The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Rolling Updates (11 January)

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Latest post: “Alive in Gaza” Now On-Line

1:02 a.m. As we get some downtime, it looks like Israeli action is hovering between a show of force before stopping in place, declaring "victory", and pressing ahead into the cities. I still think the decision will hinge on what Tel Aviv gets out of its bilateral talks with Egypt tomorrow --- an Egyptian commitment to patrol the borders and possibly southern Gaza is enough to satisfy Israel that it has achieved some of its objective, an Egyptian rejection is likely to spur Tel Aviv to a more aggressive display of force.

1 a.m. Talks in Cairo today (unsurprisingly) "inconclusive".

Israeli navy has fired about 25 shells into Gaza City in last hour. Aerial bombardment continues. Gazan death toll now 890

12:25 a.m. Now here's a story I haven't seen anyone report. From an Israeli human rights website:

In a hearing on two court petitions submitted by human rights groups in Israel, the High Court [on Friday] ordered the state to explain the delay in permitting evacuation of wounded persons in Gaza and the reason for barring electricity supply for Gaza's crumbling infrastructure.

The Government has been given until Tuesday to provide the explanation.

12 midnight: We've posted a separate special analysis pausing and reflecting on Israel's next move.



9:55 p.m. Al Jazeera offers clarification on the Israeli reservist story:

"I can confirm that a few reserve units have entered Gaza to participate in the operation," [said] major Avital Leibovich, an Israeli military spokeswoman. "We are not talking about a massive amount of forces, rather a limited one to join in the fighting."

Al Jazeera's interpretation, which I think is correct, is that Israel is covering all bases with this move.

9:25 p.m. At least 17 rockets hit southern Israel on Sunday.

9 p.m. Some confusion over the report of Israeli reservists going into #Gaza --- apparently Israeli military spokeswoman Major Amital Liebovich is now saying it is only a response to a "flare-up". No major television network running the story.

8:25 p.m. Beyond Gaza: we've posted an analysis of Barack Obama's apparent shift from immediate closure of Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

8:22 p.m. Israeli chief military spokesman says some units of reservists ordered into Gaza Strip; thousands awaiting orders to move.

8:20 p.m. "Gazamom" reports two Israeli F-16s drop bombs on Gazan Ministry of Education.

8:13 p.m. Breaking ranks? Publicly, at least: King Abdullah of Jordan has distanced himself from the US-Israel position and the Mubarak-Sarkozy process, arguing for world to "force" Israel to observe the United Nations cease-fire resolution.

6:50 p.m. Israeli Government needs to get its story straight. It has briefed media all day that Hamas was a broken force, with fighting fleeing. However, the head of Israeli military intelligence, Major General Amos Yadlin told the Israeli Cabinet that, while "there were cracks in Hamas resilience", the organisation "was not about to succumb, and was still capable of striking Israel and the Israeli Defense Force".

Even worse for Israeli "information", someone passed Yadlin's briefing to The Jerusalem Post. So the illusion of an overwhelming Israeli victory, for the moment, has been suspended.

6:30 p.m. Still no word on any change in Israeli policy.

Rockets still landing in southern Israel, the latest in Ashdod.

5:30 p.m. Al Jazeera: Doctors in Gaza say "people have been admitted suffering burns consistent with the use of...white phosphorus". A resident in Jabaliya reports, "It's suffocating and has a deadly poisonous smell that I am sure will cause a lot of sickness and disease on all of the civilians here."

5:25 p.m. Israel claims its troops came under fire from Syrian forces in the Golan Heights.

4:35 p.m. Following up on the Zeitoun mass killing: if you haven't seen it, the reportage by Taghreed El-Khodary and Isabel Kershner in yesterday's New York Times is a stunning exposure of the atrocity that took place last week, killing about 30 members of the al-Samouni clan and dozens of others in the vicinity:

“I could feel the blood dripping inside my head,” Ahmed said, recalling the days he lay wounded in the bombed-out building. “My father was crawling — he couldn’t move his legs,” he said. His cousin Abdallah, 10, was trying to stand up but kept falling down; his brother Yaqoub, 12, kept removing large pieces of shrapnel from his own stomach; and his sister Amal, 9, was not moving at all. Another brother, Ishaq, 12, was wounded in the legs. He bled for two days before he died.

No wonder that this has "horrified many" since the Red Cross, four days after the Israeli shelling, finally got to the dead and wounded. And no wonder that at least one UN official was moved by this to call for a war crimes investigation.

The reaction of the Israeli military spokeswoman: the army had “no intention of harming civilians".

4:30 p.m. Return from a break to find a quiet period in coverage. No news from Cairo of any "diplomatic efforts" and no significant report of military activity.

2:25 p.m. Israel's next step? CNN finally has a summary recapping what we have updated all morning.

2:20 p.m. From the live feed in Gaza City: "Apaches launching hellfires above Gaza city in support of infantry engagement on the ground. Extremely heavy artillery fire also visible. Israeli drones are also overhead, some low enough to be seen on live feed."

