reached.
Source

[torti]

I'm sorry to be naive, but what is the significance of this war? I've read the thread, and feel the tone of all the posts, but I am confused. I haven't seen much about this on NZ news, but sometimes you don't see what you don't look for.

[panopticon]

Posted by torti (here)
I'm sorry to be naive, but what is the significance of this war? I've read the thread, and feel the tone of all the posts, but I am confused. I haven't seen much about this on NZ news, but sometimes you don't see what you don't look for.

Welcome to Avalon Torti,

There are so many ways of looking at how to answer your question.
Maybe try with the following as a spring board into one aspect of it...

Source: Watch on Vimeo


http://vimeo.com/17401477
Kind Regards,
Panopticon

[astrid]

Follow Harry on Twitter

https://twitter.com/harryfear

[truth will win out]

Egypt has recalled their Ambassador.

http://rt.com/news/egypt-ambassador-un-israel-719/

[panopticon]

Here's the latest pamphlet from the Israeli Defence Force Command:



Official Israeli translation:

Important announcement for the residents of the Gaza Strip:

For your own safety, take responsibility for yourselves and avoid being present in the vicinity of Hamas operatives and facilities and those of other terror organizations that pose a risk to your safety.

Hamas is once again dragging the region to violence and bloodshed. The IDF is determined to defend the residents of the State of Israel. This announcement is valid until quiet is restored to the region. Israel Defense Forces Command.
Source -- IDF.

As a question... Where are people supposed to actually go?
1.7 million people, half under 18 years of age, live in a small '41 kilometres (25 mi) long, and from 6 to 12 kilometres (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide, with a total area of 365 square kilometres (141 sq mi)' (Source).



How does someone do what is suggested?
Then there's the fact that they aren't allowed to leave Gaza...
Food and water insecurity and contamination are also major issues (see the 2010 UN report 'Farming without Land, Fishing without Water: Gaza Agriculture Sector Struggles to Survive').

[truth will win out]

Posted by panopticon (here)
Here's the latest pamphlet from the Israeli Defence Force Command:



Official Israeli translation:

Important announcement for the residents of the Gaza Strip:

For your own safety, take responsibility for yourselves and avoid being present in the vicinity of Hamas operatives and facilities and those of other terror organizations that pose a risk to your safety.

Hamas is once again dragging the region to violence and bloodshed. The IDF is determined to defend the residents of the State of Israel. This announcement is valid until quiet is restored to the region. Israel Defense Forces Command.
Source -- IDF.

As a question... Where are people supposed to actually go?
1.7 million people, half under 18 years of age, live in a small '41 kilometres (25 mi) long, and from 6 to 12 kilometres (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide, with a total area of 365 square kilometres (141 sq mi)' (Source).



How does someone do what is suggested?
Then there's the fact that they aren't allowed to leave Gaza...
Food and water insecurity and contamination are also major issues (see the 2010 UN report 'Farming without Land, Fishing without Water: Gaza Agriculture Sector Struggles to Survive').

They have no where to go and Israel knows it. This way they can tell the UN and the USA that they warned civilians to get out.

How many innocent people will die today ?

[Rocky_Shorz]

word is when the ground war starts they will be cutting off all communications to the outer world so we are no longer getting updates...

one bomb killed an 11 month old child of a BBC employee


Satellite communications dish on the house, hit it as a terrorist target...

[truth will win out]

Live stream

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hanissalamah

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Israeli TV: Three people were killed after Gaza rockets hit southern Israel.

http://www.naharnet.com/

No numbers yet on
palestinian casualties.

Send positive energy and prayers.

[modwiz]

Posted by torti (here)
I'm sorry to be naive, but what is the significance of this war? I've read the thread, and feel the tone of all the posts, but I am confused. I haven't seen much about this on NZ news, but sometimes you don't see what you don't look for.

Palestinian bodies are good vote getters. Bibi wants to keep his job and he needs cover for his boy Romney not getting in. Also, very importantly, there were some injured Israelis from rockets that will need a few hundred Palestinian dead to make things right.

UPDATE: Three Israelis are now dead. The need for Palestinian dead will now need to be in the high hundreds. Maybe even passing one thousand. Things are in flux and people on both sides of this fight are suffering.

This war stuff really sucks, I have to say. All of this killing, so needless. I don't care what your ethnicity is.

[astrid]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Oy9ksFuEuro

Interview of Harry from Scott, from Spectrum Radio Network,
if my memory serves me... Scott was once a member here..

[PathWalker]

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by astrid (here)
Interview of Harry from Scott, from Spectrum Radio Network,
if my memory serves me... Scott was once a member here..

Scott still is a member . His user profile is here