Breaking News: Israeli Attacks Kill More than 100 in Gaza

Last week we projected, as the Hamas-Israel truce ended, that the cycle of rocket attacks and Israeli raids would spiral.

The wait is over. After an escalation in the rockets across the border, with the deadly irony that it was two Palestinian schoolgirls who were killed when a missile misfired, the Israeli Defense Forces launched their own deadly strikes against "a series of Hamas targets and infrastructure facilities".

The Israelis are leading with the claim that the Hamas police chief is dead. Information from medical sources and officials in Palestine indicate 120 have been killed and more than 250 wounded.

UPDATE: Scott has posted a more in-depth analysis here.

Update on Muntazar al-Zaidi: I Will Not Apologise

Al Jazeera has the only significant update this morning, reporting on a meeting between Muntazar al-Zaidi and his lawyer, Dhiya'a al-Sa'adi. Al-Sa'adi, clarifying the alleged letter sent by al-Zaidi to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, makes clear that al-Zaidi has no wish to apologise to George Bush:

Muntazer al-Zaidi considers what he did when he threw his shoes at President Bush as exercising his freedom of expression, in opposing and rejecting the occupation, which has brought misery to Iraq.

Al-Sa'adi continued:

His actions were solely targeted at President Bush to tell him that he rejects the occupation and all that it stands for in Iraq, in particular, in light of the inhumane way that Iraqi prisoners have been treated by the American forces.

Al-Sa'adi also confirmed the reports from al-Zaidi's brothers that the journalist had been badly beaten:

There are visible signs of torture on his body, as a result of being beaten by metal instruments.

Medical reports have shown that the beating he was subjected to has led to him losing one of his teeth as well as injuries to his jaw and ears.

He has internal bleeding in his left eye, as well as bruises over his face and stomach. Almost none of his body was spared.

Breaking News: Hamas-Israel Cease-Fire To End

According to Al Jazeera, a Hamas official has said --- one day before the truce between Hamas and Israel is to expire --- that "the calm is over".

Ayman Taba said after talks between Palestinian groups in Gaza that the cease-fire would not be renewed "because the enemy did not abide by its obligations" to ease the economic blockade and halt military operations.

The Israeli Government has not yet responded to the announcement.

Tragic Comedy of Iraqi Shoes: Update on Muntazar al-Zaidi

These may be the most horribly comic sentences I have read in 2008. From The Times of London yesterday:

All those in the Arab world who hailed al-Zaidi's actions should ask themselves what would happen in their own countries if a local journalist tried to hurl insults at President Mubarak of Egypt or President Assad of Syria....Iraq is far from perfect, but at least its people have learnt to enjoy freedom of expression.

Muntazar al-Zaidi enjoyed his freedom of expression by taking a beating from Iraqi security men. He may have broken ribs, a broken arm, and/or a broken hand. He has appeared in court to plead guilty to "aggression against a president". According to a spokesman for the Iraqi Judicial Council, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in jail.

This, however, can be celebrated as an American- and British-bequeathed freedom to Iraq. After all, as Christopher Howse of The Daily Telegraph assures, "Though I do not envy [al-Zaidi] his time in an Iraqi jail, at least he has not been despatched as he would have been under Saddam."

Thank goodness for Patrick Cockburn of The Independent, who is almost the only American or British journalist I read this morning to set out the full story. The Times does have a follow-up story on its "freedom of expression", although somewhat bizarrely its reporter assures that al-Zaidi was "carried away by prime ministerial guards [with] no sign of excessive violence". (The Guardian has an opinion piece by Samir Ramadani praising al-Zaidi but otherwise ignores the story today.)

In the US, The New York Times has a lengthy article, but it plays down the possible jail time --- no more than seven years and as little as 12 months --- and the possibility of al-Zaidi's injuries. And in The Washington Post?

Nothing. Not a word.