1:50 p.m. Heavy fighting in Jabaliya despite supposed "respite".

1:30 p.m. This from a colleague on Twitter as he watches the live feed from Gaza City: "Watching new strikes in Gaza. BBC reports fighting in the 'outskirts'. 4,000 people per square kilometer, WTF does 'outskirts' mean?"

1:10 p.m. Three rockets land in southern Israel in last hour.

1 p.m. Explosions continue outside Gaza Strip as uncertainty persists over Israel's next move. However, military operations will persist at least until Israel Defense Ministry representative holds talks in Cairo, either today or tomorrow.

12:30 p.m. Something's up but I can't quite figure it out. Israeli media and networks are spreading the story that Hamas has taken heavy losses and, in some cases, "thrown in the towel" and fleeing. This seems to be a set-up for two diverse alternatives: declaring "victory" and limiting operations or, conversely, escalating with push into cities.

Meanwhile, the "respite" hasn't stopped Israeli artillery attacks.

12 noon: A bit of a lull, possibly because of Israeli concerns over further operations, indecision, or even a diplomatic resolution that we don't know about (see earlier post on the scheme to get strengthened Egyptian presence in Gaza). Israeli tanks are reportedly pulling back a bit toward Netzarim, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says before Cabinet meeting, "Israel may be close to achieving its goals."

Today's three- hour "respite" has started. Still, the humanitarian crisis is worsening. Gazan death toll is now 875

10:35 a.m. An interesting post in The Jerusalem Post that "the Israeli Defense Force will likely expand its operations". Plan is being supported by psychological warfare, including assertions of more than 300 Hamas fighters killed and "entire battalions wiped out".

The twist is that the reason given is "to press Egypt to declare its readiness to stop the weapons smuggling from the Sinai Peninsula into Gaza". That indicates Israel is seeking an expanded Egyptian military presence on the Egypt-Gaza border and possibly in southern Gaza. Israeli Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad, is travelling to Cairo on Monday for discussions.

Morning update (10:15 a.m. Israel/Gaza time): The ground offensive is turning out not to be a dramatic charge but a gradual, step-by-step advance to the edge of cities. Israeli forces and Hamas fighters clashed north and east of Gaza City overnight.

In southern Gaza near Khan Yunis, one civilian was killed and 49 severely burned when Israeli shelling set several building on fire, including a United Nations school. In Jabaliya, nine members of the same family were killed by an Israeli shell.

Demonstrations took place throughout Europe on Saturday. The largest was in London, while others protested in Newcastle, Edinburgh, Milan, Innsbruck, Paris, Berlin, and Oslo. At least 3000 demonstrators gathered in Lafayette Park outside the White House in Washington.

More than 850 Gazans have been killed since the start of the conflict 15 days ago. Twenty rockets were fired into southern Israel on Saturday, injuring four Israelis.

The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Rolling Updates (10 January)

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12:10 a.m. With a lull in activity, we're going for some downtime. We half-expected a major Israeli ground attack before dawn but it appears that the Israeli Cabinet may still be undecided about pushing into Gazan cities.

Meanwhile, it's safe --- and sad --- to say that all is stalled on the political front. This has settled into a frustrating circle: none of the major players wants to appear to make a concession to Hamas (since most of those players want to get rid of the organisation) and, without a concession such as the opening of border crossings, Hamas will not negotiate for a cease-fire.



11:25 p.m. Israeli military says seven soldiers "lightly wounded" on Saturday. More than 60 targets hit in airstrikes. Suicide bomber killed in northern Gaza.

Four members of same family killed by Israeli tank shell near Beit Lahiya.

10:15 p.m. Israeli bombing raids in northeastern Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli "information" services brings out their secret weapon: "internationally-renowned singer Noa", who speaks for peace to "Palestinian brothers":

Now I see the ugly head of fanaticism, I see it large and horrid, I see its black eyes and spine-chilling smile, I see blood on its hands and I know one of its many names :Hamas.

9:55 p.m. Watching Khaled Meshaal recorded statement: while he says Israel has ruined chance of peace, I think he has set down a marker: Hamas will negotiate if there is an unconditional opening of the crossings (which Israel will not accept, of course)

9:50 p.m. Khaled Mashaal, Hamas leader in Damascus, tells Al Jazeera that Israel has failed in Gaza, achieving only "a holocaust which your leaders are trying to use for the next election".

9:45 p.m. Report of 500-1000 demonstrators in front of Israeli Embassy in London. Shoes and signs being thrown, and riot police charging the crowd.

9 p.m. Four Israeli F-16 jets violate Egyptian airspace.

8:30 p.m. Human Rights Watch tells Al Jazeera that it is "convinced" Israeli military is using white phosphorous

8:15 p.m. Information or disinformation? Israel's Channel 2 claims some Hamas fighters are wearing civilian clothes and some are impersonating IDF soldiers.

7:50 p.m. "Rafah Kid" is blogging with updates and opinion from Rafah, Gaza.

7:40 p.m. BBC says up to 50,000 at London demonstration for Gaza. Participants estimate more than 100,000.

6:20 p.m. Israeli military claims that it has killed Gaza City commander of Hamas rocket launching programme.

4:25 p.m. Diplomatic battle lines drawn between Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas. Abbas in Cairo supports "international presence in the Gaza Strip", but Hamas delegation says it was not consulted.

While Abbas covered his back with the warning, "If Israel doesn't want to accept, it will take the responsibility of perpetuating a waterfall of blood," he also set up Hamas for the fall if it does not accept the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal: "If any party does not accept it, regrettably it will be the one bearing the responsibility."

4:15 p.m. Associated Press says leaflets dropped by Israel throughout Gaza announce "a new phase in the war on terror". Israeli Army calls the leaflets "a general warning".

3:45 p.m. Diplomatic negotiations going nowhere. Egypt and the Palestinian Authority have rejected the placement in Egypt of international observers for the Gaza-Egypt border, while Hamas have rejected the placement of an international force in Gaza.

3:40 p.m. From the diary of Sami Abdel Shafi, management consultant and columnist in Gaza City:

Whatever capacity we did have to run our own affairs is now no longer there, and it will make it extraordinarily difficult for the Gaza Strip to go forward whenever the war does end.

Only then will people discover the real cost of this war, when we have to look around and ask just how we begin a rebuilding effort on such a massive scale.

3:35 p.m. UN says three-hour respite not enough to allow resumption of aid deliveries in Gaza.

3:30 p.m. Israel dropping leaflets on Gaza City residents warning them to stay indoors as it plans to "escalate" offensive.

2:15 p.m. The interview with Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert could have a significant impact if it spreads beyond Al Jazeera, which is featuring it each hour. Gilbert is saying that the injuries he is seeing are not from "ordinary" shrapnel but from DIME (dense inert metal explosive) weapons.

Claims that the Israelis used DIME in Gaza first surfaced in 2006. The weapons have not been declared illegal, but the injuries caused show severe heat as well as percussive damage.

2 p.m. Israeli ground offensive imminent? Israeli Cabinet approves call-up of "unlimited" number of reservists

1:45 p.m. Explosions continue despite supposed three-hour "respite".

1:25 p.m. United Nations official Chris Gunness says Israeli Defense Forces have admitted responsibility for the Jabiliya school/shelter bombing:

In briefings senior officers conducted for foreign diplomats, they admitted the shelling to which IDF forces in Jabalya were responding did not originate from the school. The IDF admitted in that briefing that the attack on the UN site was unintentional.

Gunness added that footage released by the IDF, trying to show Hamas fighters operated from the school in 2007, was filmed after the UN had temporarily abandoned the site.

1:10 p.m. Israeli military says three-hour "respite" began at 1 p.m. Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin reports that Israeli forces have surrounded all major population centers in Gaza City.

UN is now investigating the Zeitoun mass killing.

1 p.m. Gazan death toll now 815.

12:40 p.m. Israeli tank shell kills eight members of a family in Jabaliya camp.

12:10 p.m. In Cairo, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas calls Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal a "rescue initiative" which is "the only mechanism" to end Gaza war. Sharp-eyed readers will note that Abbas makes no reference to the UN cease-fire resolution passed just over 24 hours ago.

12:05 p.m. Latest Israeli airstrike just outside Gaza City as Ayman Moyheldin reports live on Al Jazeera.

12 noon: Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor, says 165 dead children and more than 1200 wounded children brought to al Shifa hospital to date.

Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin says Israelis are bringing aid into warehouse but international agencies cannot and will not distribute because of security issues and shortage of fuel. No resumption of aid shipments so far. Close combat between Israeli and Hamas forces overnight, with unknown number of Hamas fighters killed and five Israeli troops wounded.

11:10 a.m. Journalists in Gaza demonstrate after the Israeli strike on a building used by media.

11 a.m. Poll of the Day: Hamas' military branch, the Al Qassam Brigades, offers visitors to their English website the choice of "Keep Calm", "Resume Rockets", "Resume Operations". Right now, it's 40 percent each for "Keep Calm" and "Resume Operations", with 20 percent for "Resume Rockets".

Morning Update: Israeli operations continue overnight, with strikes on more than 40 targets, as talks begin in Cairo on the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal.

Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, in a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, "expressed disappointment that the violence is continuing on the ground in disregard". A UN official has called for a war crimes investigation of Israeli actions.

More to our follow-up on the Zeitoun mass killing: The Guardian has an article --- it appears at least 30 members of the al-Samouni clan died in the Israeli shelling of a house, and up to 30 other civilians died nearby. The dead and wounded lay unattended for up to four days.

More than 800 Gazans have been killed since the start of the conflict two weeks ago. Thirteen Israelis, of whom 10 are soldiers, have been killed --- in contrast to the claims of the Al Qassam Brigades that they killed eight Israeli troops in an ambush, claims no losses on Friday.

The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Rolling Updates (8 January)

Later Updates: The Israeli Invasion of Gaza (8 January --- Evening)

Latest article: Follow-Up on Gaza: Was the Israeli Attack Planned in June?

3:48 p.m. The perils of Twitter. CNN's story on an Israeli strike on a school in northern Gaza, circulated 30 minutes ago, was actually about the strike on Jabaliya two days ago.

3:30 p.m. Missed this earlier: an eighth Israeli soldier has been killed, hit by an anti-tank missile.

3 p.m. Israeli military says 20 rockets fired from Gaza on Wednesday and 16 so far on Thursday, numbers which are still down from levels at start of conflict. Further evidence that Hamas military units are limiting deployments in the field and staying in cities?



2:15 p.m. Al Jazeera now has a full report on the Israeli firing on the UN aid convoy. One Palestinian was killed.

Israeli operations in Rafah, after warnings to residents to evacuate their homes, concentrated on the bombing of tunnels rather than entry into the city.

2:03 p.m. If We Can't See It, It Doesn't Exist: CNN International has nothing --- nothing --- on the Red Cross report of dead and wounded and firing upon medical personnel by Israeli forces.

It does, however, report on Israeli forces bulldozing a Gazan house, despite white flags on the roof, because correspondent Ben Wedeman can see it from across the border.

2 p.m. Gazan resident Fares Akram writes about yesterday's "respite":

Most people headed for the bakeries, others rushed around with empty containers looking for drinking water. I joined a queue in front of a bakery but unfortunately returned without a single loaf since the bread ran out before it was my turn. Going to the green market was disappointing; there weren't enough vegetables. There were onions and cucumbers but tomatoes, the one thing everyone wants, were scarce. Nor was there any eggplant. There was something on sale that we don't use so much here: sweet pepper, considered a luxury because it's expensive.

1:35 p.m. More interesting stonewalling from IDF spokeswoman Liebovich: she denies any knowledge of Israeli forces firing on ambulances taking away Gazan wounded. Responding to Red Cross complaint, she says, "I don't think it's serious to investigate an event through a press release."

1:30 p.m. UN says aid convoy is fired upon by Israelis. Speaking to al Jazeera, Israeli Defense Forces spokeswoman Avital Liebovich claims to have no knowledge of incident.

Liebovich talks down the firing of rockets into northern Israel as an "isolated incident", indicating both Israel and Hezbollah wish to avoid a second front in the conflict.

1:05 p.m. One of the little-noticed curiosities of the Israeli campaign so far is the relatively light number of "militant" deaths. With more than 300 of the 700 dead are women and children, even if every male killed was a Hamas activist, less than 400 of the bad guys have been slain.

The probable reason? Unsurprisingly, Hamas fighters have not stayed out in the open to be picked off by Israeli forces but have gone back into urban areas. This explains in part why the Israeli Cabinet is in protracted deliberations over whether to order its military into the cities.

The Washington Post has further details.



12:50 p.m. Confirmation of more than 60 Israeli airstrikes overnight, a significant escalation

12:30 p.m. The Israeli Consulate in New York will not be amused: The New York Times has three opinion pieces today --- by Rashid Khalidi, Nicholas Kristof, and Gideon Lichfield --- critical of Israeli strategy and operations in Gaza.

12:10 p.m. Israeli Cabinet has postponed decision on expansion of ground offensive. Information is that minority in Cabinet wish to expand immediately, expelling Hamas and occupying Gaza until a new "responsible" government can be established. Minister of Defense Ehud Barak opposes, however, preferring to exhaust all diplomatic options before moving to a "Phase 3" of the invasion.

Further information that Barak and Olmert support the diplomatic route while Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is in favour of expanded military operations.

12 noon: Israeli bombardment continues near Jabaliya and Beit Lahoun in northern Gaza.

11:38 a.m. Al Jazeera correspondent says "remarkable" that no casualties in senior citizens' home hit by rocket in Nasariya in northern Israel.

11:35 a.m. Another diplomatic front: Iranian Speaker of the Parliament Ali Larijani met Syrian official and Hamas leaders, including Khaled Mashaal, on Wednesday. Larijani also met representatives of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad.

11:30 a.m. Gazan death toll now over 700; one-third are children. Israeli death toll is 10, of which seven are soldiers.

11:25 a.m. International Committee of the Red Cross is demanding immediate access to Gaza. The demand follows the incidents in Zeitoun where, in addition to the discovery of dozens of bodies, Red Cross and Red Crescent workers found "weak children laying with their dead mothers".

11:15 a.m. Analysis in Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz:

The five [Israeli] brigades operating in the Strip are preparing as if they will be ordered to take over the entire Strip, but the General Staff believe that the politicians want a deal. In the field the sense is that Hamas has been pushed to the heart of the urban centers, and is avoiding direct contact with the IDF as much as possible.

11 a.m. Al Jazeera reports more rockets from Lebanon fired into northern Israel. Images of damage in Nahariya being shown. Israeli defense sources say that Hezbollah is not responsible; Palestinians in Lebanon more likely.

In Gaza, reports of an Israeli strike on a hospital.

Morning Update: Four rockets from Lebanon have struck northern Israel, wounding two people. The Lebanese Army says that "an unknown group" is responsible. Hamas has denied any involvement, and analysts are suggesting that Palestinians living in Lebanon may have fired the rockets.

The negotiations in Cairo today apparently will be "shuttle" negotiations with brokers talking to Israel and the Palestinian Authority and then to Hamas. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit confirmed that, if Hamas representatives attend, "they will not be in the same room as other negotiators".

The United Nations General Assembly will convene to discuss the crisis. This is a logical next step: the Libyan-drafted resolution for an immediate ceasefire will go before the Security Council on Thursday but, even if it had majority support, will be vetoed by the United States.

Rolling Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (7 January)

Later Story: Follow-Up: That State Department Twitter-Diplomacy….Gives the Game Away?
Later Story: Inconvenient (Rocket) Facts: Israel Still Can't Get It Right
Later Story: Rice to UN: US Seeks Regime Change in Gaza
Later Story: Inconvenient (Rocket) Facts: Israel Gets Caught Out by the BBC


12:45 p.m. Relatively quiet on both military and diplomatic fronts --- not expecting much out of any United Nations discussions --- so we're off for some downtime.

Tomorrow should offer some clues on the political direction of the conflict. With Hamas as well as the Palestinian Authority and Israel going to Cairo for negotiations, there may be some indication as to whether Tel Aviv and Washington will accept a settlement that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza or whether they try to isolate the organisation.

Meanwhile, on the military front, we may get some indication --- given the reports of Israeli moblisation around Rafah and warnings to residents --- of whether Tel Aviv is going to take the ground offensive into the cities.

11:30 p.m. Gazan medical sources say 700 Gazans killed in conflict, 219 are children and 89 are women. More than 3000 wounded: 46 percent are women and children.

11:25 p.m. Jabaliya Doubled: The Daily Telegraph of London is reporting the discovery in Zeitoun by a paramedic of between 60 and 70 bodies of the al Samouni clan (initial reports had put the death toll at 13), killed by Israeli shelling.



About 15 members of the clan were injured. Eight were left behind when Israeli troops began firing on ambulances.

So far, Israel has made no claim that there was Hamas members firing mortars from the shelled house.

10:50 p.m. A summary of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah's speech on the Gaza situation --- "The Scheme is to Give West Bank to Jordan, Gaza to Egypt" --- is now posted in English on the Internet.

10:45 p.m. Took a break to post on today's How Not to Spin Information story: the Israeli consulate in New York, trying to prove Hamas was responsible for breaking the cease-fire, actually makes the case that the Gazan organisation was observing it.

8:45 p.m. Apologies --- missed this earlier. Israeli Cabinet postpones votes on expansion of ground offensive

8:40 p.m. Arab fightback? Representatives of Arab League at United Nations reject US-backed initiative for non-binding statement by President of Security Council and urge binding Security Council resolution for immediate cease-fire. Al Jazeera speculates this is because of growing "embarrassment" over Arab passivity in face of Mubarak-Sarkozy process.

8:30 p.m. Israeli military preparing for entry into Rafah in southern Gaza? Reports of leaflets being dropped on residents warning them to evacuate by 8 a.m. Gaza time

8 p.m. On CNN, French Foreign Ministry spokesman tries to reconcile different stories: Israel has welcomed "process" and "approach" of Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal. Tel Aviv is sending senior advisor to Minister of Defense Ehud Barak to Cairo tomorrow.

Spokesman adds that discussions are taking place with Hamas via Egypt and Syria. On the Palestinian Authority-Hamas issue, he talks of "Palestinian reconciliation".

6:15 p.m. Retractions: French President Sarkozy's office acknowledges that Israel has not accepted the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal while Israeli military says three-hour "respite" --- to take place every other day ---does apply to all of Gaza, not just Gaza City

5:25 p.m. Important development: Ahmed Youssef, political advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, tells Al Jazeera there are "good elements" in Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal and hopes for clarification of provisions in next 48 hours. Youssef adds that he hopes negotiation of Mubarak-Sarkozy will be in conjunction with movement in United Nations towards a resolution.

Youssef says the "by-product" of rockets will end when the Israeli occupation is terminated, indicating Hamas will not accept a cease-fire which does not mention Tel Aviv's aggression: "As long as the occupation is there, we have to defend ourselves....When we have full control of our destiny....there will be no firing of rockets."

5:20 p.m. Thomas Friedman carries the media flag for Israel. His latest column in The New York Times, "The Mideast's Ground Zero", is being distributed via Twitter by the Israeli Consulate in New York. And no wonder, six years after Friedman marched into war with Iraq, he's still got an Axis of Evil to grind:

No doubt, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran are hoping that they can use the Gaza conflict to turn Obama into Bush. They know Barack Hussein Obama must be (am)Bushed — to keep America and its Arab allies on the defensive. Obama has to keep his eye on the prize. His goal — America’s goal — has to be a settlement in Gaza that eliminates the threat of Hamas rockets and opens Gaza economically to the world, under credible international supervision.

5:15 p.m. Confusion over the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal and possible embarrassment for the French President. France had announced Israel's acceptance of the limited cease-fire, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says that proposal is still being studied.

5 p.m. Two hours into the three-hour respite but Al Jazeera says there are reports of fresh fighting in Gaza City. Seven Israeli airstrikes, mainly in northeast Gaza.

The respite has allowed paramedics to get to some areas of Gaza for first time.

4:20 p.m. Israel "clarifies" the three-hour respite: says it applies only to Gaza City

3:45 p.m. A break from Gaza coverage to more important issues: CNN International is running an in-depth investigation of Oprah Winfrey's weight

3:20 p.m. Osama Hamdan of Hamas says organisation is considering Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal along with "other initiatives",  maintains cautious line --- "If we criticise Egypt, it does not mean we cannot discuss with Egypt"

3:12 p.m. Hamas officials say they are considering the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal.

3:10 p.m. French officials say both Israel and Palestinian Authority have accepted the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal for a limited cease-fire and talks in Cairo.

3:05 p.m. Respite, after firing from both sides in opening minutes, reported to be "generally holding". At least 683 Gazans killed since start of conflict.

2:20 p.m. Report of "tens of thousands" of mourners at funerals of the victims of Jabaliya school/shelter bombing.

UN officials "99.9 percent certain" that there were no militants in the shelter.

2:00 p.m. An  hour after the "respite" began, shelling resumes north of Gaza City, although more civilians are on the streets in the centre of the city. Machine gun fire near Beit Lahoun.

1:35 p.m. Israeli Defense Forces say they have suspended operations for three hours. Hamas says it will match this by suspending firing of rockets.

1:10 p.m. Israeli airstrikes kill four people outside a  mosque in Gaza City and two people in the Zeitoun district. Explosions reported in Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya.



12:55 p.m. London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi reports that officers of US Army Engineering Corps have been stationed at Rafah to unearth smugglers' tunnels --- unclear whether they are now on Egyptian or Gazan side or border

12:45 p.m. Israel seizes the media initiative, at least with CNN: its headline story is of Tel Aviv's offer of a "short respite" with the three-hour pause in bombing each day, while the Jabiliya deaths are at the foot of the story (and noted with "The Israeli military said Hamas militants were firing mortars from the school").

11:55 a.m. No humanitarian bombing pause yet: Al Jazeera reports heavy Israeli bombing around city of Rafah on Egypt-Gaza border.

11:34 a.m. Dan Gillerman, the former Israeli Ambassador to the UN and the coordinator of Israel's information operations, tells Al Jazeera that the deaths in the Jabaliya bombing are "horrible tragedy" but whereas each death is "a cause for sadness" for Israel, each is "a cause for celebration" for Hamas.

Gillerman refuses to address the question of whether Israel violated international law with the shelling of the school/shelter. John Ging, United Nations Relief and Works Agency official, repeats that the GPS coordinates of the school/shelter were given to Israeli forces, and calls for a "full investigation".

11:10 a.m. Israeli Cabinet currently discussing military operations, including possible expansion of ground offensive with mobilisation of tens of thousands of reservists. Israeli forces reported to be in "holding pattern" around Gazan cities.

11 a.m. Israel announces, for the "humanitarian corridor", that it will halt military attacks for three hours each day. Al Jazeera reports Gazan reaction: "What about the other 21 hours a day?"

10:20 a.m. I have known and learned for 20 years from Professor Avi Shlaim, one of Britain's foremost historians on the Middle East. In today's Guardian of London, he has an opinion piece, "How Israel Brought Gaza to the Brink of Humanitarian Catastrophe", offering the historical context to the current crisis:

This brief review of Israel's record over the past four decades makes it difficult to resist the conclusion that it has become a rogue state with "an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders". A rogue state habitually violates international law, possesses weapons of mass destruction and practises terrorism - the use of violence against civilians for political purposes. Israel fulfils all of these three criteria; the cap fits and it must wear it. Israel's real aim is not peaceful coexistence with its Palestinian neighbours but military domination.

9:40 a.m. The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator has released a situation report, current to 6 p.m. on 6 January, detailing casualties and damages from Israeli bombing and shelling. It also sets out the status of medical services and shelter and the provision of food, fuel, water, and electricity.

9:15 a.m. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the deputy chief of Al Qa'eda, issued a statement calling the Gaza conflict a "gift" from President-elect Barack Obama with "that traitor" Hosni Mubarak as the main partner.

Frankly, I consider this a sign of the relative weakness and peripheral place of Al Qa'eda, except to a small group of core activists, not only in Gaza but in international affairs. Far more important, as Juan Cole has noted, is the impact upon local "insurgents" in places such as Afghanistan, as they use the wider policies of countries like the US to mobilise their supporters.

9:05 a.m. Other success of Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal is pushing the specific incident of the shelling of Jabaliya school/shelter, which killed at least 43 and wounded at least 100 Gazans, and the general humanitarian issue to the background. Al Jazeera is leading with the Jabiliya killings but other news services have put it in the background.

The Israeli proposal for a "humanitarian corridor" appears to be a public-relations success, at least for the moment. And, contrary to my opinion yesterday, it seems that Jabaliya will not be the successor to Qana (Lebanon) 2006, when dozens of civilian deaths in a single incident helped force an end to military operations.

Jabaliya was one of three schools/shelters struck yesterday. More than 660 Gazans have now died.

9 a.m. Lead development is the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal for immediate cease-fire and meetings in Cairo between Israel and Palestinian "factions"

There is still lack of clarity on proposals such as arrangements for border security and when and to what extent blockade would be lifted. Perhaps most important, no confirmation on whether Hamas would be invited to negotiations. In fact, there is not even agreement on the cease-fire. United States is still holding out against any cessation of military operations.

However, immediate "success" of the proposal is to block any UN resolution on the crisis. Initiative is now clearly with France, Egypt as the Arab "leader", and --- behind them --- the US and European countries. If Israel and the Palestinian Authority play their parts,, then this could be an ambitious move for a "grand design" on Gaza. This would include isolating and possibly overthrowing Hamas.

Rolling Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (6 January --- Evening)

Later Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (7 January)
Earlier Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (6 January)

2:20 a.m. That's it for a while. Thanks to all who checked in with us on a turbulent day. I hesitate to think about tomorrow....

2:15 a.m. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is pushing the "Mubarak plan" for "immediate cease-fire for a limited period" for humanitarian aid deliveries and Egyptian invitation to Israel and "Palestinian factions/authorities" to talks on border security and blockade.

But....Kouchner sidesteps questions of whether Europeans will deal with Hamas by repeating this is an "Egyptian proposal". Yeah, right --- that's why Nicolas Sarkozy was hopping from Jerusalem to Ramallah to Damascus to Cairo before the proposal appear.

And...Kouchner makes clear that this proposal is not alongside UN Security Council resolution but instead of one. Arab journalists (and I suspect a lot of Arab people outside Governments) are not impressed.

2 a.m. Media reporting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's "impassioned plea" to the UN Security Council for "an urgent intervention by the Security Council to...deter the aggressor". Hmm.... Forgive my scepticism, but in light of today's manoeuvres, some cease-fires are more equal than others: what are the political objectives of this one?

Meanwhile, Israel is scrambling to regard publicity advantage (or at least a shred of respectability) by opening a "humanitarian corridor". Israeli spokespersons are still insisting that the Jabaliya school/shelter struck by Israeli tank fire, killing 40 Gazans, was being used by Hamas militants as a base for operations.

1:30 a.m. CNN missed the significance in Rice's statement --- totally missed it. Their UN correspondent, Richard Roth, is wittering on without any reference to the Secretary of State's call for restoration of Palestinian Authority in Gaza.

1:22 a.m. RICE CALLS FOR LEGAL COUP IN GAZA


Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice begins speech at UN Security Council. She's very much on-message: basic problem is "ongoing attacks against Israel" (which followed Hamas' "illegal coup" in Gaza), so have to have "sustainable and durable" cease-fire for "true calm" and not "return to status quo ante".

Rice does throw in the concession of opening border crossings on lines of 2005 agreement, but the basics of this are control of tunnels and cut-off of arms into Gaza.

Then the killer phrase: this is to restore Palestinian Authority's "legitimate control" of Gaza.

Got it? Rice has in fact inverted history and current events: she has turned Hamas' electoral victory in Gaza in 2006 into an "illegal coup" to justify a "legal coup" by Fatah/Palestinian Authority, under cover of Israeli military operations, in January 2009.



1:10 a.m. UN Security Council meeting on possible resolution ongoing.

Al-Jazeera correspondent notes that it is serving  the interests of a number of UNSC meetings to delay acting: "It seems there is a lot of dragging of feet....Some people are wondering if there is Arab complicity here" in not pressing for immediate cease-fire

11:50 p.m. Here we go: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, following his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has proposed "an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, to be followed by talks on long-term arrangements including an end to the blockade of Gaza".

This is only a first, tentative step. There is nothing in the proposal about security arrangements to monitor borders and the import of arms and no statement on the role Hamas would play in negotiations.

The next move will come from Tel Aviv: Sarkozy said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "will react soon" to the Mubarak proposal. This will probably include Israeli acceptance of talks with Egypt on border security.

11:09 p.m. French President Nicolas Sarkozy reads out Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's role in the diplomatic play: Cairo invites Israel "without delay" to discuss Egypt-Gaza border security

11:05 p.m. Al Jazeera: Danish  Foreign Ministry has summoned the Israeli Ambassador to explain the bombing of three mobile clinics run by a Danish charity in Gaza

10:55 p.m. Forgive me for abandoning objectivity but Israeli authorities best produce some proof of their charges of Hamas using the Jabaliya UN school/shelter as a base for military operations. If they don't, their lying to cover up responsibility for civilian deaths --- which has happened in the past --- should be held up as an abandonment of their supposed "moral clarity".

The statement from the Israeli Consulate in New York:

These initial investigations indicate that Hamas used the UNRWA school to fire at IDF forces, indicating once again that Hamas is more than willing to sacrifice Gaza citizens to promote terrorism. International law recognizes that the presence of civilians in an area of conflict does not delegitimize a military target. Israel and the IDF will continue to abide by these laws and to make every effort to avoid harming civilians in conducting further operations. We urge the international community to strongly condemn Hamas’s cynical exploitation of its citizens and firing of rockets, which remain the most effective way to ensure peace for Gazans and Israelis alike.

9:50 p.m. Obama to Gazan population --- Can you wait another two weeks?

After Jan. 20 I'm going to have plenty to say about the issue.

9: 40 p.m. Israeli Defense Forces statement on shelling of Jabaliya school:

A number of mortar shells were fired at IDF forces from within the Jabalya school. In response to the incoming enemy fire, the forces returned mortar fire to the source. This is not the first time that Hamas has fired mortars and rockets from schools, in such a way deliberately using civilians as human shields in their acts of terror against Israel.

Flashback to the Israeli bombing of Qana in July 2006:

One Israeli military official raised the possibility that the building collapsed hours after the strike and that munitions had been stored in it.

9:35 p.m. Washington and European leaders are synchronising their statements: in last few hours: White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, German chancellor Angela Merkel, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have all called for a cease-fire based on closure of tunnels and cut-off of supply of arms to Hamas. The possible concession to Hamas is an arrangement for opening of border crossings.

9:10 p.m. A Gazan to an Israeli friend, quoted in Ha'aretz:

They're bombing us from the sea and from the east, they're bombing us from the air. When the telephone works, people tell us about relatives or friends who were killed. My wife cries all the time. At night she hugs the children and cries. It's cold and the windows are open; there's fire and smoke in open areas; at home there's no water, no electricity, no heating gas. And you [the Israelis] say there's no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Tell me, are you normal?

8:55 p.m. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino on the Jabaliya school bombing: "We should not jump to conclusions on who is responsible."

Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds: "The world's superpower is playing dumb on this."

8:40 p.m. 34 rockets fired into southern Israel today.

8:30 p.m. Excellent Timing Award. An Israeli blogging collective is circulating the quote from Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974:

We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children.

8:25 p.m. Al Jazeera is showing a guided tour of Al Shi'fa hospital by Dr Erik Fosse, one of the two Norwegian physicians who has brought the medical crisis to international prominence

8:10 p.m. Obama speaks! Says he is "deeply concerned" about the civilian casualties in Gaza....

8 p.m. Qana 2006 --- Jabiliya 2009?

Arguably it was the Israeli bombing of Qana and the killing of 28 civilians, or more specifically the international reaction to the horror of the incident,  that forced Tel Aviv to call a halt to its military operations 2 1/2 years ago. The building  response to the incident this afternoon, in which 40 Gazans died at a UN shelter/school, could be the symbolic ringing of time on Israel's current military mission. Every news organisation is headlining the bombing, and BBC Radio has just spent several hard-hitting minutes on the incident.

5:50 p.m. Nicolas Sarkozy to reporters in Lebanon, before heading to Egypt:

I'm convinced that there are solutions. We are not far from that. What is needed is simply for one of the players to start for things to go in the right direction.

5:25 p.m. More evidence that we're on the mark about a "grand design" for regime change, removing Hamas and bringing in the Palestinian Authority?

The Israeli Consulate has just distributed (and endorsed?) today's column by Bret Stephens in The Wall Street Journal:

Israel also has much to gain by avoiding a frontal assault on Gaza's urban areas in favor of the snatch-and-grab operations that have effectively suppressed Hamas's terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank. A long-term policy aimed squarely at killing or capturing Hamas's leaders, destroying arms caches and rocket factories, and cutting off supply and escape routes will not by itself destroy the group. But it can drive it out of government and cripple its ability to function as a fighting force. And this, in turn, could mean the return of Fatah, the closest thing Gaza has to a "legitimate" government.

5:15 p.m. CNN reports UN protest of Israeli attack on UN-run school/shelter but has not updated death toll.